10 Fictional Kings Who Go from Good to Bad

It’s always sad when heroes fall from the light. They often start with the best intentions, but in trying to act on them, they clash with the world at large. That clash mires their journey in hardship. The heroes grow to resent their circumstances, turning to extreme measures to right those wrongs. This fate can befall even the noblest of souls. That said, one group seems more susceptible than most.

Writers often portray kings going bad. These characters go through the same descent but on a grander scale. They begin as benevolent rulers who want to protect their people. They may even have some revolutionary policy to propel their realms to greatness. Ultimately, though, their ambitions and personal grudges get the better of them. Abusing their authority to target their enemies, these misguided monarchs run their realms into the ground. Power can corrupt the best of men.

Related: 10 Scurrilous Royals and Nobles Who Were Involved in Juicy Scandals

10 Thorin Oakenshield

Dwarves in Middle-earth have a natural love of gold, but Thorin Oakenshield takes it to the extreme. The Hobbit revolves around his quest to reclaim his kingdom of Erebor, which was seized by the dragon Smaug. Thankfully, the heroes cleverly get rid of the creature and restore Thorin’s kingship. The stage seems set for him to return Erebor to its former glory, but fortune gets the better of him.

Thorin begins hoarding his innumerable wealth. The Men of Lake-town and the Elves of Mirkwood plead with him to help repair the dragon’s damage, but he flatly refuses. Any attempt to change his mind meets with anger and violence. The Dwarf is even willing to go to war to defend his booty. He only redeems himself by aiding these broken people against the greater threat of the Orcs. As Oakenshield lays dying, he admits the folly of his greed to his Hobbit friend. Home is far more valuable than gold.

In Peter Jackson’s film trilogy, this obsession is amplified into “dragon sickness,” a cinematic metaphor for greed’s corrupting influence.^[1]

9 Macbeth

Prophecies rarely end well in fiction. William Shakespeare’s Macbeth receives one such premonition from three witches. The troublesome trio tells the Scottish warrior that he’ll one day claim his country’s crown. He has no such aspirations until his conniving wife spurs him to seize his destiny. This pressure prompts Macbeth to kill the current king and usurp the throne. The power play fills him with guilt. He’s determined to turn things around, but it’s not to be.

Macbeth grows increasingly unstable. He knows that he doesn’t deserve his kingship, and that knowledge makes him believe that everyone’s out to take it. The ruler begins executing people for the simplest of suspicions. In the process, he turns into a prototypical tyrant. This downward spiral ends with both him and his wife dying in a brutal battle. What else could you expect from a Shakespearean tragedy?

Ironically, Macbeth is infamous among actors for the so-called “Scottish Play” curse—many theater troupes avoid even saying its title aloud backstage.^[2]

8 Harold

Meeting your girlfriend’s parents is always awkward, especially if they’re royalty. King Harold is the prim and proper ruler of Far, Far Away. Shrek 2 opens with him inviting his daughter and son-in-law to a royal ball, but his excitement evaporates once he sees that Shrek is an ogre. Unable to accept a monster into his family, he puts a hit on the husband. This act seems petty, but it’s actually a projection.

Harold is secretly the Frog Prince. Cursed to live as an amphibian, he only becomes a human through fairy magic and true love. It’s easy to imagine such an experience making him self-conscious. When a similar curse renders his daughter an ogre, he naturally takes drastic measures to ensure a handsome prince changes her back. Shrek is a huge slap in the face to that plan. Of course, once Harold witnesses how much the newlyweds love each other, he sees the error of his ways. He even sacrifices his human form to save them. Harold is a better man as a frog.

Actor John Cleese’s dry, royal tone turned Harold into one of the franchise’s most beloved side characters.^[3]

7 Aerys II Targaryen

Despite how long they rule the Game of Thrones world, the Targaryens have a questionable record of kingship. The worst example is Aerys II Targaryen. He begins his tenure easily enough—throwing lively parties, traveling the realm, and treating his subjects with respect. That upbeat attitude paves the way for a lucrative kingdom. The good times don’t last forever, though.

A wave of misfortune soon plagues Aerys. His family suffers several losses due to miscarriages, stillbirths, and deaths. These tough breaks aggravate the king’s existing mood swings, making him suspicious of every situation. The problem worsens once he’s taken captive by rebels. After his rescue, the king lets no one near him. He sees everyone as an enemy, leading to countless executions in dozens of forms. Burning people alive becomes a particular favorite. This unchecked sadism earns Aerys the moniker of “The Mad King,” and it’s this image that inspires his own bodyguard to kill him.

In HBO’s House of the Dragon, his paranoia serves as a cautionary echo for future Targaryen rulers, reminding fans that madness runs deep in that bloodline.^[4]

6 Arthas Menethil

The Warcraft universe is full of evil to fight. Standing against that evil is Arthas Menethil. The prince of Lordaeron trains as a knight to defend the kingdom against the Lich King’s monstrous legions. His zeal for safeguarding the Light becomes an inspiration for all, but that enthusiasm is a double-edged sword.

Arthas resorts to increasingly drastic measures to wipe out the Scourge. He slaughters an entire city infected with the mystical plague, driving his allies away in the process. Afterward, his desperation prompts him to wield a cursed sword. Although this artifact grants him the power he seeks, it perverts him into the Lich King’s servant. His new master then orders him to attack his own kingdom and kill his father. These actions let Arthas assume the Lich King’s mantle, unleashing hellish armies from his icy throne. Fortunately, a fresh batch of heroes vanquishes the fallen paladin and frees his soul from being exploited in the afterlife. At long last, the misguided defender can rest in peace.

