The Turncoat Tournament

The Turncoat Tournament for best character who changes sides! Formerly the Best New MC Tournament (Winner: Palamedes Sextus from The Locked Tomb)

[theturncoattournament]

Do you love a character with a good redemption arc? Or a corruption arc? Or even just seeing the kind of storylines that emerge from a character who was formerly aligned with an enemy side decide to join a different one?

Then welcome to...

The Turncoat Tournament!

This is a tournament for characters who have changed sides at some point in the story. It can be from good to bad, bad to good, or from one morally ambiguous side to a different morally ambiguous side, as long as the change in allegiance is still clear. Characters can change sides multiple times, and ultimately end up returning to their original side, and still qualify for the tournament!

Due to the subject of the tournament itself being inherently spoiler-y, I will by default not be tagging posts with spoiler warnings. However, below I do have a list of all the pieces of media that have characters in the tournament; if you see something on this list that you do want spoiler tagged, please let me know, and I’ll start tagging it with spoiler warnings!

Media list:

(Arranged in alphabetical order)

2001: A Space Odyssey/2010: The Year We Made Contact

Ace Attorney/The Great Ace Attorney

Animation vs Minecraft

Arthurian legend 

Avatar: The Last Airbender

Bamse - Världens starkaste björn

Bones

Buffy the Vampire Slayer

Bungo Stray Dogs

Centaurworld

Chess The Musical 

The Chronicles of Narnia

Code Geass

Critical Role (Campaign 2) 

Cult of the Lamb

DC Comics (Batfamily, Flash characters, Shazam family)

Devil May Cry

Doctor Who

Dog Man

Dragon Age: Inquisition 

Dragon Ball Z

The Evillious Chronicles 

Fable III

Fairy Tail

Fake Princess

Farscape

Final Fantasy XIV

Game of Thrones

Genshin Impact

The Good Place

Gravity Falls

The Grinch Who Stole Christmas

Hannibal

The Hunger Games

I Expect You to Die 3

The Incredibles 

Just Dance

Kingdom Hearts

Kinnporsche 

Kipo and the Age of Wonderbeasts 

Kirby series

The Legend of Zelda: Four Swords manga

The Librarians

The Locked Tomb

Machineries of Empire

Maleficent

Marvel Cinematic Universe

Marvel Comics (X-Men, Avengers) 

Megamind

Merlin

Mistborn

My Little Pony: Equestria Girls

Nan Quest

Once Upon A Time

One Piece

The Owl House

Pandora Hearts

Paper Mario: The Thousand Year Door

Percy Jackson and the Olympians

Person of Interest 

The Pirates of Penzance

Pirates of the Caribbean 

Portal 2

Power Rangers: Dino Fury

Pretty Cure (Fresh Precure, Kira Kira Precure a la Mode, Suite Precure, Hugtto Precure)

Provost’s Dog

Princess Tutu

Raya and the Last Dragon

RWBY

She-Ra and the Princesses of Power

Smallville

Sonic the Hedgehog OVA 

Soul Eater

Soul series (Soul Calibur/Edge) 

Star Trek: Deep Space Nine

Star Wars (Prequels, Original trilogy, Rebels, Clone Wars, Knights of the Old Republic) 

Steven Universe

The Stormlight Archive

Sunless Sea

Tangled: The Series

Teen Titans (2003 series) 

Teen Wolf

Terminator films 

Transformers

Tron Legacy

Vorkosigan Saga

Warrior Cats

Wings of Fire

Wolf 359

Worm

Young Justice

Yu Yu Hakusho

[theturncoattournament]

just a heads up for everyone since r3 is ending today, I have a kind of insane stretch coming up at work so the gap between this round and next will probably be longer than between the previous rounds. I’m hoping I’ll have time to set up r4 polls by next weekend at the latest, but it may be early into the following week instead

[theturncoattournament]

I think some people are taking the 'turncoat' in the title of this tournament a little *too* seriously. I've seen so many comments to the tune of "this character only changes side once!" but this tournament isn't only for people who change sides like they change underwear.

