Cumuppence

There has been a steady tradition of stories which involve the concept of a villain or villains getting their 'cumuppence'.  Either through some form of divine intervention or cosmic irony, the wrong-doer will be undone and receive appropriate punishment and the victim will be avenged.

This idea manifests itself in the notion of 'karma' or as a day of judgement before their maker.  Both of these of course could be decribed as revenge by proxy - you personally as a victim are not directly involved in the provision of justice but are merely a by-stander watching justice unfold.

My own thought is that this form of revenge is not particularly satisfying and that if I were a crook, the notions of karma or divine retribution are quite laughable and could provide a sort of "don't throw me into the briar patch whatever you do!" mentality.