History Main / VilLainDeCay

* Nicole Wallace of ''Series/LawAndOrderCriminalIntent'' started off as Moriarty to Bobby Goren's SherlockHolmes, which made her getting nailed in her return appearance so satisfying. Then she was brought back in increasingly ridiculous ways, to the point where she was closer to a supervillain than her original anti-Goren persona.
** The Villain Decay reaches its nadir in her final appearance, in which [[spoiler:she's just a RedHerring for the real villain, who ''kills her offscreen'']].

** ''Series/StargateSG1'' fits this trope like a Goa'uld hand device. The Goa'uld were introduced as merciless, brutal and could effortlessly obliterate Earth as well as having a firm grip on much of the galaxy, held back only by in-fighting caused by their lust for power. When our heroes encounter just a small group of Jaffa, they manage to escape in one piece if lucky. But as the series progressed they became a bunch of arrogant, scheming, childish fools with a [[TheNapoleon Napoleon complex]] and their mighty Jaffa armies become [[LoweredMonsterDifficulty P90 fodder]]. Their flanged voices sounded cool and creepy when spoken slowly and calmly, but sounded ridiculous when they put any real emotion into it. By the end of the series, a Goa'uld encounter is just an inconvenience as our heroes have bigger fish to fry.\\
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* The CC Corporation in ''FlandersCompany'' started out as a relatively competent organisation who actually succeeded in taking over Trueman's company without him even noticing, and their leader Carla Brunelle was a PsychoElectro and {{Magnificent B|astard}}itch who could handle the whole team of protagonists of her own. Come season 3, the arrival of [[KnightOfCerebus Aegis]] cause Carla to suffer a VillainousBreakdown, leading her to a {{Genre Blind|ness}} decision. Her group is even worse, as most competent members are either KilledOffForReal or PutOnABus, leaving her more and more SurroundedByIdiots

* Thoroughly averted in ''[[FanFic/UltimateSleepwalker Ultimate Sleepwalker: The New Dreams]]'' or ''[[FanFic/UltimateSpiderWoman Ultimate Spider-Woman: Change With The Light]]''. Given that the SortingAlgorithmOfEvil does '''NOT''' apply in these series, and the heroes do not gain any new powersets or power boosts over the course of the series, villains who were introduced early on have remained constantly and deadly threats throughout both series' runs.

* Kerrigan from ''VideoGame/{{Starcraft}}''. In the original she was little more than an AxCrazy PsychoForHire {{Elite Mook|s}} to the Overmind. In Brood Wars she ascended into manipulating ALL the other sides against each other, [[HeroKiller eliminating one key figure after another]] and eventually crippling her enemies and proclaiming herself [[MagnificentBastard Queen Bitch of the Universe. And it WAS NOT an empty boast.]] Then...came Wings of Liberty. Sarah suffered from a sever case of [[OrcusOnHisThrone "Arthas Syndrome"]], and for the whole Terran campaign stayed in the background, being repeatedly thwarted by the humans, spurting some cliched villainous trites interlaced with some fatalistic emo crap, and finally being rescued by the hero, who carried her on his arms into the sunrise. All the hopes now lie in the upcoming Zerg campaign which is supposed to rehabilitate our beloved FemmeFatale.
** On that note, the Zerg as a whole deserve their own mention. Originally, they were disgusting amoral Xenomorph-esque HordeofAlienLocusts led by the Overmind, a MagnificentBastard EldritchAbomination who successfully exterminated and assimilated much of their more powerful Xel'Naga creators. Originally, according to the first game, he created Kerrigan as a means of using her as the Zerg's ultimate weapon against the Protoss, which worked ''beautifully'' when the Overmind and the Zerg Swarm successfully conquered the Protoss homeworld of Aiur. Then came the revelation from Starcraft 2's "Wings of Liberty" campaign: The Overmind was just the Dark Voice's pawn and nothing more. All of the magnificent bastardry and successful Chessmaster ploys that the Overmind executed weren't because it sought to merge the Protoss (who represented the Xel'Naga concept of "purity of form") and Zerg to create the ultimate lifeform like it wanted to in the first game, but because it was following orders from the Dark Voice, who is being setup as the new Starcraft BigBad. Yes, [[DidWeJustHaveTeaWithCthulhu you can have tea with the Zerg.]] While promising, that also meant completely ''castrating'' a villain that was voted number 8 in PC World's "Most Diabolical Videogame Villains of All Time."

