History Main / DiligentHeroSlothfulVillain

!!Examples

* ''Fanfic/InfinityTrainBlossomverse'' has Chloe alternate between both sides of this trope depending on the story.
** As the diligent hero you have ''Fanfic/InfinityTrainSeekerOfCrocus'', where Chloe Cerise, currently on the Infinity Train, busts her ass off to become a hero to the denizens, building her skills from the bottom up with nothing but a [[PipePain donut holer]] and a fire casting cloak to her name, along with producing videos, photos, and stage productions that rally hope against the darkness. In contrast, her bully doesn't even bother to work her butt off and instead manipulates feeble-minded classmates to bully Chloe so she has no choice but to give everyone a Pokémon instead of actually going to Professor Cerise's Institute to get one for herself.
** Alternately you have stories like the original ''Blossoming Trail'' and various spinoffs like ''Shield of Vermillion'', where Chloe is the slothful villain (or antihero), who stewed in her own misery and didn't move to truly improve herself, just take in more spite. Meanwhile Ash and Goh actively improved themselves, worked towards their dreams, and otherwise achieved everything that Chloe wanted but didn't act on onto the Infinity Train took her and she started to change, and ultimately acknowledge her unfair judgements of the two.
* ''Fanfic/TheLamentSeriesChaoticNeutral'':
** In ''Chloe's Lament'', Chloe plays the role of a Slothful VillainProtagonist to Marinette's Diligent HeroAntagonist; her reason for making the [[BeCarefulWhatYouWishFor Wish]] is that [[OffendedByAnInferiorsSuccess Chloe finds it unfair that Marinette, a baker's daughter is]] LovedByAll both in her ordinary life and as a superhero, while she's HatedByAll despite being the daughter of a [[SpoiledBrat wealthy]] mayor, [[EvilCannotComprehendGood not understanding]] that their respective reputations are a result of their ''personalities'' and not their status.
** After Chloe makes the wish, and sees that she and Marinette have [[HourglassPlot switched lives]] she assumes that it means that she will automatically receive the [[TransformationTrinket Miraculous]] AND the old Marinette's popularity with no effort on her part, which doesn't happen as Marinette in the old universe was rewarded the Miraculous as a SecretTestOfCharacter, which Chloe failed, and her popularity was based on her kindness towards others, a trait which [[{{Jerkass}} Chloe]] lacks even in the new world. Meanwhile, Marinette in the new universe is still beloved because not only is she [[SpoiledSweet a good person even WITH her wealth]], she also uses said wealth to help others rather than selfishly spend it.
** Chloe in the old universe used her [[PushoverParents father's]] [[ScrewTheRulesIHaveMoney money]] and [[ScrewTheRulesIHaveConnections political power]] to get her way in life, and is unused to actually ''working'' for things, unlike the new universe's Marinette whose [[GoodParents parents raised her to be more self-reliant]].

# When it comes to talent, one popular approach is to make the protagonist an [[DumbButDiligent untalented nobody who has to work to improve themself]] while the antagonist has [[BrilliantButLazy a large amount of natural talent, but doesn't bother improving themself]]. Expect the story to have the hero start off weaker than the villain only to end up surpassing them due to the villain's lack of diligence.

# If the hero and villain hold a position of power, expect the hero to treat the position as an [[ComesGreatResponsibility important responsibility]], while the villain exploits the perks of their position while neglecting their duties.

# When it comes to teamwork, the hero will do all they can to contribute to their team, while the villain prefers to force and/or manipulate their others into doing all of the work while sitting back and leeching off the benefits.
** Alternatively, the way they treat people might also show their character; the hero might prefer to earn people's love and popularity, while the villain [[EntitledBastard expects others to hand it to them]]. In addition, the hero will [[AFriendInNeed will gladly stick by their friends during times of hardship]], while the villain [[DirtyCoward has no problem abandoning]] their [[FairWeatherFriend "friends" when the going gets tough]].

Compare ChildishVillainMatureHero, InsecureProtagonistArrogantAntagonist, EvilIsEasy, PrivilegeMakesYouEvil, and MiseryBuildsCharacter, which often overlaps with this trope. For tropes often expressed by a Diligent Hero, see {{Determinator}}, ComesGreatResponsibility, and SelfMadeMan. For tropes often expressed by a Slothful Villain, see LazyBum; ScrewTheRulesIHaveMoney, ScrewTheRulesImBeautiful, SpoiledBrat, ScrewTheRulesIHaveConnections, EntitledBastard, OrcusOnHisThrone, AmbitiousButLazy, AllTakeAndNoGive, and BeautyBreedsLaziness.

