Heinz Doofenshmirtz vs Second Dimension Heinz Doofenshmirtz
Seriously. Heinz, mainverse Heinz, has so many tragic traumatic backstories, to the point of getting a whole clipshow episode about them. His parents didn’t show up to his birth, he was raised by ocelots, he was forced to work as a lawn gnome, the family pet was called Only Son, he had to wear hand-me-up girls dresses after his younger brother was born… and that’s just the start.
And he’s “Evil”. He is very much Theatre Evil, performing it (with scripted monologues and musical numbers and the expectation that his nemesis will thwart him), rather than acting on innate cruelty.
His daughter, in the season finale, actually told him he wasn’t Evil. She said, and I quote, “No, Dad. You’re basically a nice guy who’s pretending to be evil. And, you know, it seems like it’s all out of obligation to your backstories, not something that truly comes from your heart.”
(This is just headcanon but I see him as someone searching for acceptance and healing, the only way he knows how (ie Evil), who’s more interested in annoying people with petty “revenge” than in genuinely harming anyone. All he wants is the attention he’d been denied his whole life, and if he can’t have positive attention he’ll take whatever he can get.)
Meanwhile, Doof-2, from the Second Dimension… he has a “backstory”: He lost his toy train. That’s it.
To quote mainverse Heinz after that revelation: “That’s your emotionally scarring backstory? That’s your great tragedy?”
All that happened to him was losing his toy train, and now he’s a twisted and cruel man who commits “crimes against humanity” because he thinks it’s fun. He’s destroyed lives because it benefited him, without even an ounce of remorse.
Doof-2 is the epitome of “cruel because he never suffered”, in stark contrast to Heinz’s lashing out in pain because he doesn’t know how else to get the attention he’s so desperate for.
You can see this in how they treat their respective nemeses, too. Doof-2 turned his nemesis into a cyborg who can’t disobey orders, Heinz found a friend who’ll be there for him of his own free will.
All of which leads to Heinz being given the opportunity to learn and grow and heal, while Doof-2, who’ll never regret his actions, is rightfully imprisoned.
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