Who are your favourie turncoat characters?

[Scarim Coral]

So this thread was inspired from the recent Steven Universe episode (I'll explain more below).

Before you asked what's a "turncoat" is-
"A person who deserts one party or cause in order to join an opposing one."

So in another word, it's a good/ bad person change side to the bad/ good.

Ok I may not be using the proper definition of turncoat but it stand, who are your favourite character that started off as good or bad but then become bad or good later on? This apply to any media (anime, shows, books, games and etc.)

I also accept redeem or corrupt characters since I think it's hard to think of a proper turncoat character.

As for me-
1- Steven Universe

Spoiler: I'm keeping this under spoiler for now

I admit I was at my ends wheather she would joined them or not given that Perdiot didn't eactly warm up to them per say especially the last episode before that one. Since they were orginally under a "truce", it wasn't like Peridot had fully surrender to them and give into their ways. This is due to how little she had learn of the Earth ways and culture or learning it in her own ways (seriously how can they not given her an encyclopedia by now?).
Needless to say I was thrill by that the above clip (and also Yellow Diamond angry face is a new meme!) eventhought I don't really understand why she betray her. Yes I get she was treated like shit from Yellow Diamond but was her "logic" really above hers? I'm guessing her "reason" had really become emotion seeing how she lie to Yellow by not mentioning Steven and the gems. I guess Steven time with her did rub off on her.
The way I see it, Peridot with her limb enhancer was the old villain character and once she was capture and release by Steven (without her limbs enhancers) that when she kinda got a clean slate.

2- Prince Zuko from Avatar: The Last Airbender
His alignment changing took most of the entire series. He started off as some form of an antagonist to chase the Avatar about due to his honour but that whole chase around the world did changed him for the better. Sure his betrayal to Iroh was such a backstab when he did started to change but it was needed for him to realise why he was banish in the first place when he was return to his father favour. Now he had become a greater man that he was at the start of the series.

3- Prince Vegeta from Dragonball Z
Ok he's not a proper turncoat per say, he's somewhat more of as neutural to put it. He started off as a villain, got his ass kick and became the third party during the Namek saga when they were after the dragonballs. Once that was settle, he leave Earth, came back and just hug around abit. It wasn;t like he suddently became good, he just tag along with the group and fought the tough new villains when he wanted too.
In saying so when he did came back to Earth, it didn't he started killing people left and right like he did in the Namek saga (he did killed a village full of the Namekian) even he could of have like e.g. Bulma.
Still at the Kid Buu Saga and Dragonball Super he has been oficialy declare "good" (that whole halo in Kid Buu and the "pure hearted" Saiyan in Super). It goes to shows, you can still be a tough badass and still be class a good.

Also runner up-
Knock Out from Transformers Prime- Well ok this turnout moment was kinda random (try to blend in with the Autobot when the Decepticon got their arse kicked and retreat and backstap Starscream in an attempt to escape if I remember it right) but he was the only Decepticon who actually shown an interest with Earth culture (loved their cars and mention he goes into drive in movies). I wouldn't say he's human friendly due to his unhumane experiement with that TECH leader and rough handlying with human hostage. I'm not too sure on his morality alignment as he was pretty much sided whoever he can benefitted the most (he did side with Starscream when the prospect of becoming his second in command).

Juvia and Gajeel from Fairy Tail. While Juvia backstories was kinda tragic and her reason to joined Fairy Tail was due to her infatuated toward Gery (seriously Grey, if you're not taking her than I will!), Gajeel was pretty much a sterotypical shonen move for having the badguy joining the goodguy like Piccalo from DBZ.

Viral from Gurren Lagaan. I always liked him when I first saw him. He had a cool design and motive (he was a loyal soldier and Karmina mocked him by taking his Gunmen helm). He wasn't exaclty pure evil, just loyal to the badguy since he had honour (wouldn't strike down Gurren Lagann when it was defenceless).