* ''Manga/DragonBallZ'': This is the reason for Frieza's defeat at the hands of Goku. Goku is a martial artist who has dedicated his life to constantly improving his fighting skills and [[ChallengeSeeker finding new challenges]]. Frieza was BornLucky and barely put any effort into training because his power was always enough for him to best any opponent until he met Goku. Later, during the events of ''[[Anime/DragonBallZResurrectionF Resurrection F]]'' and its corresponding act in ''[[Anime/DragonBallSuper Super]]'', Frieza actually puts some time to actually train and can match Goku after a decade of further training and several new forms, but rushes the process, leaving himself unable to pace himself and leading to his defeat once more. Only later, when he's forced to be patient, does he truly master his powers [[spoiler: and as a result is a major contributing factor to Universe 7's victory at the Tournament of Power.]]
* From the anime adaptation of ''Literature/{{Paprika}}'':
** Dr Atsuko Chiba is a devoted scientist with seemingly no time for herself or her emotions, to the point that she can only express her true exuberance and compassion as [[SuperpoweredAlterEgo Paprika]], a renegade psychiatrist who risks all manner of unknown dangers in her journeys [[DreamWalker into the minds of her patients]]. Meanwhile, the BigBad [[spoiler:Chairman Seijirou Inui]] remains hidden away in his mansion, allowing the minions he's bribed or duped to act in his stead while he gleefully exploits the power of the stolen [[AppliedPhlebotinum DC Mini]]. For good measure, his DreamWeaver technique is the epitome of UnskilledButStrong.
** Dr Kousaku Tokito is a brilliant scientist responsible for inventing the DC Mini, and though he's undoubtedly an AbsentMindedProfessor, he's always ready to work hard to help others -- from tinkering in his lab to helping Atsuko pick the lock on Himuro's door. By contrast, [[spoiler:Dr Morio Osanai]] TheDragon is a scummy careerist who's trying to claw his way to a promotion through toadying and corporate sabotage rather than hard work, to the point that Paprika intuits that he slept with Himuro in order to get his hands on the DC Mini.

* The Silver-Age hero ''Jack Q. Frost'' was a top agent in the International Counter-Intelligence Agency (or ICA). His nemesis, Lord Lazee, was a massively overweight crime boss who never left his high-tech chair, relying heavily upon his robot army to do all his crimes for him.

* ''[[Fanfic/TheLamentSeriesChaoticNeutral Chloe's Lament]]''
** Chloe plays the role of a Slothful VillainProtagonist to Marinette's Diligent HeroAntagonist; her reason for making the [[BeCarefulWhatYouWishFor Wish]] is that [[OffendedByAnInferiorsSuccess Chloe finds it unfair that Marinette, a baker's daughter is]] LovedByAll both in her ordinary life and as a superhero, while she's HatedByAll despite being the daughter of a [[SpoiledBrat wealthy]] mayor, [[EvilCannotComprehendGood not understanding]] that their respective reputations are a result of their ''personalities'' and not their status.

* ''WesternAnimation/TheLionKing1994'': The Pride Lands are prosperous under [[TheGoodKing Mufasa and Simba's]] rule, mainly due to their diligence and understanding that [[ComesGreatResponsibility being a king carries a lot of responsibilites]]. During Scar's reign, the Pride Lands [[FisherKing turned from a lush savanna to a barren wasteland]] because Scar was extremely negligent in doing his duties as king and allowed the hyenas to run amok.

* This is one of the things (beside their feelings about murder and terrorism) that distinguishes Tony Stark from Obadiah Stane in ''Film/IronMan1''. Tony built his Iron Man suits himself, with painstaking work and research over several scenes and montages. In contrast, Obadiah steals Tony's technology to build the Iron Monger suit, doesn't do the work himself, berates and belittles his employees who make the suit for him, and rushes it into use when it's not properly tested. This culminates in a satisfyingly symbolic fashion when they fight in the upper atmosphere, and the Iron Monger suit freezes over due to the "icing problem" that Tony's hard work had already solved for his suit.

* ''Literature/TheRisingOfTheShieldHero''

* ''WesternAnimation/ThePowerpuffGirls1998'': At the beginning of the episode "Cop Out", [[BadCopIncompetentCop Mike Brickowski]] is the Slothful Villain to practically the rest of the Townsville Police Department. Whereas the other cops do their duties in protecting the city's inhabitants and detaining criminals, Brickowski is a LazyBum who does nothing but sleep on the job and [[DonutMessWithACop eat donuts]], while expecting to be handed a promotion sooner or later and blaming the titular girls for making the police useless [[NeverMyFault without looking at himself]]. It's not until after [[TurnInYourBadge his predictable firing]] that Brickowski shows how active he could have been as he attempts to get his revenge on the Powerpuff Girls.

** In terms of relationships, Danny and his dates end up having fulfilling relationships because they put effort into getting to know their dates as people; meanwhile, the bullies' relationships tend to be miserable as they were shallow people had no positive qualities other than their looks, wealth, and status as [[JerkJock jocks]] or [[CruelCheerleader cheerleaders]], which mattered little in the adult world as most adults don't care about high school status, especially in regards to their future partners.

** The [[PlayerCharacter Warrior of Light]] is characterized as a {{Workaholic}} and adventure junkie constantly striving to improve their skills. Their chief rival in the Garlean Empire, Zenos yae Galvus, is comparatively lazy, not even bothering to finish off the Warrior at Rhalgr's Reach when he had them dead to rights because he considered them NotWorthKilling after he [[CurbStompBattle soundly defeated them]]. [[spoiler:By the end of ''Stormblood'', it's revealed that he's purposefully sabotaging the Garlean war effort by not crushing the Eorzean Alliance in hopes that someone strong enough to give him a proper duel shows up.]]

* ''WesternAnimation/ThePowerpuffGirls1998'': At the beginning of the episode "Cop Out", [[BadCopIncompetentCop Mike Brickowski]] is the Slothful Villain to practically the rest of the Townsville Police Department. Whereas the other cops do their duties in protecting the city's inhabitants and detaining criminals, Brickowski is a LazyBum who does nothing but sleep on the job and [[DonutMessWithACop eat donuts]], while expecting to be handed a promotion sooner or later and blaming the titular girls for making the police useless [[NeverMyFault without looking at himself]]. It's not until after his predictable firing that Brickowski shows how active he could have been as he attempts to get his revenge on the Powerpuff Girls.