It is true that the premise of the tournament is meant to be more “best turncoat character” than “most turncoat character”, which could be someone who changes sides a bunch or someone who only does so once. Or really, it doesn’t even have to be a super formal side change as long as the character has some kind of clear redemption/corruption arc- I tried bolding the “and/or” in the little blurb on top of polls to emphasize this. And honestly, I’ll admit I went with “turncoat” as the descriptor over just like, “side changing tournament” mostly because of the alliteration lol.

[theturncoattournament]

u rooting for any underdogs

Sure! There's definitely some characters I'd love to see do well where I also know even if they win their matches this round they aren't all that likely to make it to quarterfinals

[theturncoattournament]

Are you rooting for anyone in particular? And who do you think will actually win?

There's definitely a lot of characters in the tournament I really like and hope do well, and I do have one or two I'm particularly hoping will win, but I don't know if I want to say yet partially because I don't want to like accidentally bias any voting and also because I don't want to jinx them lol.

But in terms of who I think right now is most likely to win, I don't think it's giving too much away to say the most obvious probable frontrunner is Zuko, since I'm guessing that's probably what most people would assume, anyway. He was the most submitted character, though there were actually two others who were close behind. Even so, anything can happen! There's already been characters who were knocked out, some right away in round 1 even, who I thought were likely to make it to quarterfinals, so I think there's always a chance for more surprises. We'll just have to see!

[theturncoattournament]

Just wanted to quickly say while I have no problem with people commenting or reblogging with anti propaganda about why they don’t like a particular character or their arc, please keep it to being about the characters/storylines/writing themselves and not have it cross over to being about people who may be voting for and like said character instead.

[theturncoattournament]

Who is the best turncoat character? (Round 3)

A tournament for characters who change allegiances and/or have a redemption or corruption arc during their stories

Vegeta (Dragon Ball Z) vs Megamind (Megamind)

Vegeta

Megamind

Voting ended onSep 4, 2024

PROPAGANDA:

Vegeta- None submitted

Megamind- I don't really know. The film is all about how "good" and "bad" aren't labels that can't fully encompass a single person, but some might say he self-identifies as evil (or "bad guy" as he puts it) at the beginning but in the end he emerges as a better person. I'd put it that way even if some people might argue he always had that potential of being a "good" guy in him all along, circumstances weren't really good for him.

[theturncoattournament]

Who is the best turncoat character? (Round 3)

A tournament for characters who change allegiances and/or have a redemption or corruption arc during their stories

Root (Person of Interest) vs Warren Kepler (Wolf 359)

Root

Warren Kepler

Voting ended onSep 3, 2024

PROPAGANDA:

Root- Root has unbelievable nuance as a character; she's on the Machine's side no matter what, and what that means is....malleable

Warren Kepler- Where do I even start? In a show where villains would regularly switch sides like clownfish once a new big bad was introduced, Kepler stuck to his guns 'til the end. Yet, when faced with the true bigger picture and its implications, he decided to abandon his superiors! Even as it spelled certain death for him! My man really decided to screw over Cutters' and Pryce's plan, yet did it at a moment no one but his worst enemy would know of his changed allegiance. Kepler lost everything in the name of the bigger picture he thought he was working towards, but he was willing to change at the moment it mattered the most. Your honour I love him, he is such a bastard.

[theturncoattournament]

Who is the best turncoat character? (Round 3)

A tournament for characters who change allegiances and/or have a redemption or corruption arc during their stories

Catra (She Ra and the Princesses of Power) vs Vargen (Bamse - Världens starkaste björn)

Catra

Vargen

Voting ended onSep 3, 2024

PROPAGANDA:

Catra- None submitted

Vargen- He starts out as the most villainous character in the comic. Has a diploma where he even is declared World Master of Evil. After Vargen tries to sabotage the stable the hero is building the hero decides to invite him to help, this is where his arc begins. In the end he becomes one of the hero’s closest friends despite a couple of relapses. Now he sometimes babysits, waters flowers and is a helpful part of the community. Look at him, he’s just a little void boy. Best boy even.

