I thought long and hard (har, long. lol, hard) about Tragic Hero's Tragic Hero contest, and I actually couldn't think of one that fit the bill better: The Boss from Metal Gear Solid 3.



Her child (which was born on the battlefield with a bad operation leaving a snake scar all down her stomach) was taken from her, and as Snake as her mentor she taught him everything about war. Snake was her substitute child and The Boss was Snake's mother figure. They battled together and spent over 10 years together. Without going into the story, which you should play as it's a fantastic game, Big Boss eventually switches sides and essentially becomes Snake's (and USA's) enemy, and Snake kills her, the "traitor".



The "tragic" element is her loyalty and patriotism for America ended her life. She defected to benefit her country (which I won't get into detail here; play it or Wikipedia!). She knew fully well she would have to die and went through with it anyway, choosing Snake to be the one that kills her. Her undying love for her country meant that she would have to die for it and be shunned from the very country she protected, and no one would know about what she really did. She would go down as an infamous traitor and be hated for years to come. I cannot think of a character any more tragic.