** Beaks and Gyro are both inventors. While Gyro is a responsible (if [[NoSocialSkills socially inept]]) scientist who focuses on making products that work well with little care for aesthetics, Beaks is a BrilliantButLazy, smooth-talking ConMan who either steals others' inventions or creates half-assed products that he tries to make as impressive-looking as possible.

* ''Fanfic/InfinityTrainSeekerOfCrocus'': On the Infinity Train, Chloe Cerise busts her ass off to become a hero to the denizens, building her skills from the bottom up with nothing but a [[PipePain donut holer]] and a fire casting cloak to her name, along with producing videos, photos, and stage productions that rally hope against the darkness. In contrast, her bully doesn't even bother to work her butt off and instead manipulates feeble-minded classmates to bully Chloe so she has no choice but to give everyone a Pokémon instead of actually going to Professor Cerise's Institute to get one for herself.

* ''WesternAnimation/Nimona2023'': Sir Ballister Boldheart is a serious, mature, hardworking professional who earned knighthood despite the Institute's AbsurdlyExclusiveRecruitingStandards. His rival throughout the film, Sir Thoddeus "Todd" Sureblade, is a [[PoliticallyIncorrectVillain classist]] {{Manchild}} recruited from the noble families, and thanks to this privileged background, he's both physically and ''intellectually'' lazy. Among other things, Todd prefers to trade immature quips and showboat instead of treating his job seriously, takes [[ShapeshiftingTrickster Nimona]]'s bait and disparages Ambrosius for being more diligent in reviewing security footage, only achieves a brief victory against the heroes by ganging up on them, and unlike both Ballister and Ambrosius, proudly refuses to learn anything.

* ''WesternAnimation/TheLionKing1994'': The Pride Lands under [[TheGoodKing Mufasa and Simba's]] rule are prosperous mainly due to their diligence and understanding that [[ComesGreatResponsibility being a king isn't about getting your way all the time]]. Under Scar's rule, the Pride Lands [[FisherKing turn from a lush savanna to a barren wasteland]] because Scar was extremely negligent in doing his duties as king and allows the hyenas to run amok.

* ''WesternAnimation/DuckTales2017'': Mark Beaks is the Slothful Villain to both Scrooge and Gyro.
** Like Scrooge, Beaks is a wealthy and successful businessman. Whereas [[HonestCorporateExecutive Scrooge]] gained his wealth through [[SelfMadeMan through his blood, sweat, and tears]] and loathes any type of cheating, [[CorruptCorporateExecutive Beaks]] became rich through plagiarism and his sale of defective products.
** Gyro and Beaks are both inventors, but while Gyro is a responsible (if [[NoSocialSkills socially inept]]) scientist who focuses on making products that work well with little care for aesthetics, Beaks is a BrilliantButLazy, smooth-talking ConMan who either steals others' inventions or creates half-assed products that he tries to make as impressive-looking as possible.

* ''WesternAnimation/ThePowerpuffGirls1998'': At the beginning of the episode "Cop Out", [[BadCopIncompetentCop Mike Brickowski]] is the Slothful Villain to practically the rest of the Townsville Police Department. Whereas the other cops do their duties in protecting the city's inhabitants and detaining criminals, Brickowski is a LazyBum who does nothing but sleep on the job and [[DonutMessWithACop eat donuts]], while expecting to be handed a promotion sooner or later and blaming the titular girls for making the police useless [[NeverMyFault without looking at himself]]. It's not until after his (predictable) firing that Brickowski shows how active he could have been as he attempts to get his revenge on the Powerpuff Girls.

* ''WesternAnimation/ThePowerpuffGirls1998'': At the beginning of the episode "Cop Out", [[BadCopIncompetentCop Mike Brickowski]] is the Slothful Villain to practically the rest of the Townsville Police Department. Whereas the other cops do their duties in protecting the city's inhabitants and detaining criminals, Brickowski is a LazyBum who does nothing but sleep on the job and [[DonutMessWithACop eat donuts]], while expecting to be handed a promotion sooner or later and blaming the titular girls for making the police useless [[NeverMyFault without looking at himself]]. It's not until after his firing that Brickowski shows how active he could have been as he attempts to get his revenge on the Powerpuff Girls.

** Gyro and Beaks are both inventors, but while Gyro is a responsible (if [[NoSocialSkills socially inept]]) scientist who focuses on making products that work well with little care for aesthetics, Beaks is a BrilliantButLazy, smooth-talking ConMan who either steals others' inventions or creates half-assed products that he tries to make impressive-looking.

* ''WesternAnimation/ThePowerpuffGirls1998'': [[BadCopIncompetentCop Mike Brickowski]] from "Cop Out" is the Slothful Villain to ''every other cop in Townsville''; Mike Brickowski was a [[LazyBum lazy]] cop who did nothing but sleep on the job and eat [[DonutMessWithACop donuts]], while the rest of the cops actually did their duties protecting the citizens and stopping crimes.

** Gyro and Beaks are both inventors, but while Gyro is a hardworking (if [[NoSocialSkills socially inept]]) scientist who focuses on making products that work well with little care for aesthetics, Beaks is a BrilliantButLazy, smooth-talking ConMan who either steals others' inventions or creates half-assed products that look impressive.

