3. Two-Face in The Dark Knight (2008)
You either die a hero or live long enough to see yourself become the villain. Christopher Nolan hit the nail on the head by applying narrative techniques that you would normally find in a Greek tragedy. Oedipus Rex, for example, is ridden with dialogue that foreshadows Oedipus inadvertent relationship with his biological mother and assassination of his biological father. This multiplied the commiseration once the twist was revealed. Those who did their homework knew what Harvey Dent would become sooner or later. All of Dents dedication, charisma, and heart would dwell into a putrid entity that could no longer resurrect into the purity and hope that he represented. Nolan successfully used dramatic irony as ammunition and injected the audience with doses of inevitable pity. What we were unaware of, though, was the magnitude through which Dent would suffer. Half of his face, his girlfriend, and his sanity scorched in a matter of minutes because of a man who went along with his plan for mere entertainment. If that is not enough, Dent is forced to listen as his girlfriend accepts his marriage proposal thanks to the encouragement of a ticking bomb. Lastly, his mentality is so scrambled during the aftermath that he even finds himself seduced by the bits of wisdom from the very man who bulldozed his life into rubble The Joker. When a person takes counseling from the maniacal man who blew off both your girlfriend and face, feeling pity is unavoidable. Even as a villain.