* Kerrigan from ''VideoGame/{{Starcraft}}''. In the original she was little more than an AxCrazy PsychoForHire {{Elite Mook|s}} to the Overmind. In Brood Wars she ascended into a {{Magnificent B|astard}}itch of her own right, manipulating ALL the other sides against each other, [[HeroKiller eliminating one key figure after another]] and eventually crippling her enemies and proclaiming herself Queen Bitch of the Universe. And it WAS NOT an empty boast. Then...came Wings of Liberty. Sarah suffered from a sever case of [[OrcusOnHisThrone "Arthas Syndrome"]], and for the whole Terran campaign stayed in the background, being repeatedly thwarted by the humans, spurting some cliched villainous trites interlaced with some fatalistic emo crap, and finally being rescued by the hero, who carried her on his arms into the sunrise. All the hopes now lie in the upcoming Zerg campaign which is supposed to rehabilitate our beloved FemmeFatale.
** On that note, the Overmind also deserves its own mention. Originally, it was a MagnificentBastard who successfully slew and absorbed much of the Xel'Naga race who created him and the Zerg to seek their "purity of essence." Originally, according to the first game, he created Kerrigan as a means of using her as the Zerg's ultimate weapon against the Protoss, which worked ''beautifully'' when the Overmind and the Zerg Swarm successfully conquered the Protoss homeworld of Aiur. Then came the revelation from Starcraft 2's "Wings of Liberty" campaign: The Overmind was just the Dark Voice's pawn and nothing more. All of the magnificent bastardry and successful Chessmaster ploys that the Overmind executed weren't because it sought to merge the Protoss(who represented the Xel'Naga concept of "purity of form") and Zerg to create the ultimate lifeform like it wanted to in the first game, but because it was following orders from the Dark Voice, who is being setup as the new Starcraft BigBad. While promising, that also meant completely ''castrating'' a villain that was voted number 8 in PC World's "Most Diabolical Videogame Villains of All Time."
* In ''VideoGame/CommandAndConquerRedAlert'', the [[UsefulNotes/RedsWithRockets Soviets]] are fear-inspiring Nazi replacements who want to TakeOverTheWorld and cross the MoralEventHorizon several times. Over the course of the games, they become increasingly goofier and sillier, eventually becoming {{Harmless Villain}}s in ''VideoGame/CommandAndConquerRedAlert3'', compared to the new antagonist, the [[UsefulNotes/KatanasOfTheRisingSun Empire of the Rising Sun]].

* The AffablyEvil [[TheTrickster Discord]] of ''WesternAnimation/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagic'' is introduced as a genuine threat that even ''Princess Celestia'' is afraid of. In Season Three, however, he's released to be reformed and spends the episode hanging out in Fluttershy's house and having a dinner party with the ponies. Interestingly, he's every bit as powerful as before, but he flat out behaves himself ''so he can screw around with the ponies as they try to reform him''. [[spoiler:By the time he's tired of playing and decides to enact his evil scheme, however, he has actually come to consider Fluttershy a friend, and promises to reform for her sake.]]

* Generally speaking, this has been a big problem for American SuperHero comics for a long time, due to their serialized nature and the constantly recurring villains. This was ''[[TropeCodifier especially]]'' a problem during {{the Silver Age|OfComicBooks}}, where writers like Creator/StanLee would have the villains openly say "'''This''' time my '''brilliant plan''' will '''work perfectly!''' And those '''pesky heroes''' will be '''unable''' to '''''[[NothingCanStopUsNow stop me!!!]]'''''" and whatnot without any sense of irony after having been clobbered multiple times already (and the reader was supposed to take the threat to the hero at straight face value, to boot). A lot of the accomplishments - and problems - surrounding American comicry from the 1970s onward can be traced in large part to attempting to combat Villain Decay while keeping the now-decades-old continuity running without having to constantly invent [[SortingAlgorithmOfEvil new villains]].

* By far, SelfDemonstrating/TheJoker from the ''Franchise/{{Batman}}'' comic book series. [[http://www.quickstopentertainment.com/comics101/46.html This page]] nicely details his periods of decay. Arguably, the same thing can be said for any other villain featured in the 60's show. 1973's "The Joker's Five Way Revenge" returned him to his original personality of scary sadistic madman. [[TheBronzeAgeOfComicBooks From]] [[TheDarkAgeOfComicBooks then]] [[TheModernAgeOfComicBooks on]] there have [[Comicbook/TheKillingJoke been]] [[ComicBook/ADeathInTheFamily certain]] [[Franchise/{{DCAU}} story]][[Film/TheDarkKnight lines]] [[ComicBook/DeathOfTheFamily that]] will ensure that the Joker may never suffer Villain Decay again if we keep going in this direction.
** Said decay, depending on which continuity you follow, has become a part of Joker's character: He can go from complete goof ball to a serious threat in an instant and, according to Creator/GrantMorrison, went through the decay because he likes to "reinvent" his act every so often.
** As to the 60's show, it actually ''reversed'' the Villain Decay of a lot of villains; it didn't cause it. Riddler and Mister Freeze in the show might seem goofy today, but prior to the show both characters had only appeared in a handful of issues and the TV series is actually what established them as major rogues. They might have been silly, but that's better than being forgotten and forgettable, plus no bad guy on the show was quite the HarmlessVillain they have been remembered as -- it may have been light-hearted entertainment, but they ''did'' nearly kill Batman and Robin in various horrible and sadistic ways at the end of every other episode, after all. Especially the Mad Hatter, who, in the comic book introductory story that provided fodder for ''both'' of his televisual appearances, was merely an essentially harmless exotic hat collector who was not above stealing some of his prized treasures; whereas onscreen he sported an instant-knockout hat which he used to kidnap the jury that had previously convicted him, as well as planning Batman's demise on a specially-designed, vicious ConveyorBeltOfDoom (managing to put Robin on it in the climactic scene).