** Like Scrooge, Beaks is a wealthy and successful businessman, however unlike [[HonestCorporateExecutive Scrooge]] who gained his wealth through [[SelfMadeMan through his blood, sweat, and tears]] and loathes any type of cheating, [[CorruptCorporateExecutive Beaks]] became rich through plagiarism and selling defective products.
** Gyro and Beaks are both inventors, however while Gyro is a hardworking if [[NoSocialSkills socially inept]] scientist who focuses on making products that work with little care for aesthetics, Beaks is a BrilliantButLazy, smooth-talking ConMan who either steals others' inventions or creates half-assed products that look impressive.

* ''Manga/DragonBallZ'': This is the reason for Frieza's defeat at the hands of Goku. Goku is a martial artist who has dedicated his life to constantly improving his fighting skills and [[ChallengeSeeker finding new challenges]]. Frieza was BornLucky and barely put any effort into training because his power was always enough for him to best any opponent until he met Goku. Later, during the events of [[Anime/DragonBallZResurrectionF Resurrection F]] and its corresponding act in [[Anime/DragonBallSuper Super]], Frieza actually puts some time to actually train and can match Goku after a decade of further training and several new forms, but rushes the process, leaving himself unable to pace himself and leading to his defeat once more. Only later, when he's forced to be patient, does he truly master his powers [[spoiler: and as a result is a major contributing factor to Universe 7's victory at the Tournament of Power.]]

* ''Manga/DragonBallZ'': This is the reason for Frieza's defeat at the hands of Goku. Goku is a martial artist who has dedicated his life to constantly improving his fighting skills and [[ChallengeSeeker finding new challenges]]. Frieza was BornLucky and barely put any effort into training because his power was always enough for him to best any opponent until he met Goku.

* ''WesternAnimation/Ducktales2017'': Mark Beaks is the Slothful Villain to both Scrooge and Gyro.

# In a workplace setting, the villain might be a slacker who tries to get ahead in by [[SleepingWithTheBoss seducing the higher-ups]], {{blackmail}}, {{nepotism}}, [[ScrewTheRulesIHaveConnections connections]], or manipulating others into doing their work for them. By contrast, the hero will have no problem with working their butt off to get ahead. These stories commonly start off with the hero being in a lower position than villain, only for the villain's misdeeds to be exposed, causing them to either be fired or be demoted, while the hero ends up being promoted; bonus points if [[HourglassPlot the hero also becomes the villain's new boss]].

# A romance story might do this by applying this trope to the RomanticFalseLead and SecondLove; stories that use this variation will often have the false lead dump the hero when the relationship becomes too difficult or when an opportunity for an easier life comes by; meanwhile, their true love will stay faithful through thick and thin. If the old lover tries to come back, they will have no problem shamefully begging to get back together when its convenient for them, only to be put in their place by the new lover.

# When it comes to attaining a goal of some kind, the heroes will have no problem diligently working themselves to the bone to eventually reach success, and will be disgusted by cheating and shortcuts. Meanwhile, the villain will either [[AmbitiousButLazy be very ambitious but unwilling to apply themselves]] or simply prefer to take shortcuts because EvilIsEasy.

Compare ChildishVillainMatureHero; InsecureProtagonistArrogantAntagonist; EvilIsEasy; PrivilegeMakesYouEvil, and MiseryBuildsCharacter, which often overlaps with this trope. For tropes often expressed by a Diligent Hero, see {{Determinator}}, ComesGreatResponsibility, and SelfMadeMan. For tropes often expressed by a Slothful Villain, see LazyBum; ScrewTheRulesIHaveMoney; ScrewTheRulesImBeautiful; SpoiledBrat; ScrewTheRulesIHaveConnections; EntitledBastard; OrcusOnHisThrone; AmbitiousButLazy; AllTakeAndNoGive, and BeautyBreedsLaziness.

* ''Manga/DragonBallZ'': This is the reason for Frieza's defeat at the hands of Goku. Goku is a martial artist who has dedicated his life to constantly improving his fighting skills and [[ChallengeSeeker finding new challenges]]. Frieza was BornLucky and barely put any effort into training because his power was always enough for him to best any opponent, until he met Goku.

** Chloe plays the role of a Slothful VillainProtagonist to Marinette's Diligent HeroAntagonist; her reason for making the [[BeCarefulWhatYouWishFor Wish]] is that [[OffendedByAnInferiorsSuccess Chloe finds it unfair that Marinette, a baker's Daughter is]] LovedByAll both in her ordinary life and as a superhero, while she's HatedByAll despite being the daughter of a [[SpoiledBrat wealthy]] mayor, [[EvilCannotComprehendGood not understanding]] that their respective reputations are a result of their ''personalities'' and not their status.
** After Chloe makes the wish, and sees that she and Marinette have [[HourglassPlot switched lives]] she assumes that it means that she will automatically receive the [[TransformationTrinket Miraculous]] AND the old Marinette's popularity with no effort on her part, which doesn't happen as Marinette in the old universe was rewarded the Miraculous as a SecretTestOfCharacter, which Chloe failed, and her popularity was based on her kindness towards others, a trait which [[{{Jerkass}} Chloe]] lacks even in the new world. Meanwhile, Marinette in the new universe is still beloved beloved because not only is she [[SpoiledSweet a good person even WITH her wealth]], she also uses said wealth to help others rather than selfishly spend it.

