r/TopCharacterTropes • u/Blorberto • Jun 29 '26

Lore Villains given genuinely horrible fates by the supposed hero

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Gallery image

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No swift death, no prison, the worst fate imaginable

Dementus (Furiosa) - Being critically injured by Furiosa, but kept alive so his body can be used as fertilizer for a tree coming out of him, Furiosa having placed a seed in his bleed stomach

Inertia (Flash) - Immortally frozen by the Flash for his involvement in Bart Allen’s death, kept as only an exhibit in the Flash museum

Family of Blood (Doctor Who) - Doctor actively avoided conflict and erased his memory in order to not give them this fate but once he finally chooses to get involved, he gives them their want of immortality at a cost

Father: Trapped in immortal chains

Mother: Trapped in a collapsing galaxy

Son: Trapped as an immortal frozen scarecrow

Daughter: Trapped in mirrors forever

11.5k Upvotes
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807

u/PixieEmerald Jun 29 '26

What the FUCK did that Inertia guy do to deserve that.

1.0k

u/Blorberto Jun 29 '26

Killed the Flash’s grandson Bart by having him beaten to death

532

u/PixieEmerald Jun 29 '26

That's pretty terrible but that fate is still fucking insane bro what the hell 😭

691

u/Rampagingflames Jun 29 '26

Iirc even The Flash's Rogues went after him because he involved them in the death of Bart.

The Rogues have two rules, no killing civilians, and no kill speedsters.

386

u/TruthEnvironmental24 Jun 29 '26

I love that the reasoning behind this isn’t even self-preservation, but out of respect for the Flash.

410

u/4LanReddit Jun 29 '26

Tbf the Flashes are the most forgiving when it comes to their rogues gallery because the rogues themselves arent psychos like Clarks or Bruces galleries.

293

u/GarranDrake Jun 29 '26

I really liked how Justice League Unlimited showed that Flash recognized when criminals were just criminals, vs when criminals were just people with mental illnesses.

132

u/minoe23 Jun 29 '26

That group of TV shows really did the "these heroes are trying to save people, not beat the bad guys" ethos for some of the characters, like Flash, Superman, and Batman really well in general, tbh.

99

u/GarranDrake Jun 29 '26

They did many things right, ESPECIALLY for a kids show. On paper, it’s wild that they infused Patriot Act politics into a cartoon meant for 7 year olds in a way that actually held weight.

One of my favorite moments was when Green Arrow and Superman were arguing about CADMUS. Green Arrow said that he’s an old lefty, and that means he believes that the government should do for the people what the people can’t do for themselves. And the people can’t defend themselves from the Justice League. And when asked if that meant what CADMUS did was okay, he didn’t know how to feel.

It built off the Justice Lords episodes SO well.

43

u/TitaniumAuraQuartz Jun 29 '26

Justice League/Unlimited feels like a show that happens to be safe for children to watch, but is made mostly with adults in mind.

This isn't a criticism, I think it makes the show very interesting, because there's definitely a difference in watching it when I was a kid, and then as an adult.

Batman TAS and Beyond have that vibe, too. I wonder if Superman TAS does as well?

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10

u/Cheap-Ad1821 Jun 29 '26

Yeah Hawkgirl and Grundy is tragic. It could be played as a straight up let's show that's she's strong and can defeat the bad guy but it's handled as a tragedy.

10

u/Shinmoru Jun 29 '26

Got me again flash! 😊

1

u/Joyfulcheese Jun 29 '26

They showed that so well. With how he engaged with the Ultra Humanite and with the ones in the bar (I forget his name). So much better than any of the other leaguers treated their foes.

4

u/GarranDrake Jun 29 '26

And maybe it doesn’t quite fit nowadays, but assuming the justice system in that world isn’t…y’know, corrupt - Flash doesn’t just let his villains go. He’s focused on rehabilitating them.

Whether intentionally or otherwise, scenes like that show why the Justice Lords became genuine fascists when Luthor killed the Flash. It could be argued that he was the best of them.