In most shows, FailureIsTheOnlyOption [[TheGoodGuysAlwaysWin for the]] {{Villains}}, because [[TheBadGuyWins success]] would mean that the villains TakeOverTheWorld, kill all the good guys, and otherwise do things that make future episodes impossible. However, this eventually makes the audience wonder why TheHero is so concerned about an enemy that they've beaten six times already. Note that this does not apply to shows where the villains are supposed to be [[IneffectualSympatheticVillain incompetent jokes]] from the start.

** Even the films have done this. The Decepticons were nearly unstoppable g, being in Icy mode most of the time, manages to out maneuver the Autobots in the first film, in the sequel they get thrown around. Although the extent of decay is hard to tell since [[spoiler: the Autobots and humans from around the globe have been fighting for two years now as a specialized task force. They're better prepared this time. Plus the fights aren't in crowded cities, so the Autobots can cut loose, especially Optimus.]]

* Deliberately invoked and deconstructed with Cersei from ''Literature/ASongOfIceAndFire''. She started out as the puppet master behind King Robert and became one of the most feared characters in the series when she declared herself Queen Regent after his death...but promptly ran herself straight into the ground the second the checks on her power were removed. As the power went to her head, her schemes became less competent and more deranged over time, and while she was still somewhat feared it was more because she was psychotically unstable and overly trigger happy.

* Happens to [[LivingShadow Lord Ombra]] in the series ''Literature/PeterAndTheStarcatchers''. In ''Peter And The Shadow Thieves'', all Ombra has to do is have his shadow overlap with yours, and immediately he [[YourSoulIsMine steals your shadow]], giving him full access to all your memories and turning you into an [[MindControl utterly obedient slave]] with no further effort or maintenance on his part required. In "Peter And The Secret of Rundoon" onward, he...can't. Being as Ombra in his first incarnation was ludicrously overpowered, it was a choice between Villain Decay or OnlyTheAuthorCanSaveThemNow.
* ''Literature/InDeath'': This is mostly avoided by having a new murderer in each book. This still happened with Isaac [=McQueen=] in ''New York To Dallas''. He started out as a cunning pedophile who had never been caught and he seemed to avoid even being noticed in the first place...until Eve took him down as a rookie. She wasn't even out to arrest him, she was just questioning him on a matter that was not really related to him, and he attacked her when she wouldn't leave. Twelve years later, he escapes from prison trying to get {{Revenge}} on Eve and still seems untouchable. However, by the end of the story, he turns out to be a pedophile who has lost a lot of his intelligence, and his ability to make even ''basic'' decisions. Dr. Mira even explains that the 12 years in prison, having the power to make decisions taken away from him in that time, and breaking most, if not all, of his patterns in illogical ways have ''devolved'' him!

* It becomes apparent towards the end of Literature/PeterPaysTribute that the Gray God needs Peter, his acolyte, more than peter needs him. Also, Briskle is more crazy than competent.

[[folder:Video Games]]
* The Reapers in the ''[[Franchise/MassEffect Mass Effect series]]'' undergo this, in particular starting with ''VideoGame/MassEffect2''. In the first game, we know little about them, gradually uncover the nihilistic future they intend to impose; talking to one (Sovereign) directly. He is menacing and intimidating by his sheer indifference to everything Shepard says; "You exist because we allow it, and you will end because we demand it." That one exchange encompasses everything the Reapers are. Alas, once the sequel roll around Harbinger, who has taken up the mantle, resorts to petty one liners that are [[MemeticMutation memetic]]. He lacks that same imposing threat, especially unlike Sovereign, Harbinger is indirectly thwarted quite a few times. In ''VideoGame/MassEffect3'' not only do the Reapers not even have a speaking role. We discover they are merely tools to a higher evil AI that creates and controls them in order to carry out its supposedly solution. After all this, going back to Mass Effect, Sovereign's ominous speech almost seems funny since a good majority of what he said turns out wrong, misinformed or just straight up {{Narm}}.