** Danny and his dates take their futures seriously, are willing to study diligently to obtain and maintain good grades, and have dreams that they are willing to strive for; as a result, they always have good futures due to their willingness to make something of themselves. Meanwhile the bullies don't take their futures seriously, often [[HomeworkSlave bullying others into doing their homework]], being content peaking in highschool, and trying to find easy ways to obtain money like [[GoldDigger marrying or dating rich people]]; as a result, they end up growing into [[FutureLoser failures]] as they never bothered trying to improve themselves
** In terms of relationships, Danny and his dates end up having fulfilling relationships because they put effort into getting to know their dates as people; meanwhile, the bullies relationships tend to be miserable as they were shallow people had no positive qualities other than their looks, wealth, and status as [[JerkJock jocks]] or [[CruelCheerleader cheerleaders]], which mattered little in the adult world as most adults don't care about highschool status, especially in regards to their future partners.

* ''Franchise/BackToTheFuture'': [[LovableNerd George]] and [[TheBully Biff]] have had this dynamic ever since highschool, where Biff would [[HomeworkSlave force the studious George to do his homework]] while he goofed off. In the original present, where Biff is George's [[BadBoss supervisor]], Biff managed to climb the ranks by forcing George to do his work. In the second timeline, where [[ExtremeDoormat the once wimpy George]] manages to [[GrewASpine stand up to Biff]], George manages to become a successful author as a result his own hard work, while Biff [[FutureLoser isn't as successful as he was in the original future]] as he can't rely on George to do his work. In the BadFuture where Biff takes over, he only became as rich as he was because [[MyFutureSelfAndMe his future self]] gave him an almanac containing the results of future sports games, which he bet on to make himself rich rather than any kind of actual work.

* Downplayed in ''Literature/DiscipleOfTheHolySword''. Leon is incredibly hard-working, but suffers from HardWorkHardlyWorks until Elsyd chooses him to become the next Warrior. Leon's rival, Lionel, is much more talented than Leon. While Lionel does work hard, he's so praised for his skills that he parties with his peers instead of spending all of his time training alone like Leon. Leon's first goal in the story is to surpass Lionel, with their final duel at the academy ending with [[spoiler:Leon shattering Lionel's sword, as Leon had broken so many training swords that he understood how much punishment a sword could take whereas Lionel did not.]]

** Naofumi and the Three Heroes: While the latter technically aren't villains, this dynamic fits them nevertheless. The Three Heroes tend to rely on the RPG experience while Naofumi takes the time to learn how the world works. Motoyasu in particular tends to flirt with women over actually training, while Itsuki focuses more on showboating. Since the heroes never bother to actually train their skills and instead rely on their own strengthening methods, they end falling behind Naofumi as fighters and heroes. It takes a huge BreakTheHaughty moment for all three of them to finally break out of this mindset and start taking their duties seriously.

* ''Series/AvataroSentaiDonbrothers'': Both [[TeamMercyvsTeamMurder The Donbrothers and The Noto Layer]] are working hard to secure the lives of those that mutate into Hitotsu-Ki, for peace and pride respectively. The Juto meanwhile spend 85% of the show sitting on their laurels, coasting on the sheer power-gap between them and the heroes. The Cat Juto wear "immature, childish hedonism" as [[GangOfHats their hat]]. [[spoiler:Miho]] is the only Juto that's an active detriment to the heroes and that's moreso indirectly; what little scheming she does relying exclusively on [[spoiler:the instabilities and issues of Tsuyoshi and Tsubasa doing the work for her]]. Finally, [[spoiler:The Penguin Juto]] reveals itself near the show's end and it's not the FinalBoss that requires every faction to put differences aside; it's a relaxed AffablyEvil HeroAntagonist that spends more time trying to curry physical care from Taro and Tsubasa rather than really trying to stop them -- Taro quashes its sole agenda almost immediately and it barely takes action; content to watch things unfold with minimal input.

** In season four, the crew of Moya are pitted against a new antagonist, Commandant Grayza. Her [[LivingAphrodisiac heppel oil glands]] give her the power to chemically enslave people, allowing her to accomplish her goals with as little effort as possible... but unfortunately, this power makes her complacent -- allowing Crichton to deliver a [[ChainedToABed humiliating defeat]] when he finds an antidote to the oil. She spends the rest of the season as a strictly hands-off BigBad, using Captain Braca as her PuppetKing while she takes baths or plays headgames with her underlings. Even her big plan to trick the Scarran Imperium into a truce involves her taking credit for the wormhole weapon Crichton developed back in season 3 without taking any measures of her own. [[spoiler:This bites her hard in the ass when Scarran [[TheBaroness War Minister Akhna]] sees through Grayza's bluster and easily defeats her underpowered forces. When Grayza attempts to save face by ordering a SuicideAttack on Katratzi, Braca refuses her orders and has her arrested. For good measure, Scorpius -- who has been patiently working away on ''Moya'' all season -- claims Grayza's command carrier as his own.]]

* Downplayed in ''Series/OddSquad'' with Olive and Otto and Oren and Olaf. Oren and Olaf are certainly not a part of Odd Squad's extensive RoguesGallery and are more [[SitcomArchNemesis Sitcom Arch-Nemeses]] than anything else, but both tend to cut corners on work and be far lazier compared to Olive and Otto, who are more hardworking. And while Oren in particular has dreams of [[spoiler:succeeding Oprah as Director of Precinct 13579, Olive is the one who ends up becoming a Director instead, albeit in a different precinct.]]