Spoiler: Red Vs Blue Chorus arc

Felix was such a huge suprised for me in the most unexpected way (yes I know he doesn't count as a turnout per say since he was a spy but still)! I just view him as the oppersite of Locus including the team sides! In saying so I even liked him even more as the villain due to his loud obnoxious monologing way. It was thanks to his loud mouth that was his side undoing (he really need to shut his traps).

 

[Barbas]

Lucifer. Lucifer gets a bad rap. You start ooooone little uprising against a supreme leader and suddenly you're the worst thing that ever existed. That's the way it goes when you lose, I guess.

 

[Silvanus]

2- Prince Zuko from Avatar: The Last Airbender
His alignment changing took most of the entire series. He started off as some form of an antagonist to chase the Avatar about due to his honour but that whole change around the world did changed him for the better. Sure her betrayal to Iroh was such a backstab when he did started to change but it was needed for him to realise why he was banish when he was return itno his father favour. Now he had become a great man that he was at the start of the series.

Well, that's a great choice, and would be one of mine. Zuko and Iroh were two of the strongest and most enjoyable characters to watch (in a series full of well-portrayed and well fleshed-out characters).

I would say... Theon "Turncloak" Greyjoy, of ASOIAF. Perhaps not my favourite character, but his storyline is one of the strongest and most emotional. It takes skill to make the reader pity somebody who had done such unforgivable things.

 

[Fappy]

Although we all saw it coming from a mile away: Satsuki Kiryuin from Kill la Kill. The moment of her betrayal is bad to the mother fucking bone.

Darth Vader is a good one too. As much as people like to shit on Episode VI for the Ewoks, the final scene between Luke and his father is the best part of the entire series imo. I get choked up when Vader is watching Luke suffer every time. The way he looks back and forth between Palpy and Luke, albeit kind of cheesy, was kind of perfect. We can't see him under the mask, but he conveys so much through those subtle movements.

 

[happyninja42]

I would agree with the above mentioned Zuko and Vader.

Another example would be Starkiller from The Force Unleashed. I really enjoyed his transition from attack dog, to self realized individual.

Gah, you would ask this now! As I recall a story, and it's been bouncing around my head for a week or so now. It was some fantasy story, and one of the characters was a mole for the badguy. And he was ordered to keep his cover no matter what. So, he started doing good things, because that was his cover. And he got into this one heated fight in a village, slaying the minions attacking, because his cover story would do that! And the genuine, heartfelt thanks the survivors gave him and the others, started his Heel/Face turn. Wish I could remember what story it was! Driving me nuts!

Nox from Mad Max: Fury Road. I thought he was a particularly tragic character, and I enjoyed his transition.

Can't think of any others right now, but I know they're out there.

 

[Silentpony_v1legacy]

Garviel Loken is pretty awesome.
Not sure if he's as awesome as Horus the Warmaster, but Loken has his appeal.

 

[The Wykydtron]

I can't think of a specific turncoat example, as luck would have it I don't think i've encountered much fiction with a proper one in. I mean betrayal sure but doesn't turncoat mean the guy has to really be working for the first side genuinely for a time before finding a reason to swap sides? Not just have a guy using the good side while being evil the whole time secretly? I can only think of characters who fit the second idea.

Eh I have an opportunity to talk about Hazama from BlazBlue, the man himself who is basically the Japanese take on the Joker, probably from the Calamity Trigger point in the timeline where he was half seriously trying to look like a proper captain of the NOL so it's a surprise when he goes evil (maybe, he's pretty shifty looking even before)

Once you hit Continuum Shift he's wearing his rank of captain kind of sarcastically since every one of the good guys know he's an evil bastard so even the guys who he outranks in the NOL are sceptical of/ignore his orders. Except Tsubaki but fuck Tsubaki. Self-righteous fuckgirl who is so bad her weapon becomes its own playable character in the next game. That's like if Noel's pistols just evolved into its own character because it got tired of her whining.