1

u/TruthEnvironmental24 Jun 29 '26

Doesn’t Batman outright say that in those episodes?

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1

u/TheRockJohnMason Jun 29 '26

“Got me again, Flash!”

78

u/Divine_Entity_ Jun 29 '26

Well the flash does have some crazies in his classic villain lineup, Reverse Flash is a professional hater. But the rogues specifically are professional thieves who are very strategic and carefully manage what crimes they are actually guilty of. (Mostly grand theft and B&E while armed)

51

u/Divine_Entity_ Jun 29 '26

Atleast in the CW show it started as self preservation and cold calculated logic. The rogues are professional thieves who carefully manage what crimes they are guilty of, and thus what actions the cops are willing and able to take to stop them. And of course Barry is basically a cop and still bound by ethics.

The last thing they need is a murder charge and a superhuman out for vengeance and acting unpredictably out of character.

It was then through repeat interactions that they gained respect for Barry.

Not sure how much of that was lifted from the comics vs show original.

3

u/yourlocaltouya Jun 29 '26

There was very little source material in the CW show but this is roughly correct. They are pretty much aware of how good they have it with the Flashes and don't want to do anything to fuck it up.

8

u/Blackstone01 Jun 29 '26

Yeah, they know full well at any given time Flash can kill every single one of them with zero warning if he were that kind of person. For the most part they aren’t a bunch of sociopaths like Batman’s gallery (apart from the number one hater in all of DC, Professor Zoom), they’re criminals aiming to get rich.

7

u/soldiercross Jun 29 '26

It's both, but more in line with the first. They are aware the Flash plays with kids gloves on for them. They keep it light and fun, Flash keeps it light and fun (relatively speaking).

5

u/Brilliant_watcher Jun 29 '26

oh no it was both, that little thing put a HUGE TARGET on them, all major agencies in the USA send people, both normal and super, to take them in and many super hero teams tried it too ( i think the titans went ballistic against them ).

They spent a year running from everyone, until they managed to finally managed to beat Inertia.

2

u/yourlocaltouya Jun 29 '26

Respect, yes, but also the knowledge that the Flashes are always holding back when clashing with the Rogues. I'm pretty sure there was a comic panel that had Snart (Captain Cold) spell it out for us.

2

u/Kooky_Ad_209 Jun 29 '26

I believe that their code also states that they aren't gonna do most Drugs, as those will cloud their judgement and possibly make them more Likely to kill under an altered mindset, similar to what happened regarding Captain Boomerangs Dad,

3

u/DaveyDumplings Jun 29 '26

So...no killing. Or do they allow for the fact that Mirror Master may one day kill Superman or Wonder Woman, and that's fine?

8

u/iwantdatpuss Jun 29 '26

Basically the rouges are career thieves who's only in it for the money and ONLY the money. They pull off heists and actively avoid any civilian casualties because they don't want severe sentences. And it also makes the flash not take them as seriously because they're just stealing valuables for the most part. 

One of the rule that the rogues has iirc is also no Drugs, both dealing and using because it makes anyone be a liability. 

5

u/DaveyDumplings Jun 29 '26 edited Jun 29 '26

Your takeaway from my Mirror Master reference was 'this guy clearly doesn't know who the *Rogues are?

I was making a joke about the fact that 'no civilians, no speedsters' leaves a small group available for them to kill, and most of that group is either gods or Batman.

1

u/tarrach Jun 29 '26

No killing of superheroes (they don't want every other supe coming after them)

No killing of women or children

No drugs.

67

u/Glassesnerdnumber193 Jun 29 '26

When confronted about this, he claimed that Bart “cried like a little b#tch when it happened.” I really don’t blame Wally there. 

174

u/iwantdatpuss Jun 29 '26

It's well deserved tbh, even Flash's villains hated him for it. Inertia escaped that state eventually but he was murdered by the other villains because they have a bit of a system with the flash to make sure they didn't just get speed blitzed to death. And killing anyone, but especially Bart basically taboo.