* ''WebAnimation/SekaiNoFushigi'': Stories that star a male MC will often have a hero's first lover playing the role of a slothful villain, while the SecondLove will be a diligent hero; the first lover will often be a GoldDigger who dumps the hero for being poor, [[AffluentAscetic seeming poor]], having a poor education, etc in favor of a guy who has better specs rather than sticking by the hero. When she discovers that the hero's more successful than her new boyfriend/husband, she will often attempt to get back with him. Meanwhile, the hero's new lover is more than willing to tough it out with him and work with him to become successful rather than dump him when the going gets tough.

* ''WesternAnimation/Ducktales2017'': Mark Beaks is the Slothful Villain to to both Scrooge and Gyro.

** Gyro and Beaks are both inventors, however while Gyro is a hardworking if [[NoSocialSkills socially inept]] scientist who focuses on making products that work with little care for aesthetics, Beaks is a BrilliantButLazy, smooth talking ConMan who either steals others' inventions or creates half-assed products that look impressive.
* Inverted in ''WesternAnimation/TheMidnightGospel'': main character Clancy is an amiable {{Manchild}} trying to run a space podcast and routinely tripped up by his own monumental laziness. He uses his incredibly valuable universe simulator to do such things as going on vacations or getting ice-cream for a friend and spends the podcast interviews sitting to one side while the interviewees do all the adventuring and/or fighting. Oh, and he neglects basic maintenance of his simulator until it malfunctions and nearly "[[RealityIsOutToLunch wobbles]]", despite his computer's increasingly desperate pleas for Clancy to ReadTheFreakingManual. The episode "[[Recap/TheMidnightGospelS1E6VultureWithHonor Vulture With Honor]]" pits him against his tyrannical neighbour Blithrreyus, a fellow simulation farmer with a much more aggressive work ethic. Blithrreyus is introduced personally maintaining his crop of universe simulators, manages the acquisition of artefacts in person, and demands absolute devotion to the business -- to the point of [[AbusiveParents abusing his own children]] and [[SlaveryIsASpecialKindOfEvil enslaving simulated entities]].

[[/folder]]

# When it comes to talent, one popular approach is to make the protagonist an [[DumbButDiligent untalented nobody who has to work to improve theirself]] while the antagonist has [[BrilliantButLazy a large amount of natural talent, but doesn't bother improving themself]]. Expect the story to have the hero start off weaker than the villain only to end up surpassing them due to the villain's lack of diligence.

# In a workplace setting, the villain might be a slacker who tries to get ahead in by [[SleepingWithTheBoss seducing the higher ups]], {{blackmail}}, {{nepotism}}, [[ScrewTheRulesIHaveConnections connections]], or manipulating others into doing their work for them. By contrast, the hero will have no problem with working their butt off to get ahead. These stories commonly start off with the hero being in a lower position than villain, only for the villain's misdeeds to be exposed, causing them to either be fired or be demoted, while the hero ends up being promoted; bonus points if [[HourglassPlot the hero also becomes the villain's new boss]].

** Dr Atsuko Chiba is a devoted scientist with seemingly no time for herself or her emotions, to the point that she can only express her true exuberance and compassion as [[SuperpoweredAlterEgo Paprika]], a renegade psychiatrist who risks all manner of unknown dangers in her journeys [[DreamWalker into the minds of her patients]]. Meanwhile, the BigBad [[spoiler: Chairman Seijirou Inui]] remains hidden away in his mansion, allowing the minions he's bribed or duped to act in his stead while he gleefully exploits the power of the stolen [[AppliedPhlebotinum DC Mini]]. For good measure, his DreamWeaver technique is the epitome of UnskilledButStrong.
** Dr Kousaku Tokito is a brilliant scientist responsible for inventing the DC Mini, and though he's undoubtedly an AbsentMindedProfessor, he's always ready to work hard to help others - from tinkering in his lab to helping Atsuko pick the lock on Himuro's door. By contrast, [[spoiler: Dr Morio Osanai]] TheDragon is a scummy careerist who's trying to claw his way to a promotion through toadying and corporate sabotage rather than hard work, to the point that Paprika intuits that he slept with Himuro in order to get his hands on the DC Mini.

* ''Film/GlassOnion:'' Benoit Blanc is a brilliant detective who falls to pieces without a case to solve and is first encountered deeply bored with playing games of ''VideoGame/AmongUs'' while in lockdown. The BigBad of the story is [[spoiler: Miles Bron, a [[SmugSnake smug]], [[RichInDollarsPoorInSense vacuous]], [[CreativeSterility unimaginative]] TechBro who takes great delight in being regarded as a SelfMadeMan and a genius even though he owes his success entirely to shameless credit-theft: the company that made him his fortune was effectively stolen from his partner, his innovations were either developed by someone else or half-assed bullshit he conjured up on a whim, his murder mystery and the puzzle boxes used for it were all commissioned, and his greatest work - the miracle fuel Klear - has been rushed through testing despite being volatile to the point of insanity. The murders he commits are so lazily thought-out they're virtually spur-of-the-moment, and Bron even resorts to stealing ideas from ''Benoit himself'' in a fantastically slothful attempt to save his own ass.]] As such, unlike the main villain of [[Film/KnivesOut the previous film]] - who was at least BrilliantButLazy and could play a good game of XanatosSpeedChess - this particular bad guy stands out as someone the hard-working Benoit Blanc ''utterly '''despises.''' ''

