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A character, usually a [[The Hero|Hero]], sometimes an [[Anti-Villain]] or [[Anti-Hero]], has done something that led to terrible consequences. Often they have had the best of intentions, but due to inexperience, lack of foresight, or something else, the results were the opposite of what they wanted and intended.
It is the thing that happens next that defines
Compare [[The Atoner]], who is usually making up for a whole set of bad deeds following a [[Heel Face Turn]] or [[Kick the Morality Pet]], while
{{examples}}
== Anime and Manga ==
* In the rogue zanpakuto filler arc of ''[[Bleach]]'', Ichigo is tricked into breaking Yamamoto-Genryusai's barrier, allowing Muramasa to find out the location of {{spoiler|his master, Kouga}}. Ichigo, upon learning his mistake, determines that he must go stop Muramasa so that he can fix his mistake.
* The events of ''[[Fullmetal Alchemist (
** More specifically, this is Ed's way of thinking. Al wants things to be alright again, and he knows they did wrong, but Ed has a whole [[The Atoner]] mindset and his primary goal is always to fix ''Al'', whose predicament he feels is his fault. Some of this of course is [[Big Brother Instinct]] at work.
** Roy Mustang is even more [[The Atoner]], and his entire life revolves around achieving enough power to fully make amends for his participation in the massacre at Ishval.
** Scar has a bit of this with his survivor's guilt.
** Hohenheim is also like this about his role in the destruction of Xerxes and the birth of the [[Big Bad]]. Also survivor's guilt and [[I Am a Monster]]. (this is his ''[[Catch Phrase]]'' for a while.) This is why he left the
** Izumi possesses shades of this vis-a-vis her miscarriage and subsequent attempt at human transmutation. Arakawa likes this trope.
** There's also the fact that, [[Fullmetal Alchemist (
* What {{spoiler|Nina Einstein}} tries to do in ''[[Code Geass]] R2'', after {{spoiler|the bomb she built under Schneizel's orders completely obliterates a good part of Tokyo}}.
* In ''[[Higurashi no Naku Koro
* Ken Ichijoji, in ''[[Digimon Adventure 02]]'', after discovering that the Digital world is not just an artificial construct in which he can [[Video Game Cruelty Potential|play out]] his [[The Unfavourite|anger and issues]] concerning his brother's death. This method essentially turns him from the [[Big Bad]] to The Woobie.
** In one of the ''[[Digimon]]'' movies, the little American boy had one of his Digimon go rogue; he had been chasing it all over the US in an attempt to fix it. Even after the other trainers show up, he is initially insistent that because it is his Digimon, he needs to make it right, himself.
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*** To elaborate on him: {{spoiler|he's trying to break her out of an energy bubble, and gets it open. She freaks out because it's the guy who killed her partner, increasing his guilt. By the time she snaps out of it, the hole is closed and he starts trying to punch it open. He's so focused that he's shot in the back by about ten razor disks in a truly disturbing [[What Do You Mean It's for Kids?|was-this-really-for-kids scene]] and plummets to the sea of deletion goo below, trailing data in lieu of blood. And only got saved at the ''last possible second''. And nearly died of his injuries afterwards}}.
* In the ''[[Trigun]]'' manga, part of [[The Reveal]] in the flashback arc is that Rem was complicit in {{spoiler|the [[Strapped to An Operating Table|testing]] to [[They Would Cut You Up|destruction]] of Tesla, the girl [[Artificial Human|born from the bulbs]] before Vash and Knives were.}} Her mothering of the twins is an attempt to make amends for not doing anything to save Tesla. When they are found out by another researcher, he turns out to feel the same way.
** Of course, Knives does not much care about that part, concludes with [[Jerkass Has a Point|justification]] that [[Humans Are
* A major villain successfully pulls this off as the punch line to one of ''[[Naruto]]'''s more spectacular [[Wham! Episode|Wham Arc]]s.
* In ''[[
* In ''[[World Embryo]]'', this is become Riku's motive, recently. His [[Consummate Liar|habit of lying]] had made many victims, including his friends and loved ones, and he intends to repair that.