Vargen used to be known as Olympic master of Evil. He was the boldest of all the local criminals and always involved in the big things. An unofficial leader in the club the criminals had. Sometimes he uses his old skills to help others: the boy who wouldn’t be able to get a Christmas present because his parents didn’t have money and the stores were closed anyway? Vargen breaks into the toy store and leaves money and note so he can get a train toy. Vargen got separation anxiety too. This leads to a few relapses when he feels forgotten. However in the end he has left his criminal past behind him.

[theturncoattournament]

Who is the best turncoat character? (Round 3)

A tournament for characters who change allegiances and/or have a redemption or corruption arc during their stories

Entrapta (She Ra and the Princesses of Power) vs Nico Robin (One Piece)

Entrapta

Nico Robin

Voting ended onSep 3, 2024

PROPAGANDA:

Entrapta- She just wanted to build stuff! And her friends abandoned her!

Nico Robin- She was an enemy of the Strawhats, betrayed her boss, joined the strawhats, betrayed the strawhats and possibly assassinated a mayor then rejoined the strawhats

she has never fit in and after her home was destroyed by the government quickly learned to not trust anyone. She moved from place to place and organization to organization looking for answers to what the government was hiding. We meet her as the top female member of Baroque Works, the main antagonists for the Alabasta arc. She is representative to their leader and serves in this role until the organization is defeated and then finds herself jumping crews to the Strawhats where she has been a very dedicated member of the crew, even going back after the skip spent with the RA.

[theturncoattournament]

Who is the best turncoat character? (Round 3)

A tournament for characters who change allegiances and/or have a redemption or corruption arc during their stories

Miles Edgeworth (Ace Attorney) vs Two-Face/Harvey Dent (DC Comics)

Miles Edgeworth

Two-Face

Voting ended onSep 3, 2024

PROPAGANDA:

Miles Edgeworth- When Miles was first introduced in the games, he was a ruthless prosecutor who cared more about his winning streak then the people he puts in jail. As the series progresses, he begins to truly care about justice instead of just a verdict. He goes from just an antagonist to a multi-faceted character who does his job well not for the sake of it, but for a cause he now truly believe in.

Harvey Dent/Two-Face- None submitted

[theturncoattournament]

Who is the best turncoat character? (Round 3)

A tournament for characters who change allegiances and/or have a redemption or corruption arc during their stories

HAL 9000 (2001/2010) vs Anakin Skywalker/Darth Vader (Star Wars)

HAL 9000

Anakin Skywalker

Voting ended onSep 3, 2024

PROPAGANDA:

Hal 9000- He had secret orders which pitted him against Dave and Frank, in the sequel, once the orders are removed he teamed up with the crew and even sacrificed himself to save them, he also merged with Dave and saved the planet

Anakin Skywalker- What are the first 6 movies if not Anakin's side hopping journey?

The Chosen One, going from a shining beacon of light to the crushing right hand of darkness. His devotion to his people led to him joining the dark side and slaughtering thousands. The light's best ally to one of their worst enemies.

[theturncoattournament]

Who is the best turncoat character? (Round 3)

A tournament for characters who change allegiances and/or have a redemption or corruption arc during their stories

Michael (The Good Place) vs Riliane Lucifen d'Autriche (The Evillious Chronicles)

Michael

Riliane

Voting ended onSep 3, 2024

PROPAGANDA:

Michael- Michael's reveal at the end of s1 was shocking! Yet totally makes sense in retrospect. (Good on Eleanor for picking up on the foreshadowing.) But it is really telling how his experiment makes him start questioning everything he believes and eventually leading to a complete revolution of the afterlife! He went from loving the torture of humans to saving (some of) them from such existence. -- He's a demon who learned to be better! And became human through his connections with other people! Michael represents a lot of what the Good Place wanted to say about personhood.