* The Reapers in the ''[[Franchise/MassEffect Mass Effect series]]'' undergo this, in particular starting with VideoGame/MassEffect2. In the first game, we know little about them, gradually uncover the nihilistic future they intend to impose; talking to one (Sovereign) directly. He is menacing and intimidating by his sheer indifference to everything Shepard says; "You exist because we allow it, and you will end because we demand it." That one exchange encompasses everything the Reapers are. Alas, once the sequel roll around Harbinger, who has taken up the mantle, resorts to petty one liners that are [[MemeticMutation memetic]]. He lacks that same imposing threat, especially unlike Sovereign, Harbinger is indirectly thwarted quite a few times. In VideoGame/MassEffect3 not only do the Reapers not even have a speaking role. We discover they are merely tools to a higher evil AI that creates and controls them in order to carry out its supposedly solution. After all this, going back to Mass Effect, Sovereign's ominous speech almost seems funny since a good majority of what he said turns out wrong, misinformed or just straight up {{Narm}}.

* The Reapers in the ''[[Franchise/MassEffect Mass Effect series]]'' undergo this, in particular starting with {{Mass Effect 2}}. In the first game, we know little about them, gradually uncover the nihilistic future they intend to impose; talking to one (Sovereign) directly. He is menacing and intimidating by his sheer indifference to everything Shepard says; "You exist because we allow it, and you will end because we demand it." That one exchange encompasses everything the Reapers are. Alas, once the sequel roll around Harbinger, who has taken up the mantle, resorts to petty one liners that are [[MemeticMutation memetic]]. He lacks that same imposing threat, especially unlike Sovereign, Harbinger is indirectly thwarted quite a few times. In {{Mass Effect 3}} not only do the Reapers not even have a speaking role. We discover they are merely tools to a higher evil AI that creates and controls them in order to carry out its supposedly solution. After all this, going back to Mass Effect, Sovereign's ominous speech almost seems funny since a good majority of what he said turns out wrong, misinformed or just straight up {{Narm}}.

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** Upon being reanimated via [[DangerousForbiddenTechnique Edo Tensei]], the Akatsuki Members [[PuppetMaster Sasori]], [[MadArtist Deidara]], and [[ReallySevenHundredYearsOld Kakuzu]] all suffer this. Sasori, despite not having his puppets was overwhelmed by Kankuro's team even though in life, he could kill the strongest Kazekage in his time despite not being a puppet at the time. Deidara seems to {{forg|otAboutHisPowers}}et he has four more levels of C Jutsu to use and gets stabbed and neutralized quickly by Omoi after being pounded by Sai's Twin God technique, even though before he could defeat Gaara on his home turf with minimum clay and push [[BaseBreaker Sasuke Uchiha]] to his limits. And Kakuzu...doesn't even get a proper fight. Even though in his arc he could overwhelm Kakashi, Ino, and Choji at the same time, he's defeated ''off screen'' by Choji, Darui, Izumo, Kotetsu, and [[MyFriendsAndZoidberg Tenten]]. The only two Akatsuki characters who were given a proper fight were Itachi (who was really a good guy and Kishimoto already said he favors him due to him being his favorite Akatsuki) and Nagato (and even then he had to be gimped despite having his full powers).

* Creator/{{Disney}} originally had Captain Hook be somewhat dangerous in ''Disney/PeterPan'', with him being decently competent against Peter. However, by ''WesternAnimation/JakeAndTheNeverlandPirates'', he is now absolutely stupid and has a small ball on the end of his hook. Maybe small children are scared by pointy hooks, but it just seems silly.
** Or maybe he was just so clumsy with the hook that his crew did this so he would stop tearing his face off while grooming his beard.

** What's worse is that he was once an apprentice pirate with Shanks in [[spoiler:The ''Roger'' Pirates]], and while they would seem to be of equal power or potential, Shanks seems even stronger each time we learn more about him (like being compared to Mihawk, and turning out to be one of the Four Emperors), while Buggy couldn't defeat one of Impel Down's [[EliteMooks Blugori]] while Luffy effortlessly takes down five.
*** A [[LampshadeHanging lampshade is hung on this]] when Luffy and the group of big-name former prisoners he was with him finally escaped Impel Down. At about this point, Buggy's past on the Roger Crew was revealed, causing [[WholesomeCrossdresser Emporio Ivankov]] to muse that Buggy is likely the 'disgrace' of the Roger Pirates.

