The 'Defeat Means Friendship' Issue.
Its in anime, its in books, its in lots of places. At first glance, this trope doesn't seem that problematic-and its not, honestly. But it does bring up some questions that I've almost never really seen answered.
What if they lost to the villain? Would they switch sides again? Sure, maybe theres the whole 'they have friends' now, thing, but when has there actually been a character who works like that? WHat if you took 'might makes right' to the logical conclusion of "if I am beaten, I am wrong, and if I'm not, then I'm right?"
Usually, defeated villains don't do this. This is often because they're a hypocrite, and just happen to be the stronger one, and can't comprehend NOT being stronger, which is still very fun to watch/read. ButI think it'd be interesting to see a character who actually thinks that if they lose, they deserved it-they were weaker. Whoever wins is the one who's right, even if that isn't them, and if that person loses, they are no longer right.
I think I've only seen something like this once: in the comic 'Edison Rex.'
The basic plot of it is a parody of superheroes with the premise of "What if Lex Luthor actually got rid of superman by convincing him he WAS a threat, and then has to try to actually be a hero in his place?"
Its unfortunately cancelled, but it was good while it lasted. At any rate, the character I'm concerned with here is named M'Alizz.
An alien warrior from a planet that believes in strength and honor-and by that, I mean that they think if you beat someone in a fair fight, you can treat them like a slave and its fine. She lost to Edison, although he cheated with tech, and became his loyal servant afterwards, always saying people weren't worthy of him and he should just kill them. He handles her very carefully, and when one of his teammates betrays him and reveals to her that he cheated, M'Alizz turns on him instantly. This is more about honor than victory, but it was still very interesting, becasue while the character was fairly simple and one dimensional, the impact they had on the story was anything but.
TL;DR: I'm planning to write a character who actually believes in Might Makes Right, with everything that entails. Its gonna be fun.
