History Main / InfamousButInCharge

* The titular villain of ''Literature/{{Steelheart}}'' rules Newcago while actively trying to ensure that his subjects are terrified of him. It doesn't hurt that he seems to be literally invulnerable.

* At the end of ''ComicBook/Eternals2021'', the notoriously treacherous [[SmugSnake Druig]] achieves the role of Eternal Prime thanks to having defeated Thanos and to being seen as a weak character who will be an tolerable candidate to all the powerful and hostile factions. Oceanus muses that he is the "smallest" Eternal of all. The result is the ''ComicBook/JudgementDayMarvelComics'' CrisisCrossover, which leads to the near-destruction of Earth. Oops.

Can be a MeanBoss or BadBoss but not necessarily. In fact, their being a good boss in spite of being a terrible person who does not try to hide their bad deeds might be how they still convince enough people to defend their continued leadership. This trope is also not the WellIntentionedExtremist or BlueAndOrangeMorality or AboveGoodAndEvil or InsaneTrollLogic since the villain provides no moral reason for what they have done and is okay with stating what they did was immoral or amoral. Compare/contrast VillainWithGoodPublicity since they can be well-liked, but their power may not come from good publicity with the general public but through power plays and systems of control that make it so they stay in power even if they are mostly disdained. Might be related to VetinariJobSecurity if the person has the job since no one else can do the job or wants to do it.

This trope though is probably most common in works where the villain is part of an authoritarian regime as [[TheGeneralissimo the ruthless dictator]] or [[EvilOverlord tyrannical king]] and here can be somewhat [[TruthInTelevision true]]. This is because many dictatorships and kingdoms in real life ran on a [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cult_of_personality cult of personality]] where leaders could stay in charge even if a decent number of people disliked them as long as enough members of the cult were okay with their actions -- and in many cases, the 'cult' was quite [[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin literal]]! In this case, the idea is that the people responsible for keeping the autocrat in charge generally still support them despite the terrible action and the lack of any attempt at justification.

* In ''Literature/{{Discworld}}'', everyone knows that Vetinari, the patrician, is evil, yet he keeps his job since all the other prospective patricians are even worse. Indeed, at one point he tells another character that as a tyrant he could do whatever he wanted, but if he wanted to ''stay'' in charge of the city, then it might be a good idea to not abuse his power too often.

* ''Franchise/StarWarsLegends'': Any place the Sith Empire runs is very much this. The Sith Lord theocracy is made up of AxCrazy SorcerousOverlord types whose qualifications for leadership usually are "I stabbed this guy before he stabbed me." They can murder, maim, rape, and otherwise terrorize muggles and their governments are highly unstable. The only thing they are good for is waging war, but without an enemy to fight or one Sith to be a GodEmperor and terrify the rest into submission, they quickly implode into infighting.

[[folder:Religion]]
* Literature/TheBible: Satan, though it depends on interpretation and writing. Some see him as an evil amoral king of hell leading devils and demons while others have him suffering alongside everyone else with no direct command, and there are other ways still to interpret Satan's role in hell and demonology. However, the most common interpretation is that of an evil being that does whatever he wants and wishes to usurp God: "I will ascend to the heavens; I will raise my throne above the stars of God; I will sit enthroned on the mount of assembly, on the utmost heights of Mount Zaphon. I will ascend above the tops of the clouds; I will make myself like the Most High."
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Many villains need to cover up their terrible deeds or plans. They have crazy ideas to take over the world and have to keep their ideas under wraps to make them more loved by the populace. Sometimes, a villain needs to come up with a cover story to justify why he wiped out that village or murdered all those innocent people. This trope is not about those kinds of villains though - it is about the ones who do terrible things without trying to justify it, get caught red-handed doing something bad, or commit awful crimes - but they are still in charge.

This trope though is probably most common in works where the villain is part of an authoritarian regime as [[TheGeneralissimo the ruthless dictator]] or [[EvilOverlord tyrannical king]] and here can be somewhat [[TruthInTelevision true]]. This is because many dictatorships and kingdoms in real life ran on a [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cult_of_personality cult of personality]] where leaders could stay in charge even if a decent number of people disliked them as long as enough members of the cult were okay with their actions - and in many cases, the 'cult' was quite [[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin literal]]! In this case, the idea is that the people responsible for keeping the autocrat in charge generally still support them despite the terrible action and the lack of any attempt at justification.

[[folder:Anime and Manga]]

* In ''TabletopGame/VampireTheMasquerade'', this is the case of most Princes of the [[AncientConspiracy Camarilla]], the Kindred in charge of cities (or districts). They are typically widely disliked by every other Vampire in their domain, aside from their personal retainers and sycophants, but stay in charge because they're either physically or politically powerful enough to make those who don't like them obey TheMasquerade and all of the Camarilla's other traditions anyway- And those who ''don't'' obey the traditions typically have the [[TheDragon Sheriff]] or, worse, the [[TheDreaded Scourge]], sent after them.

--> "Kap'n K. Rool treats us rotten. I hope yer scupper his plans!"

* Literature/TheBible: Satan, though it depends on interpretation and writing. Some see him as an evil amoral king of hell leading devil and demons while others have him suffering alongside everyone else with no direct command, and there are other ways still to interpret Satan's role in hell and demonology. However, the most common interpretation is that of an evil being that does whatever he wants and wishes to usurp God: "I will ascend to the heavens; I will raise my throne above the stars of God; I will sit enthroned on the mount of assembly, on the utmost heights of Mount Zaphon. I will ascend above the tops of the clouds; I will make myself like the Most High."