** Mihawk also averts this, mostly. His first appearance has him cutting ships in half with his {{BFS}} and blocking katanas with a pocket knife. The next time we see him, while Whitebeard and the Admirals appear to much stronger than he is, he has a brief fight with Luffy which Luffy quickly runs away from seeing that Mihawk is still too strong for him.

** The Pacifistas. They're initially capable of fighting against the entire Straw Hat crew and more than a match for each of the Supernovas. Then, in the Paramount War, Boa Hancock is able to take down many of them, and large groups of Whitebeard Pirate {{Mooks}} can fare well against them. On the other hand, these groups ''are'' very experienced pirates (New World veterans, in fact), as opposed to 'rookies' like Luffy, and Hancock is [[spoiler:or probably was at the time]] much stronger than him. [[spoiler:After the TimeSkip, Luffy, Zoro and Sanji almost effortlessly defeat two of them. Then it gets subverted when Sentomaru mentions that those two were outdated models, and the Pacifista project has advanced even further in the last two years]].

** As to the 60's show, it actually ''reversed'' the Villain Decay of a lot of villains; it didn't cause it. Riddler and Mister Freeze in the show might seem goofy today, but prior to the show both characters had only appeared in a handful of issues and the TV series is actually what established them as major rogues. They might have been silly, but that's better than being forgotten and forgettable, plus no bad guy on the show was quite the HarmlessVillain they have been remembered as- it may have been light-hearted entertainment, but they ''did'' nearly kill Batman and Robin in various horrible and sadistic ways at the end of every other episode, after all.
*** Especially the Mad Hatter, who, in the comic book introductory story that provided fodder for ''both'' of his televisual appearances, was merely an essentially harmless exotic hat collector who was not above stealing some of his prized treasures; whereas onscreen he sported an instant-knockout hat which he used to kidnap the jury that had previously convicted him, as well as planning Batman's demise on a specially-designed, vicious ConveyorBeltOfDoom (managing to put Robin on it in the climactic scene).

* The Marvel supervillain Abomination has probably lost more bad boy status than almost any other. Originally a [[ComicBook/IncredibleHulk Hulk]] villain, he started out up-powered even by the Hulk's standards, whomping him down in their first encounter. He then had some gamma power stripped, which was added to the Hulk, thus losing in their next encounter. He then suffered a series of beatdowns at the hands of the Hulk, leading to humiliating exposition as his character developed a fear of even encountering the Hulk anymore. But that was not the end of it. Over subsequent years, he became a chew toy to show how badass the lower bricks in the Marvel universe could be, taking solo beatdowns at the hands of both WonderMan and ComicBook/SheHulk. Oh, true, they ''pulled out all the stops'' in their demonstration of badassery, but the Abomination just can't get any respect, in spite of still remaining perhaps the physically strongest character without some quasi-infinite trick up their sleeve.
** He got a slightly better treatment in the ''Chaos War'' [[Comicbook/TheIncredibleHercules Herc]] [[BatFamilyCrossover family crossover]], where, after having been killed off a couple years ago by the Comicbook/RedHulk, he [[LikeABadassoutOfHell comes back]] as a servant for the BigBad [[EldritchAbomination Chaos King]]. After tearing through a team of Hulks, Comicbook/DoctorStrange states that he was "the Underworld's strongest prisoner". He's still dead again by the end of the story, but he definitely got some cred back.
* Colonel Olrik of ''BlakeAndMortimer'' fame fits this trope to a tee. In his first appearance, he aided TheEmpire in bringing about WorldWarIII and successfully conquering the world. Understandably, his later appearances as a smuggler/thief/spy are not as impressive.
** Even when [[spoiler:said Empire's bloodthirsty dictator was brought BackFromTheDead via TimeTravel and Olrik joined him once more]] in ''The Strange Encounter'' he was little more than a thug.

** Also, ComicBook/{{Venom}}, whose career as a psychotic murderer and Spider-Man's most frightening enemy ended the minute he decided to become "the Lethal Protector".
*** It's so much worse than that. In Venom's early days, he was able to tango with both Spidey AND the Human Torch. Remember, he's weak to fire. In his first appearance, he almost KILLED Spider-Man. Fast forward about seven years. Spider-Man, in a bored nonchalant manner, sends him running scared WITH A LIGHTER.

**** His constantly reminding us of the rape thing is apparently intended to make him seem more evil, but it actually makes the decay worse: he used to be a C-list villain, but now he comes off as a C-list villain who ''desperately'' clings to having managed to hurt ''non-powered civilians'' in a way non-powered thugs in reality do with (very sad) regularity hoping someone will take him seriously.
* Gepetto, the evil mastermind of ''Comicbook/{{Fables}}'' contracted a bad case of villain decay. He'd conquered and ruled countless realms for centuries, but after he lost the first couple battles of the new war, he became depressed and sat about moaning while his Empire fell to pieces, until the heroes came and took him to live in a nice new apartment in New York City.