== Comic Books ==
* In [[The DCU]], we had [[Green Lantern|Hal Jordan]] completely lose his sanity and decide to fix his failure to save Coast City... by killing the [[Green Lantern Corps]], killing Sinestro, and then killing the universe... so he could remake reality "right". Fittingly, after all this nonsense, He went on to try and make all of ''that'' right, and ended up sacrificing himself to save the world (of course, he got better). Then a few years later, [[Geoff Johns]] [[
* [[Batman]] does this on Nightwing's behalf toward the tail end of [[The Joker]]'s "Last Laugh" storyline: Batman doesn't want Nightwing to think of himself as a murderer.
* This happens to Magneto. He's always been opposed by the [[X-Men]], so by now he often attacks them at full power (which is a lot) instinctively. Sadly, the X-Men are mutants... some of the people Magneto wants to protect. Even worse, the one he accidentally hurts is the newest recruit, a 13-year-old (mutant) girl. "What have I done?" is the short version of his monologue, when he realizes what he has done. Follow his [[Villainous BSOD]] and his [[Heel Face Revolving Door|first]] [[Heel Face Turn]] as [[The Atoner]].
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== Film ==
* [[Aladdin (Disney film)|Aladdin]] said something to this effect in the first movie of the trilogy; "I've got to go back and set things right." {{spoiler|He's referring to leaving behind the genie lamp, Iago grabbing it and giving it to Jafar, then Jafar using it to wish himself to be sultan and the world's most powerful sorcerer, in turn banishing Aladdin.}}
* The plot of ''[[Labyrinth]]'' follows this.
** Specifically, Sara makes a very dumb wish which is then granted, and spends the rest of the movie trying to undo the mistake by winning her (half) brother back, since Jareth doesn't allow takebacks on wishing.
* ''[[Legend]]''. Lily touches one of the unicorns, making it vulnerable to attack and leading to its death. She tracks down the other unicorn and finds Brown Tom guarding it.
{{quote|
'''Lily:''' I'm -- I'm so sorry. I didn't know. Please, please forgive me.
'''Brown Tom:''' I'm not the one you should be askin'.
'''Lily:''' Try and understand. I'm only trying to make things right. Darkness has sent the goblins back for the mare. It's not safe to stay here. You'll have to hurry! Leave now! Go! }}
* This is pretty much what the [[Three Act Structure|third act]] of the movie ''[[Mean Girls]]'' is about.
* [[John Woo]]'s ''[[The Killer]]'' is about the title character's attempt to fix a tragic mistake that he made, which resulted in a beautiful singer being blinded by the muzzle-flash of his gun. The last hit that he goes on is an attempt to raise the money to have her eyes fixed, but unfortunately for him, [[Contract
** It probably also makes the single weirdest case of [[Moral Dissonance]] in film history.
* This is also the plot to the classic film ''Magnificent Obsession''. The life of wealthy asshole Merrick is saved at the expense of a brilliant, beloved and selfless elderly doctor's. The doctor's widow blames Merrick, he responds by stalking her and ends up causing a car wreck that blinds her. Merrick becomes a doctor himself so he can operate on the widow and fix her eyes.
* In ''[[
** It works, which probably means that the dog wasn't quite killed. But [[Rule of Funny|in an extreme comedy, anything goes]].
* In ''[[Iron Man (
== Literature ==
* Prince Galrion {{spoiler|later named Nevyn}} in the ''[[Deverry]]'' books spends several hundred years trying to teach magic to various incarnations of his lover Brangwen, after he had caused her death.
{{quote|
* Harry in ''[[The Dresden Files]]'' to an extent, during Ghost Story, when he realises the effects of some of his actions during the last book. Easier said than done since {{spoiler|he happens to be dead, and the 'action' in question was dying and leaving his apprentice all alone}}.
** Harry also feels at least a little bit of an urge to set right all the innocent people he is told (several times) that he caused the deaths of by {{spoiler|destroying the entire Red Court and thus creating a HUGE power vacuum in the supernatural world}}.