 

[WhiteFangofWhoa]

<-------- Predating Knockout. Also Black Arachnia. The one where they fight each other (that is, after BA defected to the Maximals and Dinobot was cloned back to life on the Pred side as a Borg-tastic Transmetal 2) was one of my favourite eps.

Another scene with BA I viewed with new eyes recently is when she downloads the access codes to the Ark to Optimus. Optimus has fought against BA for two seasons and knows that she manufactures new forms of malware and cyber-venom just as much as Tarantulas. Yet he accepts the download without knowing what it is. That's how much the team (or at least he and Silverbolt) has come to trust her as a comrade.

Just finished Legacy of the Void and have to admit a liking for Alarak. Like Vegeta, he'll stick to villainous methods to the end, even admiring other villain's machinations, but will still aid you just to avenge the betrayal of his faction of Protoss. By the end, Artanis has actually gained his respect.

 

[Neurotic Void Melody]

Me!! Ok no, i have a turncoat somewhere, but someone prettier than me would be a better display...er.
The Joker has a lovelly turncoat, how can you forget that??
Dante? I...think he had a red one, right? Quite snazzy if i must say so myself. The one i own is just predictable black, just like my predictable soul! Teehee! Oh wait, i misread the OP, so very tired...sorry! Ignore this pointless ramble about clothes! To add to the actual conversation, i would say Wheatly from portal 2. A magnificent turnaround there.

 

[TakerFoxx]

<-------- Predating Knockout. Also Black Arachnia. The one where they fight each other (that is, after BA defected to the Maximals and Dinobot was cloned back to life on the Pred side as a Borg-tastic Transmetal 2) was one of my favourite eps.

Seconding this. Dinobot will forever be one of my favorite characters in any story, ever.

Also, on the face->heel camp, David from Animorphs. A victimized kid in way over his head who was drafted into a war he wanted no part of? An irredeemable sociopath who got exactly what was coming to him? A combination of the two? Either way, his trilogy was one of the greatest highlights of an already great series.

 

[Candidus]

"Be doubly careful. I'm sure all manner of stupid mousetraps await our toes in the dark."
- Yoshimo, best turncoat 2000 - Present Day

 

[WhiteFangofWhoa]

Also, on the face->heel camp, David from Animorphs. A victimized kid in way over his head who was drafted into a war he wanted no part of? An irredeemable sociopath who got exactly what was coming to him? A combination of the two? Either way, his trilogy was one of the greatest highlights of an already great series.

Combination, definitely a combination and one of my favourites too. On one hand, he didn't ask to get dragged into the war or have his parents infested. On the other hand, he could have just said 'no way, I'm not doing this' and promised not to Morph. Cassie got away with doing that for a while. But no, his first instinct is to use the power to steal money.

Can't believe I forgot to bring up The Boss/The Joy from Metal Gear Solid 3. A true patriot to the end who chose to be reviled as a traitor for the sake of a peaceful world. Too bad other people screwed that up after. I'd say Ocelot too, but he was never on anyone's side but his own. His coat has turned so many times it's lost all its colour.

 

[Halla Burrica]

Griffith from Berserk is my favorite, simply because he does probably one of the most evil things I have ever seen done to anyone in a story, and still remains just a little bit relatable (a teensy tiny bit, but still).

 

[KyuubiNoKitsune-Hime]

Sergei Smirnov from Gundam 00. He doesn't get to do much after abandoning his role, but it's a pretty moving thing he does in aid to the resistance faction Katharon, and to save civilians.

Spoiler: Gundam 00 Season 2 Spoilers

Sergei acts as a loyal solider to the Human Reform League then later to the Earth Federation, but as he finds out about the atrocities committed by the A-LAWS he starts to falter. Finally he ends up rebelling and having to fight his own son, who eventually ends up killing Sergei by putting a beam saber through the cockpit of Sergei's Tieren. Andrei, Sergei's son had refused to listen to his fathers pleas and explanation, fueled by rage blaming his father for the death of his mother. Sergei manages to relay his regret for the way things played out, and for gives his son for his enraged actions. Then pulls the GN Beam saber away from his son's unit so that it's not destroyed when the Tieren explodes. Quite a moving scene.

