History Characters / Malevolent

* AlasPoorVillain: He may be a violent madman who killed his own sister and aims to kill Arthur, but it's still hard not to feel bad for him.

* MaskingTheDeformity: He constantly wears a gas mask claiming it's to cover injuries he received during the "Great War." Whether this is true or not is never outright confirmed, especially as it quickly becomes clear that Kellin is [[HearingVoices quite out of his mind]].

* LackOfEmpathy: Not overall, however [[spoiler: certainly when it comes to Bella. Even Scratch expresses surprise at his disregard for his wife dying alone, all the while he was considering leaving her - only feeling sympathy for Faroe.]]

->'''Voiced by:''' Harlan Guthrie

*

!!Gods and Otherworldly Creatures
[[folder:The King in Yellow]]
!!The King in Yellow / Hastur

An eldritch god that is fractured in two and seeks to become whole again.

* EldritchAbomination: An Outer God who causes madness among humans, and wishes to drive the world mad.
* ImperfectRitual: Was brought into our world when the Cult of the Black Goat performed a faulty ritual to summon a different entity, Shub-Niggurath. Shub-Niggurath never materialized, and the King in Yellow snuck in through the portal instead.
* MadGod: A god of madness who has influence over those whose minds have already been twisted in some way, and can drive an entire world to insanity when at full power.
* NotQuiteTheAlmighty: Is all-powerful... [[spoiler: within [[EldritchLocation the Dreamlands]]. In our physical plane of reality, all he can do is slowly drive people mad and attempt to lure prey to his home dimension]].
* PiecesOfGod: The portal that brought him to our world shut before all of him could enter, splitting him in two – [[spoiler:one piece resides in the Dreamlands, while the other was [[SealedEvilInACan bound to the book Arthur opened]]]].

[[folder:The Tradesman]]
!!The Tradesman

A strange, tree-like creature that Arthur and John meet in the Dreamlands. His only purpose is to trade.

* BlueAndOrangeMorality: Is only interested in trading. In his second appearance, he's gained possession of Arthur's things by trading for them, and sees that as perfectly acceptable and fair as "prisoners have no items".
* BuyOrGetLost: When Arthur tries to ask for his help, he responds that he is 'not a Cana'. He only trades. He does not offer; you offer, he trades.
* LiteralMinded: Implied. He is a trader. He does not offer, only trade. He does not help, only trade.
* PlantPerson: John describes his skin as 'like the bark of trees'. Since he first appears in the Living Forest, he likely is some sort of tree person.

[[folder:Kayne]]
!!Kayne

A mysterious, capricious entity that has taken an interest in Arthur and John's quest.

* BadassBookworm: Cultured, well educated, and someone not to fuck with.

[[folder: Faust]]

* AGodIAmNot: [[spoiler:Season 1 ends with him learning he's actually a fractured piece of the King in Yellow. However, after seeing the value of humanity and a mortal life, he chooses to seek to become human instead]].

* ALighterShadeOfGrey: He might be responsible for a few deaths, and he might curse out and threaten Arthur, but compared to most of the antagonists we come in contact with, he's not so bad.

* SuddenNameChange: He's initially referred to by John (who read his name on Arthur's office door) as Peter, but Arthur then calls him Parker, which serves as his name for the rest of the series with no in-universe explanation for the change. (The episode's initial release explained that he went by his legal name, Peter, at work, and by his father's name, Parker, among friends. However, this was cut when the first few episodes of Season 1 were remastered.)

* LikeAnOldMarriedCouple: As the series progresses, they start to develop a deep appreciation for each other and become quite close. However, they still bicker. The most noteworthy example is in the first episode of season 4 where [[spoiler:the two get into an argument over seeing a movie, with John having been pestering Arthur to go to one, and Arthur refusing likely because of his blindness]].
* SharingABody: They currently share Arthur's body, and periodically there's discussions over who will gain control in the end.
* SirSwearsALot: Both our main characters aren't shy about cursing, especially at each other, to the point that it's a meme within the fandom.
* SymbioticPossession: More so as the series progresses, [[spoiler:to the point that Arthur makes a deal with Kayne to bring John back]].

* VitriolicBestBuds: They fight and argue pretty frequently throughout the series, but they gain a respect and appreciation for each other as the series progresses. Doesn't stop them from bickering, however.
* WeAreStrugglingTogether: On rare occasions, even the desire to survive/accomplish a goal isn't enough for them to work together. One notable example, at the end of episode 8 and the start of episode 9, John refuses to help guide Arthur, forcing him to try and navigate on his own, which results in him being apprehended by two police officers.

* BadassNormal: He might just be a normal human, but he's managed to go toe to toe with some pretty monstrous creatures far larger and stronger than he is.
* BerserkButton: People who hurt their children. [[spoiler:This inspires his personal vendetta against Larson in Season 3]].
** Additionally, cults, which is understandable after [[spoiler:everything the Cult of the King in Yellow put him through]], though it seems his issues with religious extremists of all kinds started long before...

* CulturedBadass: Quotes poetry, classically trained musician, well educated, and someone not to fuck with.
* DefectiveDetective: Is, or at least was, a Private Investigator, and while he seems to be in an emotionally and mentally healthy place when the story starts, [[spoiler:he first became a P.I. after having lost his daughter to his own negligence, and had apparently spent several years drinking heavily every night]]. Of course, as the series progresses he is deeply impacted by the horrors he has faced, and it shows.