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== Live Action TV ==
* DG in ''[[Tin Man (TV series)|Tin Man]]'' is already motivated to take down her evil sister, but then sees a vision in a cave {{spoiler|revealing that, as a small child, she accidentally freed the witch possessing Azkedellia}}.
* Connor does this in ''[[Primeval]]'', in episode 5 of series 5, though he shows the intention a little before hand.
{{quote|
* The [[Doctor Who|Tenth Doctor]] in both parts of "The End of Time" after an [[A God Am I]] moment in 'The Waters of Mars', with elements of [[Blood Knight]].
* An episode of ''[[Law and Order: Criminal Intent]]'' had one of the main characters accidentally shoot a suspect, who turned out to be a cop. Cue the [[Big No]].
** Also happens in ''[[Law and Order SVU]]'' when Elliot realizes that a little girl falsely accused an innocent man of being her rapist, under pressure from Elliot himself and the shrink. The guy does ''not'' forgive Elliot since his life is already ruined, but Elliot throws himself wholeheartedly into finding the true culprit - and does so.
** And it's happened on the original ''[[Law and Order]]''. When Claire Kincaid died, a drunk driver picked the worst possible time to kill someone in a hit-and-run. Jack covered up evidence to get him a murder one
* This happens with Londo in the second season of ''[[
* In ''[[Buffy the Vampire Slayer]]'', Spike's instant feelings of self-condemnation following his {{spoiler|attempted rape of Buffy}} ultimately drove him to try to
* In ''[[Supernatural (TV series)|Supernatural]]'', season five is this for Sam after {{spoiler|accidentally starting the Apocalypse}}. The second half of season six starts like this for him after he finds out what he did {{spoiler|while soulless}}.
* The end of ''[[Life On Mars]]'' has the main character {{spoiler|betray his friends and leave them all to die, in order to return home. However, he decides he isn't really all that fond of 2006 after all, and jumps off of a roof in order to go back and save them. He still thinks he's in a coma, but he likes his coma dream better.}} Maybe. See the [[Life On Mars/WMG|WMG]] for more speculation.
* This happens with Clark in ''[[Smallville]]'' as he tries to {{spoiler|go back in time to save Lana Lang from dying but in turn causes his father's death.}}
* In ''[[Heroes (TV series)|Heroes]]'', Sylar attempts one of these during Volume 3. [[Chronic Villainy|It didn't take.]]
** Interestingly enough though, a version of the future that Peter visits during that arc shows what would've happened if Syl-erm, ''Gabriel Grey'' did complete his [[Heel Face Turn]]. {{spoiler|That one didn't work out for long either.}}
* In the fifth season of ''[[The Wire]]'', McNulty's plan to {{spoiler|fake a serial killer}} probably loses all sympathy with the audience when he {{spoiler|kidnaps a crazy homeless man to use as a "victim" and then dumps him in a homeless shelter in Virginia to ensure he's never found}}. McNulty's final action in the series finale is to {{spoiler|track him down and drive him back to Baltimore}} so he can fix at least one consequence of his screw-up.
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== Webcomics ==
* [[Anti-Villain|Redcloak]] from ''[[Order of the Stick]]'' [[We Have Reserves|ordered thousands of hobgoblins that he was in command of into certain death]] without thinking or feeling anything because of the ancient grudges between goblins and hobgoblins. After a hobgoblin saved his life during the battle, however, [[My God, What Have I Done?|Redcloak reacted with horror to everything he he had done and become]], and promptly led the hobgoblins to a smashing victory, even sometimes putting his own life at risk in order to save those of his men.