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* ''VideoGame/Cyberpunk2077'': Dexter [=DeShawn=] is a fixer well-known in the underworld for plucking young hopefuls from the street, using them for a single job, then letting them take the fall for when it goes south while he skips town to lay low for a while. Despite knowing this, Jackie and V still let themselves be swayed by Dex's larger-than-life persona and promises of a huge score, going along with his Arasaka heist plan -- until it inevitably goes pear-shaped in the worst way possible (namely, [[spoiler:by Saburo Arasaka, the head of Arasaka, getting killed by his own son with the blame falling on Jackie and V, and Jackie being killed himself during the escape]]) and Dex [[spoiler:shoots V]] in an attempt to save his own hide ([[spoiler:which didn't work as Takemura tracked him down and put a bullet in his head]]).

* ''VideoGame/Cyberpunk2077'': Dexter [=DeShawn=] is a fixer well-known in the underworld for plucking young hopefuls from the street, using them for a single job, then letting them take the fall for when it goes south while he skips town to lay low for a while. Despite knowing this, Jackie and V still let themselves be swayed by Dex's larger-than-life persona and promises of a huge score, going along with his Arasaka heist plan -- until it inevitably goes pear-shaped and Dex burns them to save his own hide.

* The titular villain of ''Literature/Steelheart'' rules Newcago while actively trying to ensure that his subjects are terrified of him. It doesn't hurt that he seems to be literally invulnerable.

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* In ''WesternAnimation/AliceInWonderland'', the Red Queen kills people for the pettiest of reasons and faces no consequences or rebuttal, though makes more sense in this context considering the trippy dreamworld quality of Wonderland.

* ''Theatre/RichardIII'': Shakespeare's iconic VillianProtagonist schemes, murders, and manipulates himself onto the throne, and while it doesn't last long, he's still the most interesting and competent character in the play. It may be a HistoricalVillianUpgrade, but it has inspired a great deal of interest in the not nearly as villainous but pretty competent [[UsefulNotes/RichardIII real king]].

* In ''Literature/{{Discworld}}'', everyone knows that Vetinari, the patrician, is evil, yet he keeps his job since all the other prospective patricians are even worse.

[[AC:Religion]]
* Literature/TheBible: Satan, though it depends on interpretation and writing. Some see him as an evil amoral king of hell leading devil and demons while others have him suffering alongside everyone else with no direct command, and there are other ways still to interpret Satan's role in hell and demonology. However, the most common interpretation is that of an evil being that does whatever he wants and wishes to usurp God: "I will ascend to the heavens; I will raise my throne above the stars of God; I will sit enthroned on the mount of assembly, on the utmost heights of Mount Zaphon. I will ascend above the tops of the clouds; I will make myself like the Most High."

* In Series/GameOfThrones, Cersei Lannister blows up the Sept of Baelor with hundreds of people in it. However, there are no mentions of any unrest in King's Landing following the event, and Cersei's enemies treat her as a formidable enemy, even though earlier, she and her son had faced riots for less terrible acts.

* In ''WesternAnimation/AliceInWonderland'', the Red Queen kills people for the pettiest of reasons and faces no consequences or rebuttal, though makes more sense in this context considering the trippy dreamworld quality of Wonderland.

[[AC:Literature]]
* In [[https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Literature/Discworld Discworld]], everyone knows that Vetinari, the patrician, is evil, yet he keeps his job since all the other prospective patricians are even worse.

* In ''Literature/HarryPotterAndTheDeathlyHallows'', Severus Snape, who had killed Dumbledore in [[Literature/HarryPotterAndTheHAlfBloodPrince the previous book]], is named the new director of Hogwarts to the shock of Hermione.

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* ''VideoGame/XenobladeChronicles3'' has the Consuls/Moebius, who rule over Aionios and the colonies there. They make for horrible rulers, as they intentionally risk the lives of their people, constantly making them fight and kill purely to give Moebius more power for themselves. Nobody ever tries to stand up to them because they are all raised not to, and even if they did, their power is unmatched, making the Ouroboros the only ones who can stop them. Once the Ouroboros awaken, the colonies try to enlist their help, and together, they all rebel against the Moebius and live more peaceful lives with them dead.

* ''VideoGame/Cyberpunk2077'': Dexter [=DeShawn=] is a fixer well-known in the underworld for plucking young hopefuls from the street, using them for a single job, then letting them take the fall for when it goes south while he skips town to lay low for a while. Despite knowing this, Jackie and V still let themselves be swayed by Dex's larger-than-life persona and promises of a huge score, going along with his Arasaka heist plan -- until it inevitably goes pear-shaped and Dex burns them to save his own hide.

* * ''VideoGame/Cyberpunk2077'': Dexter [=DeShawn=] is a fixer well-known in the underworld for plucking young hopefuls from the street, using them for a single job, then letting them take the fall for when it goes south while he skips town to lay low for a while. Despite knowing this, Jackie and V still let themselves be swayed by Dex's larger-than-life persona and promises of a huge score, going along with his Arasaka heist plan -- until it inevitably goes pear-shaped and Dex burns them to save his own hide.