“The worm has turned” suggests a reversal of fortune, particularly the kind of situation in which a meek person begins behaving more confidently or starts defending himself. In other words, even the lowliest of creatures will still strike back if sufficiently provoked, an idea Shakespeare used in Henry VI, Part 3, where Lord Clifford observes, “The smallest worm will turn being trodden on, and doves will peck in safeguard of their brood.” This is part of a complete episode.
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According to Wikipedia, the documented origin for that phrase predates Shakespeare:
“The phrase was first recorded in a 1546 collection of proverbs by John Heywood, in the form ‘Treade a worme on the tayle, and it must turne agayne.’”
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