* GentlemanAndAScholar: Recites poetry several times throughout the story, classically trained musician, and often demonstrates a pretty wide knowledge of the arts and history. It's implied that he may have had a wealthy upbringing, and is well educated. Of course, as the series progresses, the stress he's put through and horrors he encounters causes him to come off far less gentlemanly.
* GoodIsNotNice: Generally a kind enough guy, and typically wants to avoid hurting innocent people and even takes it upon himself to help certain individuals. That doesn't mean he'll put up with being threatened, or that he won't get angry and lash out, however.
* GreyingMorality: At first he actively avoids killing or hurting others. By the time we get to The Caves, he's much less averse to violence.
* HandicappedBadass: Is blind, but still manages to accomplish feats most people couldn't, notably [[spoiler:in Coda he was able to drag himself, blind and broken, through a blizzard into a cabin and start a fire without John's help. Kayne even remarked on how impressive that is]].
* ImAHumanitarian: While trapped in the prison pits in the Dreamlands [[spoiler:Arthur is starved and eventually forced to eat another prisoner named Faust]].

* PragmaticHero: Especially as the series progresses, at one point he opts to kill a woman who is after him despite John's protests, and even earlier considered killing the wraith outright. All things considered, you can't really blame him...
* PrivateDetective: His job before he opened that tome. His detective skills have come in handy on more than a few occasions.

* WeirdnessMagnet: From finding the Tome onwards, strange entities seem almost magnetically attracted to Arthur.

* MadGod: A god of madness, who has influence over those who's minds have already been twisted in some way, and (when at full power anyway) can drive a world to madness.

* BlueAndOrangeMorality: Is only interested in trading, and in his second appearance has gained possession of Arthur's things, having traded for them, seeing that as perfectly acceptable and fair as "prisoners have no items".
* BuyOrGetLost: When Arthur tries to ask for his help, he responds that he is 'not a Cana'. He only trades. He does not offer, you offer, he trades.

* PlantPerson: John describes his skin as 'like the bark of trees', and since he first appears in the Living Forest, he likely is some sort of tree person.

* AGodAmI: As a result of Arthur's desire to try and jog his memory, [[spoiler:he outright tells Yellow that he's a piece of a God, which instead of making him remember his experiences as John causes him to see Arthur as his captor who ripped him away from his rightful place]].

* AnimalEyes: Has orange, silted eyes.
* BeastMan: Appears somewhat human but with animalistic traits, such as his AnimalEyes, and large bumps on either side of his head.

* DumbMuscle: Is shown to be almost child like with limited intelligence and an inability to speak, but makes up for it by being strong enough to [[spoiler:rip a woman's jaw clean off]].
* {{Manchild}}: Heavily implied; at the start of the season, [[spoiler:Yellow remarks how illegible and childlike the letters they find from him are, and later on he's found sitting in a corner playing with Arthur's music box like an inquisitive child]].

* PsychopathicManchild: As previously stated, he is presented as being somewhat childlike, but that doesn't make his actions any less horrific.

->'''Voiced by:''' N/A

[[folder: Collins/The Butcher]]

* PiecesOfGod: The portal that brought him to our world shut before all of him could enter, splitting him in two – [[spoiler:one piece resides in the Dreamlands, while the other was [[SealedEvilInACan bound to the book Arthur opened.]]]]

* PiecesOfGod: The portal that brought him to our world shut before all of him could enter, splitting him in two – one piece [[spoiler:resides in the Dreamlands]], while the other was [[SealedEvilInACan bound to the book Arthur opened.]]

Tropes describing characters from the podcast series ''Podcast/{{Malevolent}}''. Note that only spoilers from season 2 onwards are hidden – all spoilers from season 1 (episodes 1-12) are '''unmarked.'''

Tropes describing characters from the podcast series ''Podcast/{{Malevolent}}''. Note that only spoilers from seasons 2 and 3 are hidden – all spoilers from season 1 (episodes 1-12) are '''unmarked.'''

*

!!Gods and Otherworldly Creatures
[[folder:The King in Yellow]]
!!The King in Yellow / Hastur

An eldritch god that is fractured in two and seeks to become whole again.

* ImperfectRitual: Was brought into our world when the Cult of the Black Goat performed a faulty ritual to summon a different entity, Shub-Niggurath. Shub-Niggurath never materialized, and the King in Yellow snuck in through the portal instead.
* NotQuiteTheAlmighty: Is all-powerful... [[spoiler: within [[EldritchLocation the Dreamlands]]. In our physical plane of reality, all he can do is slowly drive people mad and attempt to lure prey to his home dimension]].
* PiecesOfGod: The portal that brought him to our world shut before all of him could enter, splitting him in two – one piece [[spoiler:resides in the Dreamlands]], while the other was [[SealedEvilInACan bound to the book Arthur opened.]]

[[folder:The Tradesman]]
!!The Tradesman

A strange, tree-like creature that Arthur and John meet in the Dreamlands. His only purpose is to trade.

* BlueAndOrangeMorality: Is only interested in trading, and in his second appearance has gained possession of Arthur's things, having traded for them, seeing that as perfectly acceptable and fair as "prisoners have no items".
* BuyOrGetLost: When Arthur tries to ask for his help, he responds that he is 'not a Cana'. He only trades. He does not offer, you offer, he trades.
* LiteralMinded: Implied. He is a trader. He does not offer, only trade. He does not help, only trade.
* PlantPerson: John describes his skin as 'like the bark of trees', and since he first appears in the Living Forest, he likely is some sort of tree person.

[[folder:Kayne]]
!!Kayne

A mysterious, capricious entity that has taken an interest in Arthur and John's quest.

[[folder:Kayne]]
!!Kayne

A mysterious, capricious entity that has taken an interest in Arthur and John's quest.