Blizzard writers have cited Anakin Skywalker’s fall in Star Wars as inspiration for Arthas’s tragic corruption arc.^[5]

5 Zeus

The king of Olympus has countless depictions, but few are more twisted than God of War. In its reimagined version of Greek mythology, the game series sees Zeus rescue his fellow gods from their titan father, Cronos, who consumes them out of fear they’ll overthrow him. This fear inadvertently becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy, as the gods do defeat the titans. Leading the charge is Zeus, who ushers in an era of prosperity. Sure, he may show favoritism to some parties, but he seems to prioritize fairness overall. That policy changes once Kratos kills Ares.

The vengeful Spartan opens Pandora’s Box, gaining the power to vanquish the God of War. Though technically sanctioning this mission, Zeus doesn’t count on the world’s evils—contained in the Box—to envelop him afterward. This event turns him into the paranoid tyrant that he had previously fought against. Not only does he punish his family for the slightest error, but he tries to kill Kratos to prevent him from killing the other gods, Zeus included. Once again, this preemptive attempt ends in disaster, as the Spartan burns Olympus to the ground. The cycle continues.

By God of War III, Kratos and Zeus complete a father-son tragedy that mirrors the classic Greek theme of sons overthrowing their fathers.^[6]

4 Radovid V

Few monarchs in The Witcher are totally good, but Radovid V gives them all a run for their money. Starting as a preteen prince of Redania, he becomes the next king after his father’s assassination. Sadly, the true power comes from the high-ranking officials who steer the realm through the ensuing war. Radovid remains lost in the shuffle, disillusioned with how the upper class overlooks his parents’ contributions. He therefore vows to make his mark in history. For better or worse, he does.

The Witcher games show Radovid mature into an unhinged madman. He initially seems to be a powerful ruler to rally behind. By carefully choosing his allies, he rebuilds Redania into a mighty kingdom. In fact, it’s the only one strong enough to oppose the Nilfgaardian invasion. The dark side to those power plays is a brutal purge of suspected enemies. Chief among them are the mages, thanks in large part to Philippa Eilhart. This sorceress killed Radovid’s father and groomed him as her political pawn, so he retaliates by gouging out her eyes and forming a witch-hunting militia. The irony is that these extremes fuel an assassination plot by Redania’s former advisor.

In The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt, his sinister tone was heightened by the voice actor modeling Radovid’s speech on several real-world dictators.^[7]

3 Aquaman

Amidst all its superhero escapades, DC offers a classic tale of a warrior king retaking his kingdom. Arthur Curry, aka Aquaman, is the son of a human lighthouse keeper and the exiled queen of Atlantis. His mother hides him from her underwater realm, but he soon returns to the ocean as the rightful heir. Arthur’s natural love of marine life inspires him to defend the sea with all his heart, yet his humble human upbringing makes him a peaceful bridge between Atlantis and the surface world. Then again, this equilibrium can easily go sideways.

The Flashpoint Paradox presents a dystopian timeline where Atlantis is at war with Themyscira. It starts when Arthur has an affair with Wonder Woman, which doesn’t sit well with his wife. Sadly, the resulting clash ends with the queen’s death. The heartbroken Aquaman turns on the Amazon princess, and their conflict splits the DC Universe down the middle, drawing both heroes and villains to battle. Their explosive clashes leave the planet a devastated ruin. At least this outcome only occurs in an alternate reality.

Jason Momoa’s modern film portrayal further explores Arthur’s struggle between humanity and royalty, echoing this theme of duality.^[8]

2 Simba

The Lion King is all about Simba growing into a great ruler. The Disney classic positions the young feline as the next in line for the Pride Lands’ throne. His father, Mufasa, teaches him about the delicate balance of nature and how all creatures command respect. Although a terrible tragedy causes Simba to stray from his role, he ultimately assumes responsibility for his kingdom, saving it from his usurper uncle’s ruination. Things are looking up until the sequel rolls around.

The Lion King II: Simba’s Pride sees the monarch at war with a separatist faction. Several lions remain loyal to his evil uncle. Afraid of being backstabbed as his father was, he banishes these detractors from the Pride Lands. Ostracizing them to a wasteland further inflames the outsiders, which, in turn, leads to retaliation from Simba. The king soon goes to war over these differences. Only his daughter can stop the bloodshed. She falls in love with one of the outsiders and points out how similar they really are to the Pride Lands’ lions. This realization prompts Simba to welcome the outsiders back, becoming a king for all his subjects.

Like its predecessor, the sequel draws heavily on Shakespeare’s Hamlet, further cementing Simba’s story as a royal tragedy turned redemption arc.^[9]

1 Arthur Pendragon

Even legends are fallible. Arthur Pendragon is a folk hero whom fate ordains as Britain’s greatest defender. Knowing his royal roots, the mystical Lady of the Lake gifts him an ancestral sword called Excalibur. He uses this weapon to combat mortal and supernatural foes across the land, guided by the wizard Merlin. These exploits culminate in a flourishing kingdom called Camelot. The king even ordains a round table for his knights, signifying his view that all men are created equal. The cruel twist is that one of these trusted knights starts Arthur’s downfall.

The hero soon finds himself fighting those closest to him. His queen, Guinevere, falls in love with his greatest knight, Lancelot. This affair sows seeds of turmoil in Arthur’s heart, causing him to brand these two as traitors. Compounding his misery is his illegitimate son, Mordred, whose army brings chaos to the kingdom. Arthur kills his incestuous spawn, but the bloody battle also claims the king’s life, thereby ending Camelot’s heavenly era.

The prophecy that Arthur will return “when Britain needs him most” continues to inspire modern retellings from The Green Knight to BBC’s Merlin.^[10]