* ''Series/AvataroSentaiDonbrothers'': Both [[TeamMercyvsTeamMurder The Donbrothers and The Noto Layer]] are working hard to secure the lives of those that mutate into Hitotsu-Ki, for peace and pride respectively. The Juto meanwhile spend 85% of the show sitting on their laurels, coasting on the sheer power-gap between them and the heroes. The Cat Juto wear "immature, childish hedonism" as [[GangOfHats their hat]]. [[spoiler: Miho]] is the only Juto that's an active detriment to the heroes and that's moreso indirectly; what little scheming she does relying exclusively on [[spoiler: the instabilities and issues of Tsuyoshi and Tsubasa doing the work for her]]. Finally, [[spoiler: The Penguin Juto]] reveals itself near the show's end and it's not the FinalBoss that requires every faction to put differences aside; it's a relaxed AffablyEvil HeroAntagonist that spends more time trying to curry physical care from Taro and Tsubasa rather than really trying to stop them - Taro quashes its sole agenda almost immediately and it barely takes action; content to watch things unfold with minimal input.

** The crew of ''Moya'' are a desperate gang of fugitives who spend most of their time struggling to stay alive and can only ''improvise'' fun when they can find the time to do anything other than work. In particular, series protagonist [[ScienceHero John Crichton]] spends most of his off-hours on increasingly dangerous wormhole research. By contrast, early antagonist [[EvilSorcerer Maldis]] is a seemingly all-powerful EmotionEater who prefers to watch his sadistic games play out rather than get involved, only using his powers in the event that his playthings need some encouragement. In their first encounter, his chosen playthings were already mortal enemies and only needed a bit of a prod to fight to the death, and he got so carried away with the fun that Maldis completely failed to notice that Zhaan was learning how to harness her own powers against him - hence his first defeat.
** In season four, the crew of Moya are pitted against a new antagonist, Commandant Grayza. Her [[LivingAphrodisiac heppel oil glands]] give her the power to chemically enslave people, allowing her to accomplish her goals with as little effort as possible... but unfortunately, this power makes her complacent - allowing Crichton to deliver a [[ChainedToABed humiliating defeat]] when he finds an antidote to the oil. She spends the rest of the season as a strictly hands-off BigBad, using Captain Braca as her PuppetKing while she takes baths or plays headgames with her underlings. Even her big plan to trick the Scarran Imperium into a truce involves her taking credit for the wormhole weapon Crichton developed back in season 3 without taking any measures of her own. [[spoiler: This bites her hard in the ass when Scarran [[TheBaroness War Minister Akhna]] sees through Grayza's bluster and easily defeats her underpowered forces. When Grayza attempts to save face by ordering a SuicideAttack on Katratzi, Braca refuses her orders and has her arrested. For good measure, Scorpius - who has been patiently working away on ''Moya'' all season - claims Grayza's command carrier as his own.]]
* ''Series/JessicaJones2015'': Alcoholic and self-destructive though she may be, once Jessica Jones has a mission, she's determined to pursue it even if it means devoting huge swathes of her time, pushing her super-strength to the limit, or putting herself at serious risk - even personally retrieving a body from the bottom of Manhattan harbour in an attempt to clear Hope Schlottman's name. Kilgrave, the BigBad of season one, is a PsychopathicManchild with a CompellingVoice that allows him to control just about anyone and exploits it in order to live [[TheHedonist a life of endless self-indulgence]] while his brainwashed minions do literally everything for him. Jessica escaped his control after spending months as his SexSlave and bodyguard, but Kilgrave still [[EntitledToHaveYou feels entitled to her]] and forces her to return to him through a mixture of emotional manipulation and shameless hostage-taking.

* Downplayed in ''Series/OddSquad'' with Olive and Otto and Oren and Olaf. Oren and Olaf are certainly not a part of Odd Squad's extensive RoguesGallery and are more [[SitcomArchNemesis Sitcom Arch-Nemeses]] than anything else, but both tend to cut corners on work and be far lazier compared to Olive and Otto, who are more hardworking. And while Oren in particular has dreams of [[spoiler: succeeding Oprah as Director of Precinct 13579, Olive is the one who ends up becoming a Director instead, albeit in a different precinct.]]

* ''VideoGame/GodOfWarRagnarok'': This, along with OlderHeroVsYoungerVillain, sums up the dynamic between Kratos and Heimdall. Heimdall has the ability to [[CombatClairvoyance foresee his opponents' attacks before they make them]], which, combined with his SuperReflexes, makes him nearly impossible to hit, and makes Heimdall pretty [[SmugSuper arrogant]]. However, because he's spent most of his life relying on his foresight to best his opponents, and has rarely ever actually been in a serious fight, Heimdall has let his skills slip and is BrilliantButLazy. Kratos, on the other hand, grew up in Sparta countless centuries ago, where he grew up under [[TheSpartanWay the agoge]], with all the TrainingFromHell and strength-building hard work that includes, and was an experienced soldier even before he became the OneManArmy he is today. This means that he can find a blind spot in Heimdall's foresight, by fighting the watchman of Asgard with Draupnir, a spear- the first weapon Spartans like Kratos learned to use from childhood- and therefore a weapon he doesn't need to consciously think to use, which means Heimdall can't predict what he's going to do. Kratos' greater battle experience, combined with the [[StuffBlowingUp explosive properties]] of Draupnir, means that he can catch the green Heimdall off-guard, and eventually close the speed gap between them, getting close enough to finally punch his opponent and draw blood. [[spoiler:The sudden realization that he's NotSoInvincibleAfterAll, along with the fact that he's going to need to actually work to win this fight, [[VillainousBreakdown psychologically rattles Heimdall]], making him fall into flailing, animalistic rage, which deprives him of the benefits of his foresight, and enables Kratos to gradually wear him down, and finally strangle him to death [[PapaWolf for threatening to hurt Atreus]].]]