* ''Manga/DragonBall'' has this trope, and it has happened within the series on ''numerous'' occasions to the point that it's practically procedural after a villain's initial defeat; To list every instance would need its own trope page. Within the span of episodes, villains can fall from being ridiculously lethal and dire threats to being utterly outclassed in every possible way. Likely {{justified|Trope}} by the fact that the protagonists' strength grows enormously throughout the series, while most other characters stay at around the same level. A rule of thumb is that after a villain has been defeated once before, they're chopped liver. It's taken to its extreme ''twice'': once in the Dragon Ball Z movie Fusion Reborn, and again during Super 17 arc of GT. Both times, entire scores of previously-killed villains from the original and Z series (and even a couple from the movies!) manage to escape from Hell and are effortlessly defeated by the much more powerful cast. Even Frieza, who was offed in a single attack.

In most shows, FailureIsTheOnlyOption [[TheGoodGuysAlwaysWin for the]] {{Villains}}, because [[TheBadGuyWins success]] would mean that the villains TakeOverTheWorld, kill all the good guys, and otherwise do things that make future episodes impossible. However, this eventually makes the auidence wonder why TheHero is so concerned about an enemy that they've beaten six times already. Note that this does not apply to shows where the villains are supposed to be [[IneffectualSympatheticVillain incompetent jokes]] from the start.

Most writers will try to stop this decline in menace, which sometimes helps and sometimes makes the VillainDecay worse, but the fastest way to decay a villain is to [[HeelFaceTurn make him switch sides]].

Note that VillainDecay is almost never caused by a lack of OffscreenVillainDarkMatter, a difficulty in recruiting Mooks, or even injuries from battle with the heroes -- which is to say, they don't become worse off because they have ''lost''. Also note that a VillainousBreakdown is not a guarantee of VillainDecay. Decay will only happen quicker if their entire VillainPedigree is replaced. If you have an InvincibleHero - especially one who shouldn't be capable of winning [[InvincibleIncompetent but somehow always wins anyway]] - VillainDecay is almost assured, even for characters who haven't fought yet. Tends to be particularly hard to avoid for villains who manage to survive the heroes' climb up the SortingAlgorithmOfEvil.

* Beck from ''Anime/TheBigO'' is the world champ of VillainDecay: the writers put him through almost every one of the gimmicks mentioned above. First he got a cool new weapon, then he got played as a buffoon (complete with a comically grotesque hairdo), then the hero was put into an AlternateUniverse where Beck was a real threat, before he finally ended up just being an underling working for BigBad Alex and his PsychoForHire, Alan Gabriel.
** Well, that's all true, assuming you believe he was set up to be a competent villain in the first place. In the manga, that's perfectly true, and he is a competent villain. In the anime, it's fairly obvious that he was intentionally turned into comic relief. He starts out being effective because he's actually smart enough to dial down his own ego and commence his plans intelligently. Unfortunately, his ego takes control in later episodes, and his decay is quite noticeable. Also, it's rather blatantly implied that he really isn't fit to be a villain, and that his true genius is in building robots and neural {{AI}}s (which he remains shockingly good at, as lampshaded by Gabriel, and later by SuperRobotWarsZ). That said, the decay of the anime Beck is quite possibly justified.

* Interesting metaexample: in the ''Manga/SailorMoon'' anime the {{Quirky Miniboss Squad}}s, and MonstersOfTheWeek, grow less menacing and more comedic with each passing season. This did not hold to the manga.

** Also his minions from the Sound Village suffer from this, in Part 1, even the weakest of them including FillerVillain was a serious threat, and the Sound Four were so powerful that it took two of their opponents to give everything they had to kill them; in fact their leader was so strong that he would've won his fight if not for a terminal disease. when Part 2 comes around most of them (excluding those who join Hebi) are whiny wimps dependent on Kabuto.
** Upon being reanimated via [[DangerousForbiddenTechnique Edo Tensei]], the Akatsuki Members [[PuppetMaster Sasori]], [[MadArtist Deidara]], and [[ReallySevenHundredYearsOld Kakuzu]] all suffer this. Sasori, despite not having his puppets was overwhelmed by Kankuro's team even though in life, he could kill the strongest Kazekage in his time despite not being a puppet at the time. Deidara seems to [[ForgotHowToFly forget]] he has four more levels of C Jutsu to use and gets stabbed and neutralized quickly by Omoi after being pounded by Sai's Twin God technique, even though before he could defeat Gaara on his home turf with minimum clay and push [[BaseBreaker Sasuke Uchiha]] to his limits. And Kakuzu...doesn't even get a proper fight. Even though in his arc he could overwhelm Kakashi, Ino, and Choji at the same time, he's defeated ''off screen'' by Choji, Darui, Izumo, Kotetsu, and [[MyFriendsAndZoidberg Tenten]]. The only two Akatsuki characters who were given a proper fight were Itachi (who was really a good guy and Kishimoto already said he favors him due to him being his favorite Akatsuki) and Nagato (and even then he had to be gimped despite having his full powers).

