Whitewashing villains, part 1

Often times the villain is more interesting than the hero. Villains are driven in pursuit of ideals they're passionate about. The hero, on the other hand, is relegated to doing the right thing by stopping them.

Here are tales of villains written from the villain's point of view, where he or she is, of course, the hero. Pick one as the inspiration for an actual hero.

These are selected from the first page of Villain Whitewashing at TV Tropes. (There are 6 more pages!) Like the listings there, I've blocked out the names of the villains because the reveal can be surprising and fun! (Reveal them by highlighting.) Unfortunately, most are not from mainstream entertainment so you probably won't recognize most of them. But if one of them inspires you, that's a good thing! Your inspiration won't be blocked by ideas from the original story. (I've marked mainstream ✳️ and popular ✴️ sources.)

I'll release the ones I selected a few at a time over the next few days. There is also Paint the Hero Black if you want heroic inspiration for villains.

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✴️ A loyal, selfless, hardworking man who will do anything to assist his abusive master and get revenge on the man who injured him, even if it means sacrificing his own life. Legato Bluesummers from Trigun -- 2writeis2life
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She just wanted to be loved by the one person in the village who wouldn't pick on her for being strange or different. Megumi Shimizu from Shiki -- 2writeis2life
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✳️ She only ever loved two things: her pets and the man of her dreams. Catwoman, Batman -- Absynthe
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A wizard who fled civilization for the sake of forbidden love, and defied Death itself to guide the footsteps of his powerful young son. Ipslore the Red from Sourcery. -- Acacia
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This great knight was betrayed by his best friend simply for believing in a fair balance of power. He escaped the attack on his life to befriend a young boy and instruct him in the ways of knighthood. Together, the master knight decided, they would change things for the better and return a metaphysical balance to the many worlds. Master Xehanort, from Kingdom Hearts Birth by Sleep -- Agent S 7

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A man who wishes to avenge his best friend's death, while stopping a god-like being from destroying all of humankind. Richter Abend from Tales Of Symphonia Dawn of the New World. -- Airship Canon
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This former miner started a revolution against the corrupt, segregationist government and will sacrifice anything for the sake of peace throughout the galaxy, even his own home planet. Though he sometimes feel it necessary to be harsh, he has (apparently) endless forgiveness for his traitorous second-in-command. Megatron, G1/IDW comics -- akisawana
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Four Angels who have watched over humanity for ages, protecting us from harm, and only wish to prevent the destruction of our protection. The Peacemakers in Scrapped Princess. -- Airship Canon
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✳️ A heart-broken man who lost his family because of a corrupt warlord, and now dedicates his life to destroy all corrupt systems in the world. His only daughter does not see him as a father figure because of his failure to protect her (and her mother). His best student betrayed him and burnt down his home and people to ashes. He risked his life to destroy a city he deemed corrupt, only to be stopped, and indirectly killed, by his former student. Ra's al Ghul from Batman Begins. -- The Adept Rogue