Would Hurt a Child/Playing With

Basic Trope: A character, almost always a villain, has no moral compunctions about hurting or killing children.

• Straight: Wanda, an amoral hitwoman, doesn't care if her target is a child and has already killed some.
• Exaggerated: Wanda doesn't kill anyone BUT babies and young children.
• Justified: The child she is sent killing is an Enfant Terrible.
  • Wanda is just that much of a Complete Monster.
• Inverted: Wouldn't Hurt a Child
• Subverted: Wanda is in a shootout, and shoots a child. But she fires with a tranq gun to prevent them being shot by someone else.
• Double Subverted: The tranq gun is poisoned.
  • The dose turns out to be too much for a child, and he dies. Or he dies because he's allergic to the drug.
• Parodied: Wanda, about to make her escape, breaks into a child's bedroom and draws on his face with permanent marker.
• Deconstructed: Wanda kills children without batting a lash... until she finds out she's pregnant...
• Reconstructed:... but she remains true to her nature and abuses her child, if she doesn't kill it outright.
• Zig Zagged: Depending on her own whim or the amount of her contract, Wanda carries out child execution or doesn't.
• Averted: Infant Immortality
  • Wanda is about to shoot someone, realizes it's a child, and stays her hand.
• Enforced: "We want Wanda to be taken seriously as a villainess. There's no other way to do that than have her kill children intentionally."
• Lampshaded: "Wanda, you wouldn't shoot a child, would you?" "Why not?"
• Invoked: "Killing is killing, death is death. Man, woman, child... What difference is there once the body is cold?"
• Exploited: ???
• Defied: "No thanks. I don't do children, no matter the bounty you offer. It's my sole principle."
• Discussed: "Don't you feel any remorse whatsoever? He was just a kid..." "Why should I? I'm just doing what I'm paid for."
• Conversed: ???
• Played For Laughs: Wanda's daughter comes home from school in a bad mood because her classmates bullied her. The next day, she's the only one left in class, and clearly annoyed.
• Played For Drama: ???

---

What, you thought I made exceptions for children? Go to Would Hurt a Child and see if I do.