* By far, SelfDemonstrating/TheJoker from the ''Franchise/{{Batman}}'' comic book series. [[http://www.quickstopentertainment.com/comics101/46.html This page]] nicely details his periods of decay. Arguably, the same thing can be said for any other villain featured in the 60's show. 1973's "The Joker's Five Way Revenge" returned him to his original personality of scary sadistic madman. [[TheBronzeAgeOfComicBooks From]] [[TheDarkAgeOfComicBooks then]] [[TheModernAgeOfComicBooks on]] there have [[Comicbook/TheKillingJoke been]] [[ComicBook/ADeathInTheFamily certain]] [[Franchise/{{DCAU}} story]][[Film/TheDarkKnight lines]] [[ComicBook/DeathOfTheFamily that]] will ensure that the Joker may never suffer VillainDecay again if we keep going in this direction.

* Many villains of {{Crisis Crossover}}s suffer this if they are ever seen again. The Beyonder of Marvel's ''SecretWars'' is a good example. Presented as a mysterious and powerful cosmic being in the original maxi-series, he assumes human form and becomes mostly a joke in ''SecretWarsII''. One memorable scene involves Franchise/SpiderMan teaching him how to use the bathroom. It doesn't help that his character was portrayed inconsistently throughout the second maxi-series and the [[RedSkiesCrossover tie-ins]]. In one tie-in, he's murdering the NewMutants (only to bring them BackFromTheDead later), in another he's consoling the Human Torch over the accidental death of a fan. It's little wonder that ''Secret Wars II'' is considered 'drek' by many comics fans.
* The Marvel supervillain Abomination has probably lost more bad boy status than almost any other. Originally a [[ComicBook/IncredibleHulk Hulk]] villain, he started out up-powered even by the Hulk's standards, whomping him down in their first encounter. He then had some gamma power stripped, which was added to the Hulk, thus losing in their next encounter. He then suffered a series of beatdowns at the hands of the Hulk, leading to humiliating exposition as his character developed a fear of even encountering the Hulk anymore. But that was not the end of it. Over subsequent years, he became a chew toy to show how badass the lower bricks in the Marvel universe could be, taking solo beatdowns at the hands of both WonderMan and Comicbook/SheHulk. Oh, true, they ''pulled out all the stops'' in their demonstration of badassery, but the Abomination just can't get any respect, in spite of still remaining perhaps the physically strongest character without some quasi-infinite trick up their sleeve.

* Marvel Comics' {{Onslaught}} initially appeared as beyond godlike and it took every superhero on Earth to defeat him. He made a recent return in which he was [[spoiler: defeated far more easily and sent to the Negative Zone.]]
** When he did come back, he was the subject of a low-selling mini where he was defeated by Comicbook/CaptainAmerica and some of the author's PetCharacters. Not very fitting for a guy who took on the Marvel Universe at one point.

* {{Justice League|OfAmerica}} villain Prometheus was originally created by Creator/GrantMorrison to be the [[DiabolicalMastermind JLA's Moriarty.]] He was a [[CrazyAwesome psychotic]] [[CrazyPrepared anti-Batman]] who used a high-tech helmet to [[NeuralImplanting load information and fighting skills directly into his brain.]] He had an [[StartOfDarkness exceptional origin story]], [[HomemadeInventions built his own unorthodox weapons]], and he killed an [[EldritchAbomination evil interdimensional alien monk]] to steal his teleporter. Prometheus took down the Justice League in his first appearance (even Batman) and then...He became a {{Mook|s}}. [[RetCon Much later]], it was revealed that these appearances were his never before mentioned sidekick [[CostumeCopycat using his gear]] while the real Prometheus was imprisoned in his own mind (and, you know, prison). When he finally escapes, he [[RoaringRampageOfRevenge tracks down his sidekick]] and [[KillItWithFire lights him on fire.]]
** This was Lampshaded by the [[TortureTechnician Crime Doctor]] in ''ComicBook/BirdsOfPrey'' #94:

** Although that issue uses his VillainDecay to make it that much more shocking when he destroys [[FishOutOfTemporalWater Lady Blackhawk]], {{Huntress}}, [[{{Invisibility}} Mirage]], and [[BadAss Lady Shiva]].