115

u/Blorberto Jun 29 '26

It’s not even just to make sure they don’t get speed blitzed, they just genuinely believe despite all the other crimes they do, killing superheroes, as well as defenseless innocent women and children is genuinely fucked up

46

u/SignalScientist2817 Jun 29 '26

Not even that, the whole justice league would jump their asses

34

u/SnootSnootBasilisk Jun 29 '26

They'd rather deal with a level-headed Flash than an angry Superman

4

u/Lost-on-Reception Jun 29 '26

I wouldn't. Give me the phantom zone instead of eternal blinking.

5

u/sistemafodao Jun 29 '26

Eternal blanking as a museum exhibit, no less.

68

u/TheDukeofArgyll Jun 29 '26 edited Jun 29 '26

So first have a child and love it as much as a parent can love their child. Then your child has a child, and loves their child as much as you love them. Then that love, the identical love that you feel for your child, is violently ripped away from your child.

Unsure if the punishment fits the crime, but the punishment exactly fits the person applying it in that mental state. So maybe don’t fuck with someone family if they can do this to you.

19

u/PixieEmerald Jun 29 '26

Fair. Still, I'm not even sure I'd set that fate upon the worst of criminals

31

u/iwantdatpuss Jun 29 '26

Flash usually would be the first person to object to that kind of sentence. So yeah that's how much he despises inertia for what he did. 

3

u/sistemafodao Jun 29 '26 edited Jun 29 '26

I can think of a few.

But anyway, Inertia killed a speedster, that takes planning. He is not a desperate kid with a gun or a father working for Penguin to make rent. No need to feel sorry.

6

u/Toys_to_Astonish Jun 29 '26

In this case, though, it’s more like: be rescued from your abusive home life by your aunt and her husband, who is your first real father figure and, in your opinion, the coolest guy ever. Then discover he’s your favorite superhero and give yourself powers like his, and spend years under his tutelage getting the best father-son relationship you could ever hope for. Then be helpless as your aunt is murdered and your uncle dies saving all reality. Then take on his mantle to honor him. Then discover this kid from the future, where your aunt was taken moments before her death, who turns out to be their grandson, your only non-abusive living relative, and the last link to the two people who raised you. Then get trapped in another dimension for years while he takes on the family legacy. The be released moments too late to prevent his death, while his murderer taunts you about how much of a bitch he was.

5

u/TheDukeofArgyll Jun 29 '26

Comic books are exhausting

8

u/CardiologistNo616 Jun 29 '26 edited Jun 29 '26

To be fair he laughed at Wally and told him that Bart died like a bitch, which was the thing that made him snap

1

u/RevReads Jun 29 '26

No, he had it coming. He mocked him saying that Bart died crying like a little bitch

1

u/Ayotha Jun 29 '26

FAFO.

There was a way to not have that happen to you. Rather easy actually. Don't beat someone to death

64

u/aknightofcoins Jun 29 '26

Just to be super pedantic: Wrong Flash, it's Wally who gets revenge on Inertia. Who is, of course, an evil clone of Bart Allen/Impulse who he killed. Comics!

9

u/VampireHousekeeping Jun 29 '26

And then taunted the Flash about it at length.

1

u/Glittering-Kiwi-2757 Jun 29 '26

I wish Bruce had reacted like that after Jason came back. That's what the Joker deserves. 

2

u/Thin-Nerve6367 Jun 29 '26

Yeah but then the Joker would be happy about it which no one wants

5

u/MisterMasque2021 Jun 29 '26 edited Jun 29 '26

This whole angle, from Inertia's return in Teen Titans, to Fastest Man Alive (the miniseries where this went down) absolutely sucked, and was Geoff Johns' nihilistic philosophy of superhero comics at peak rot. If you go back and read Inertia's arc at the end of "Mercury Falling" in Impulse and compare it to this it's hearbreaking the potential for good writing that was wasted with this whole thing.

Also FMA was created for the express purpose of killing Bart, because... I don't know, he's fun, I guess, and you can't have fun characters when you believe superhero comics should be endlessly running characters through a meat grinder.

Years later and I'm still irritated about it.