* Jung Hyun from ''[[
== Western Animation ==
* ''[[Justice League]]:'' Hawkgirl was already torn between loyalty to her home planet and [[Becoming the Mask|her feelings for the teammates on whom she was spying]]. After she sold out the Earth and the League to her Thanagarian brethren, she discovered to her horror that they intended to destroy Earth in a bid to save Thanagar. Hawkgirl turned on them and provided the League with information crucial to defeating the Thanagarians. Ashamed by her prior actions, Hawkgirl resigned from the Justice League and secluded herself in Dr. Fate's household in order to think long and hard about what to do with the rest of her life. She came to the conclusion that resuming superheroism would be her best means of atoning for her wrongs and reconciling with the League. In a [[Crowning Moment of Heartwarming]], the League let her know that they voted to let her stay a Leaguer with Superman being the tiebreaker ("I believe in second chances").
** This also makes a nice [[Call Back]] to ''[[Superman:
* ''[[Futurama]]'': This literally happened. Fry finds his old dog from the 20th century fossilized in a construction cite. Feeling bad for abandoning it (despite not meaning to) he arranges for the professor to actually revive it. With Science!
** In that same episode, Bender, in a fit of jealousy, literally [[Kick the Dog|kicked said dog's fossil]] into hot lava, but after realizing what he did, he went in to save him and recovered him.
* ''[[The Nightmare Before Christmas]]'': Basically, Jack and Oogie's whole fight is all about Jack trying to fix the damage he caused by [[Bad Santa|pretending to be Santa Claus]].
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== Video Games ==
* Chell of ''[[Portal (
* The Light Side run of both ''[[Knights of the Old Republic]]'' games is fueled by this.
* The [[Prince of Persia]] in ''four'' games {{spoiler|technically three since he basically let Aruman (I think that was his name) go in the end}}
* {{spoiler|Faldio}} from ''[[Valkyria Chronicles]]''. {{spoiler|After shooting Alicia to bring out her Valkyria powers, [[I Did What I Had to Do|he justified his actions to Welkin, Captain Varrot and to himself that it needed to be done for Gallia's survival]]. After spending some time in confinement, he began to regret his actions and went to [[Taking You
* From ''[[Tales of the Abyss]]'', we have {{spoiler|Luke, who ended up destroying the mining town Akzeriuth from his blind loyalty to his mentor Van. He spends some time in denial, but after some soul searching and an [[Important Haircut]] to boot, he starts almost going to become a [[Martyr Without a Cause]] thanks to the overwhelming guilt.}}
* The Nameless One from ''[[Planescape: Torment]]''. The entire point of him seeking out Ravel Puzzlewell in order to {{spoiler|sever his body from his mortality -- thus making him immortal and accidentally causing his amnesia --}} is that he knew he {{spoiler|would never live long enough to make up for all of the crimes he had committed before he became good}}. It didn't work out too well.
* Arguably, Roxas from ''[[Kingdom Hearts]]'' fits this. {{spoiler|After [[Kill the Cutie|killing off]][[Woobie, Destroyer of Worlds|Xion]], he tries his best to respect his dead friend's wish--by setting all the hearts that both he and she had collected free from Kingdom Hearts and foil [[Big Bad|Xemnas's]] plan for gaining ultimate power. [[Roaring Rampage of Revenge|The way he goes about doing so]] wasn't really what Xion had intended him to do to begin with, and it was all because he wanted his life with Xion and Axel back. Riku stops him from going about his suicidal rampage to confront Xemnas, setting the stage for ''Kingdom Hearts II''.}}
** Considering how he {{spoiler|beats down Saix, quite possibly the second strongest member of the Organisation}} at only a ''fraction'' of his strength, he probably could have done it too.
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** J. Robert Oppenheimer, head of the Manhattan Project
** Andrei Sakharov, developer of the Soviet hydrogen bomb
** Otto Hahn, part of the team that discovered nuclear fission (with Lise Meitner and Fritz Strassmann)
** [[Albert Einstein]], who sent a letter to [[FDR]], co-written with Leo Szilard, that led to the establishment of the Manhattan Project
** Niels Bohr, who had been on the Manhattan Project. He didn't quite advocate disarmament, but he was an architect of the "Atoms for Peace" vision that led to the creation of the IAEA.
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{{reflist}}
[[Category:Characterization Tropes]]
[[Category:Heel Face Index]]▼
[[Category:Blame Tropes]]
[[Category:Must Make Amends]]
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