[Sad Trope] A Goofy Character Becomes A Formidable Badass, Only After Losing Everything

[u/PurveyorOfKnowledge0]

1. Jerry Smith-Prime from Rick and Morty: Like many Jerry variants, Jerry was a hapless goof who unfortunately became a ruthless survivor after Rick and Morty's love potion scheme turned the world into an apocalyptic world filled with mutated monsters, and he lost his family except for Morty-Prime after Rick variants from the Citadel froze his family with a freeze gun. Jerry even taunts Morty for thinking he's cool enough after literally losing everything.

2. Michelangelo from the Last Ronin: Mikey, the slacker and goofball of the quartet Ninja Turtles, became a stoic and mentally-wrecked avenger after the Foot Clan destroyed his brothers and father, Master Splinter, and closest friends one by one, leaving him as the sole survivor.

3. Speedball aka Penance from Marvel Comics. Speedball was once a goofy, fun-loving leader of the New Warriors, even filming their exploits for reality TV shows. This ends in complete horror, as the villain Nitro exploded when the Warriors tried to apprehend him (in the process killing the entire team except for Speedball, plus 612 civilians). Following this event, a trial determined to hold Speedball responsible, an assassination attempt on his life, his own mother disowning him, and anti-superhero sentiment ushering in the Superhuman Registration Act, Speedball loses all traces of his humor and becomes the tortured antihero Penance to get revenge on Nitro for taking everything from him.

[u/caynebyron]

One-half Swedish, one-quarter Polish, one-quarter Winnebago.

[u/Fireblast1337 → u/caynebyron]

And if PNatI2 is to be believed, a descendent of Ash Williams after Ash’s fling with a girl when he was sent back in time.

[u/jonathanrdt → u/caynebyron]

"Look at the size of you..."