** The player character is a dedicated agent of their chosen faction who has almost nothing in their life but work, only gets vacation time between expansion packs, and is fully prepared to die in the course of their duties - [[ResurrectiveImmortality multiple times]]. Illuminati [=PCs=] can even be informed "I don't want you to think this is an endless, thankless task, [[ByNoIMeanYes but keep doing it]]." By contrast, [[FatBastard Abdel Daoud]] of the Atenists spends most of his time lounging around in a coffeehouse while his brainwashed cultists do all the work, something his DragonInChief gives him no end of sass for.
** In Transylvania, player characters are pitted against [[VampireMonarch Her Majesty Mara]], queen of all vampires. Befitting her rank, she doesn't have to work with her hands and has numerous lieutenants to lead the troops on her behalf, especially since any ''real'' work was polished off decades ago. And unlike Beaumont and Doud, she doesn't even feel the need to budge from her position in Dracula's castle until you arrive to challenge her. [[spoiler: It's actually an early hint that she's just a puppet to Myth/{{Lilith}}, the much more dangerous and more active true villain of the Transylvania arc.]]
** The Tokyo Arc pits player characters against [[MouthOfSauron the Black Signal]], AKA John. Despite his loyalty to [[EldritchAbomination the Dreamers]], he doesn't actually seem to have much interest in doing anything apart from playing sadistic pranks on the locals and exchanging friendly banter with you. It's eventually revealed that he's procrastinating: [[spoiler: his mission is to kill Lilith, but he's so scared of her that he's making every excuse possible to not face her - to the point that he tries to pit ''you'' against her. As such, it's a very big deal when he finally takes charge of the situation, gets Lilith out of the picture, and [[VillainNoLongerIdle becomes an independent menace]].]]

* Inverted in ''WesternAnimation/TheMidnightGospel'': main character Clancy is an amiable {{Manchild}} trying to run a space podcast and routinely tripped up by his own monumental laziness. He uses his incredibly valuable universe simulator to do such things as going on vacations or getting ice-cream for a friend and spends the podcast interviews sitting to one side while the interviewees do all the adventuring and/or fighting. Oh, and he neglects basic maintenance of his simulator until it malfunctions and nearly "[[RealityIsOutToLunch wobbles]]", despite his computer's increasingly desperate pleas for Clancy to ReadTheFreakingManual. The episode "[[Recap/TheMidnightGospelS1E6VultureWithHonor Vulture With Honor]]" pits him against his tyrannical neighbour Blithrreyus, a fellow simulation farmer with a much more aggressive work ethic. Blithrreyus is introduced personally maintaining his crop of universe simulators, manages the acquisition of artefacts in person, and demands absolute devotion to the business - to the point of [[AbusiveParents abusing his own children]] and [[SlaveryIsASpecialKindOfEvil enslaving simulated entities]].

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[[folder: Fan Works]]

[[folder: Films - Animated]]

[[folder: Films - Live-Action]]

[[folder: Literature]]

[[folder: Live-Action TV]]

[[folder: Mythology & Religion]]

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[[folder: Western Animation]]

* ''WesternAnimation/TheLionKing1994'': The Pride Lands under [[TheGoodKing Mufasa and Simba's]] rule are prosperous mainly due to their diligence and understanding that [[ComesGreatResponsibility being a king isn't about getting your way all the time]]. Under Scar's rule, the Pride Lands [[FisherKing turn from a lush savanna to a barren wasteland]] because Scar was extremely negligent in doing his duties as king.

[[/folder]]

'''Indices'''
* GoodAndEvilForYourConvenience
* DuoTropes
* {{Villains}}
* HeroTropes
* MoralityTropes

# In a story involving superpowers, the villain might have an extremely broken power that they don't bother practicing, causing them to become UnskilledButStrong, while the hero has a weak or average power that they are WeakButSkilled with as a result of diligence.
# In a school setting, the hero will be a diligent student who studies hard to get good grades and plans for their future, while the villain simply [[TheBully bullies]] other people into [[HomeworkSlave doing their homework]] for them while not putting much effort into planning their future.

# A romance story might do this by applying this trope to the RomanticFalseLead and SecondLove; stories that use this variation will often have the false lead dump the hero when the relationship becomes too difficult or when an opportunity for an easier life comes by; meanwhile, second love will stay faithful through thick and thin. If the old lover tries to come back, they will have no problem shamefully begging to get back together when its convenient for them, only to be put in their place by the new lover.

Compare ChildishVillainMatureHero, InsecureProtagonistArrogantAntagonist, EvilIsEasy, PrivilegeMakesYouEvil, and MiseryBuildsCharacter, which this trope often overlaps with. For tropes often expressed by a Diligent Hero, see {{Determinator}}, ComesGreatResponsibility, and SelfMadeMan. For tropes often expressed by a Slothful Villain, see LazyBum, ScrewTheRulesIHaveMoney, ScrewTheRulesImBeautiful, SpoiledBrat, ScrewTheRulesIHaveConnections, EntitledBastard, OrcusOnHisThrone, AmbitiousButLazy, AllTakeAndNoGive, and BeautyBreedsLaziness.