Riliane- None submitted

[theturncoattournament]

Who is the best turncoat character? (Round 3)

A tournament for characters who change allegiances and/or have a redemption or corruption arc during their stories

Theon Greyjoy (Game of Thrones) vs Prince Zuko (Avatar The Last Airbender)

Theon Greyjoy

Zuko

Voting ended onSep 3, 2024

PROPAGANDA:

Theon- Theon Greyjoy- Child lives ten years of his life with his blood family and then becomes a hostage and spends ten more years growing up with his captor's family. He wants to be loved he wants to be praised he wants to belong SOMEWHERE... he's kind of an ass. Ends up betraying his friend/"foster brother" Robb because he went back to his birth family and they mocked him for integrating himself with his captors. Steals Robb's castle... and then things just get more fucked up than he meant them to. Theon's conflict of being a "Greyjoy" who grew up "Stark" and his descent to rock bottom in the second book is only made more compelling when we pick back up with him in book 5, where he's gone through horrors beyond our imagination and crawls his way back up. He's also literally called "Theon Turncloak" by the side he betrayed, and one of his POV chapters is titled as such.

Zuko- Zuko's redemption arc is the peak redemption arc that all redemption arcs are compared to

-*slaps prince of the fire nation* this guy can fit so much trauma in him -one of the best redemption arcs of all time -this dude spent the better part of 3 seasons flip-flopping between good and evil -can be so funny in the driest way possible lol -had to fight his own sister, who is insane

he literally has the best redemption arc ever written

Zuko spends like the entirety of season 2 slowly realizing that the Fire Nation were the Bad Guys™, had a whole moral crisis towards the end of the season, ended up choosing to side with his sister so he could go back home even though he knew it was the wrong moral choice, spent the first half of season 3 angsting over having made the wrong choice, then finally joins the good guys for good halfway through the season

[theturncoattournament]

Who is the best turncoat character? (Round 3)

A tournament for characters who change allegiances and/or have a redemption or corruption arc during their stories

Rue/Princess Kraehe (Princess Tutu) vs Luke Castellan (Percy Jackson and the Olympians)

Rue

Luke Castellan

Voting ended onSep 3, 2024

PROPAGANDA:

Rue- None submitted

Luke Castellan- ***SPOILERS FOR THOSE WHO HAVENT GOTTEN THROUGH THE SERIES*** look this kid. he has had a rough time of it. he probably had a great few years early in life but his mother ....got sick and caused him to be on the street/run at a young age. When he finally gets to camp he does try to play by the rules but after his failed quest turns bitter. this bitterness allows the Titan to easily manipulate him into starting a war against the gods for their unjust/unfair system. However, it is right there at the end when he realizes exactly what his choices are leading to and exactly what role he is playing that he once more changes his loyalties. and for the only person who really matters in the end.

Luke started as the camp councler for the Hermes Cabin, a hero who felt neglected by the gods, particularly his father Hermes, and betrayed the Camp and the Gods to join Kronos. At the very end, he sacrificed his own life to stop Kronos when we realize what he'd done.

[theturncoattournament]

Who is the best turncoat character? (Round 3)

A tournament for characters who change allegiances and/or have a redemption or corruption arc during their stories

Essek Thelyss (Critical Role) vs Varian (Tangled: The Series)

Essek Thelyss

Varian

Voting ended onSep 3, 2024

PROPAGANDA:

Essek Thelyss- Originally written to be a Big Boss villain of the campaign, the genuine friendship offered by the player characters and their efforts to stop the war he helped cause ate away at his selfishness until he turned on his co-conspirators. He accepted a life of exile and ended up in a relationship with the morally-gray wizard he was originally meant to be a narrative contrast to.

Varian- Varian- Varian starts off as a friendly but slightly unhinged inventor. He becomes more unhinged through the first season, and is one of the main villains through S2 as his inventions terrorize Rapunzel's kingdom. But at last he sees the light (see what I did there?) teaming up with Rapunzel and Eugene again in S3.

[theturncoattournament]

Who is the best turncoat character? (Round 3)

A tournament for characters who change allegiances and/or have a redemption or corruption arc during their stories

Faith Lehane (Buffy the Vampire Slayer) vs Peridot (Steven Universe)

Faith

Peridot

Voting ended onSep 3, 2024

PROPAGANDA:

Faith Lehane- She wanted to do good but then she made one mistake and everyone turned on her (granted she killed someone, but it was an accident!) and the villain was a very nice (if very evil) father figure, so really who can blame her?

Peridot- aaaaaaaa I love Peridot's redemption arc so much!!!!!! she really grows so much over the course of season 2! I'm so proud of her!