 

[ravenlordhun]

#1 - Char Aznable is the TOP turncoat, no question! He had done such a glorious job of killing off the Zabis, muhahahah... revenge is a dish best served cold. And the best in all that is that he gives all of his victims the middle finger, yet no-one suspects him until the very last moment. A true magnificent bastard.

#2 - Douglas Quaid. He betrays practically everyone at some point, even himself included. I mean, it's a bit convoluted because of the whole memory-editing technology, but in the end he joined the resistance with the intent to betray them, only to actually turn on his "real" friends later on.

#3 - Suzaku from Code Geass. You know you're boned when he's on your side, for he will doubtlessly backstab you before long. But while most people hated his flip-flop tendency, I really enjoyed his crazy vendetta against Lelouch.

 

[KyuubiNoKitsune-Hime]

#1 - Char Aznable is the TOP turncoat, no question! He had done such a glorious job of killing off the Zabis, muhahahah... revenge is a dish best served cold. And the best in all that is that he gives all of his victims the middle finger, yet no-one suspects him until the very last moment. A true magnificent bastard.

Just a nit pick, but Char Aznable, aka ?douard Mass, aka Quattro Bajeena, aka Casaval Rem Deikun(real name) isn't really a turn coat. He actually supported the liberation and independence of The Zeonic Side 3 colonies. Rather consistently through out his exploits his motivation remains the same. To force people to move into space colonies and abandon the Earth so that the planet can return to it's natural state. This remains true even when he joins AEUG(Which later becomes the Londo Bell task force.) as Quattro Bajeena, because although AEUG is technically an arm of the Earth Federal Space Forces, they're attempting to protect the colonies from the oppressive grip of the Titans. Meaning that Char is still working to prevent Earth based domination of the space colonies. He never actually leaves his original cause. Even though he did orchestrate the deaths of most of the Zabi family. Dozle Zabi got killed through a mixture of his own stupidity, overestimation of the Big Zam, underestimation of the Gundam and good ole fashioned pride. Garma on the other hand got caught in the cross fire in the grand canyon and taken out because he foolishly made himself a target. Char actually like those to iirc.

 

[ravenlordhun]

#1 - Char Aznable is the TOP turncoat, no question! He had done such a glorious job of killing off the Zabis, muhahahah... revenge is a dish best served cold. And the best in all that is that he gives all of his victims the middle finger, yet no-one suspects him until the very last moment. A true magnificent bastard.

Just a nit pick, but Char Aznable, aka ?douard Mass, aka Quattro Bajeena, aka Casaval Rem Deikun(real name) isn't really a turn coat. He actually supported the liberation and independence of The Zeonic Side 3 colonies. Rather consistently through out his exploits his motivation remains the same. To force people to move into space colonies and abandon the Earth so that the planet can return to it's natural state. This remains true even when he joins AEUG(Which later becomes the Londo Bell task force.) as Quattro Bajeena, because although AEUG is technically an arm of the Earth Federal Space Forces, they're attempting to protect the colonies from the oppressive grip of the Titans. Meaning that Char is still working to prevent Earth based domination of the space colonies. He never actually leaves his original cause. Even though he did orchestrate the deaths of most of the Zabi family. Dozle Zabi got killed through a mixture of his own stupidity, overestimation of the Big Zam, underestimation of the Gundam and good ole fashioned pride. Garma on the other hand got caught in the cross fire in the grand canyon and taken out because he foolishly made himself a target. Char actually like those to iirc.

Well, in the original Gundam, Char first comes across as a fairly loyal subordinate who is resigned to serving Zeon as it was. It's only after the White Base descends to North America that Char realizes he could exploit the feddies to his gain, and starts his vendetta for good. I mean, he's absolutely non-traitorous until he stabs Garma in the back. He follows his orders and does his job to the best of his abilities. If it was for the initial Char, the Gundam would have been destroyed in space.

