Trope Workshop:Reformed but Still Horned

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What makes it possible for a character to make a bona-fide Heel-Face Turn and still retain their characteristics as a villain? There are plenty of reasons for why his or her behavior remains the same despite changing his alignment:

1. The reformed character may still harbor some form of resentment or disdain for the good guys, particularly The Hero.
2. They are still hung on the ways of villainy and were very "sour grapes" on joining the heroes. Perhaps they may have been a Well-Intentioned Extremist who's now realized that their actions caused more harm than good, but still hangs on to such ruthless ways as long as it doesn't hurt others, or maybe their evil powers have enlightened him a lot, but they now agrees to use it for the greater good instead of his self-serving reasons (though they won't dare say so). They'll still play dirty if they feel there's no other option.
3. They may be just naturally mean due to some Freudian Excuse which they rarely had gotten over for years to come.
4. They are sadly fully aware that, no matter what, they'll never be a model of Incorruptible Pure Pureness.

These tropes involve a change in character alignment but not their personality. The latter trope (or the "to" trope), where they develop into a more grey version of how they began, is the subtrope. Watch for:

• Abusive Parents to Tough Love
• Alpha Bitch to Lovable Alpha Bitch
• Bad Boss to Pointy-Haired Boss or Mean Boss
• Chaotic Evil to Chaotic Neutral
• Corrupt Church to Church Militant
• Corrupt Politician to Sleazy Politician
• Dark Is Evil to Dark Is Not Evil
• Deceptive Disciple to Defector From Decadence
• Dirty Cop to Cowboy Cop
• The Dragon to Noble Top Enforcer
• Evil Diva to The Chanteuse
• Evil Mentor to Cynical Mentor or Stealth Mentor
• Evil Poacher to Egomaniac Hunter
• Evil Prince to Rebel Prince or Prince Charmless
• Evil Princess to Rebellious Princess
• God Save Us From the Queen to The Woman Wearing the Queenly Mask
• Hanging Judge to Judge, Jury, and Executioner
• Heel to Wild Card
• Jerkass to Jerk with a Heart of Gold
• Jerk Jock to Dumb Jock
• Lawful Evil to Lawful Neutral
• Light Is Not Good to Light 'em Up (when Elemental Powers come into play)
• The Neidermeyer to Drill Sergeant Nasty or Sergeant Rock
• Neutral Evil to True Neutral
• Orphanage of Fear to Boarding School of Horrors
• Psycho Lesbian to Trope Workshop:Mean Lesbian
• The Savage South to Deep South
• Screw the Rules, I Have Money to Screw the Rules, I'm Doing What's Right
• Sadist Teacher to Stern Teacher
• Terrible Trio to Freudian Trio
• Treacherous Advisor to The Consigliere
• The Vamp to Femme Fatale
• Villains to Anti-Hero

Not uncommon in a setting of Black and Gray Morality (and even more common when Graying Morality is a factor). This type of character is more likely to become The Hero's lancer and especially when the former is an Ideal Hero or The Cape. When it comes to this trope, turning over a new leaf is more complex than people would want it to be, which can often invoke the thought that Humans Are Flawed or at least bastards either way. Not to be confused with Reformed, but Rejected, where a character turns for the better, but others don't acknowledge it or take time to do so. If a character doesn't necessarily change their ways after one such action, you want Even Evil Has Standards.

Also see Token Evil Teammate and Graying Morality. Compare Hazy Feel Turn and Vigilante Man .

This is a Trope Workshop page, still under consideration for creation. Help out by editing the current page, or leave a comment on the Talk page. Trope Workshop Guidelines

Examples of Reformed but Still Horned include:

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