“Everyone loves a good redemption story.”
I don’t know who said the quote, but it's a true one. While
we sometimes like seeing folk be bad, we also like seeing them go good. You can
look everywhere for this common trope as well. This list was actually what
started the whole thing. I didn’t have to think hard about which heroic figures
have gone evil, though. I did have to put a little more thought into this one.
While some names popped into my head easily, others took a minute. These aren't necessarily my favorite
characters and it’s not in any order, so let’s start off with someone really
random.
1. Sami Brady (Days of Our Lives)
I know you’re looking at me weird, so let me explain. When I
was younger, my grandmother was an avid watcher of Days of Our Lives. Guess
what we more or less had to watch at about 2pm? We didn’t have another TV, so I
had to do something with that time! If you’re wondering, no, I’m not a DOOL fan.
I haven’t watched the show in years. I do glance at it at the YMCA if it's showing, though. Even though I’m not a fan, I can say I got fond memories of
it. Sami wasn’t necessarily one of them.
To put it nicely, she was one… witch. She was usually
scheming to get some dude. I think one of them was named Austin. Even when she got the dude, she’d screw it up somehow. She was pretty much the jealous
sister of the show. After some time, I do remember her becoming less of a witch
and turning into a somewhat nice person. I guess the writers or actress got
tired of that constant role of villainess. I don’t know if she stayed that way
since soap operas are a lot like comic books. I can say
that Alison Sweeney did a good job with that role. The fact that I remember her
says something.
2. Vegeta (Dragonball Z)
I think it’s time to swerve away from the odd and look at
“The Prince of all Saiyans!” When Vegeta came onto the scene, he was a
straight-up bad guy. No one can doubt that. I don’t think anyone can forget what
happened to poor Nappa, aka “Mr. Clean with a ‘Stache.” Even after his time on
Namek where he allied with the heroes, he wasn’t a good dude. Vegeta was
obsessed with being better than Goku and he even did some really stupid things because
of his Sayian pride. When you let the evil android get stronger instead of
taking him out earlier, you’re not exactly good, are you?
Even when Goku returned for the World Tournament years
later, he was still a douche. He let himself be taken over by Babadi (some green thing?) and went on a rampage. It wasn’t until his own son was in danger that
he actually began to look heroic. He sacrificed himself to take out Majin Buu
and even though that Pepto Bismal-looking thing didn’t die, it was a noble
sacrifice. Like all characters in the DBZ universe, he did come back but he
came back different. He even put an end to his rivalry with Goku.