Your recollection on Garma's death is also a little off; Char deliberately put him in the cross fire, by giving him false reports on the White Base's whereabout. Char even gives him a last-second radio call to explain why he has to die ('You might've been my friend but you're still a Zabi') and to laugh. Also, Grand Canyon? The White Base was hiding in some ruined stadium, that's why Garma couldn't see him... did the Origin 'reboot' change this as well? And let's not forget that this was the second attempt; Char had already tried to get him killed before, by sabotaging the radio while Garma was leading a bombing run on the White Base.

 

[-Dragmire-]

Levin from Soul Nomad. I mean, he was never really a good guy but you didn't know that.

 

[KyuubiNoKitsune-Hime]

#1 - Char Aznable is the TOP turncoat, no question! He had done such a glorious job of killing off the Zabis, muhahahah... revenge is a dish best served cold. And the best in all that is that he gives all of his victims the middle finger, yet no-one suspects him until the very last moment. A true magnificent bastard.

Just a nit pick, but Char Aznable, aka ?douard Mass, aka Quattro Bajeena, aka Casaval Rem Deikun(real name) isn't really a turn coat. He actually supported the liberation and independence of The Zeonic Side 3 colonies. Rather consistently through out his exploits his motivation remains the same. To force people to move into space colonies and abandon the Earth so that the planet can return to it's natural state. This remains true even when he joins AEUG(Which later becomes the Londo Bell task force.) as Quattro Bajeena, because although AEUG is technically an arm of the Earth Federal Space Forces, they're attempting to protect the colonies from the oppressive grip of the Titans. Meaning that Char is still working to prevent Earth based domination of the space colonies. He never actually leaves his original cause. Even though he did orchestrate the deaths of most of the Zabi family. Dozle Zabi got killed through a mixture of his own stupidity, overestimation of the Big Zam, underestimation of the Gundam and good ole fashioned pride. Garma on the other hand got caught in the cross fire in the grand canyon and taken out because he foolishly made himself a target. Char actually like those to iirc.

Well, in the original Gundam, Char first comes across as a fairly loyal subordinate who is resigned to serving Zeon as it was. It's only after the White Base descends to North America that Char realizes he could exploit the feddies to his gain, and starts his vendetta for good. I mean, he's absolutely non-traitorous until he stabs Garma in the back. He follows his orders and does his job to the best of his abilities. If it was for the initial Char, the Gundam would have been destroyed in space.

Your recollection on Garma's death is also a little off; Char deliberately put him in the cross fire, by giving him false reports on the White Base's whereabout. Char even gives him a last-second radio call to explain why he has to die ('You might've been my friend but you're still a Zabi') and to laugh. Also, Grand Canyon? The White Base was hiding in some ruined stadium, that's why Garma couldn't see him... did the Origin 'reboot' change this as well? And let's not forget that this was the second attempt; Char had already tried to get him killed before, by sabotaging the radio while Garma was leading a bombing run on the White Base.

Well it has been a long time, so all of Mobile Suit Gundam blurs into a mess in my mind. Still it was the Zabis who killed Char's parents and got him and his sister separated and put into hiding. He never had any loyalty to the Zabi family, but saw them at least as a means to the end of his father's dream of independence for the colonies. Though Zeon Zum Deikun wanted to achieve this goal through peaceful means, Casaval/Char could only see a path to the same goal via violence. Which is why he attempted to drop an atomic bomb laden Axis on Earth, if he couldn't convince people to leave the Earth on their own, then he'd force them off, or wipe them all out in the process. Still Char's service to Zeon was out of loyalty to the people of Side 3, the colonies, and his father.

Edit: That is to say he was never loyal to the Zabi family, as soon as he amassed enough power he would have either killed them himself, or had others do it. Frankly Char influenced Neo Zeon during it's creation before Axis fled, near the end of the one Year War, for just that reason. So he could overthrow the Zabi family if they remained in power.