Unwillingly Antagonists

Characters that are or would likely be partners/allies of protagonists but that for reasons beyond their control becomes their enemies. The most common cases are being blackmailed, physically or mentally controlled. Usually, these characters break free from whatever is controlling them and rejoins the protagonists to fight their enemies, but not always, like for example, when a characters becomes a zombified character and has no more chances of regain control over his mind, like Brad Vickers in Resident Evil2 (1998) attacking Leon and/or Claire, while they would clearly be allies had they met before his zombification ,or Callisto being transformd into a hideous beast and attacking Kratos despite her motherly nature.

NOTE: While an Unwilling Antagonist can sometimes be mistaken for a False Antagonist, there are important differences between the two: An Unwilling Antagonist is usually recognized by their allies as acting against their will. Their hostile actions are acknowledged as being the result of manipulation, coercion, or external control, and will not be seen as acting naturally to their point of view. A False Antagonist is a misunderstood character, often perceived as a villain by others — and sometimes even by themselves — but whose actions may come from confusion, instinct, mental instability, brainwashing or misinformation.