* It's been brought up in-universe that Marvel villain Arcade has never succeeded in killing a superhero, even though that's actually [[ProfessionalKiller his job]].
** Justified though, as Arcade doesn't do it for money or out of spite, he does it because he loves the thrill of seeing the superheroes fighting out of his Murderworld amusement park. Now as to why anyone still bothers to hire him remains an untold story.

* This was especially obvious with the Disney villain, The Phantom Blot, who was at first a genuinely and believably scary threat to Micky Mouse but after the serial in which he first featured ended, he quickly became just another bumbling comic relief villain.

* [[Literature/HarryPotter Voldemort]] suffers a severe case of this in Fanfic/TheArianaBlackSeries. In canon, he's practically a personification of NightmareFuel. In the fanfic, he's just an incompetent mustache-twirler.

** Nemesis Ernst Stavro Blofeld and his SPECTRE minions were pretty threatening [[Film/DrNo the]] [[Film/FromRussiaWithLove first]] [[Film/{{Thunderball}} 5]] [[Film/YouOnlyLiveTwice times]] [[Film/OnHerMajestysSecretService that]] Bond fought them. But in ''Film/DiamondsAreForever'', Blofeld is reduced to stealing the identity of [[CaptainErsatz Howard Hughes knockoff]] Willard Whyte and hijacking Whyte's company to continue his plans. It's probably for the best that legal issues prevented Blofeld and SPECTRE from showing up again, although he does get a LawyerFriendlyCameo in ''Film/ForYourEyesOnly'', where he's dispatched in the unrelated opening teaser. Blofeld and SPECTRE also undergo VillainDecay in IanFleming's [[Literature/JamesBond original books]], but in a completely different fashion.

** As a matter of fact, the opening of ''FreddyVsJason'' reminds the viewers that despite the bad jokes, Freddy Krueger is a man who murders little children for ''fun''.

* In ''{{Tales of MU}}'', Puddy and Sooni start out as the ManipulativeBastard and the AlphaBitch, respectively, but are eventually reduced to being pathetic losers who struggle to keep even a couple people under their control. The worst aspects of the transition are probably a result of WebcomicTime: the change takes several months of real world writing time, but just a couple weeks story time.

* Sang-Drax from ''TheDeathGateCycle'' series was introduced in the fifth book as a MagnificentBastard manifestation of the BigBad that could play [[AntiHero Haplo]] like a fiddle. While he's still cunning in the next two books, he gets a whole lot sloppier, downgrading him to a literal SmugSnake. He finally dies when [[spoiler: a room caves in on him. This isn't as lame as it sounds because said room was filled with magic that was antithetical to him, but still -- he really should have seen it coming]].
* It becomes apparent towards the end of PeterPaysTribute that the Gray God needs Peter, his acolyte, more than peter needs him. Also, Briskle is more crazy than competent.

* In ''TheLegendOfDrizzt'' there's Artemis Entreri after the first few encounters with him, as Drizzt no longer wishes to fight him, and at one point refuses to kill him despite the perfect opportunity. Also, Entreri is getting old, whilst Drizzt is still in his prime.
* The ''HeraldsOfValdemar'' series plays this trope intentionally with the overarching BigBad, Ma'ar. He starts out in the ''Mage Wars'' prequels as a frighteningly powerful, ruthless WellIntentionedExtremist who can rival Great Mage Urtho in sheer power. Even worse, he conceives of an amazingly effective MyDeathIsJustTheBeginning gambit involving hiding his soul in a pocket of the nether plane until a blood descendant learns to wield magic, at which point he [[GrandTheftMe steals the body]], destroying its original soul in the process, and embarks on a new plan to TakeOverTheWorld. As he is constantly thwarted over the centuries, however, his spirit becomes increasingly petty and narcissistic, and eventually he grows careless enough to sow the seeds of his defeat when he fails to destroy the soul of his latest possessee, An'desha. Also a case of divine intervention, as it turns out that the Gods were tacitly abetting his scheme because they needed his knowledge to avert a repeat of the Cataclysm 3000 years later.

* Matthew Luzon in the {{Petaybee}} book, ''Power Play''. Though he was supposed to do a live-to-fight-another-day sort of thing, he ended up just hiding and sending other people to do his dirty work. [[MegaCorp Intergal]] counts as well, especially in the [[SpinOffBabies Twins Of]] part of the series. Their attempts to reclaim Petaybee become less about Petaybee and more about [[ItsPersonal payback for losing it in the first place.]]

* ''InDeath'': This is mostly avoided by having a new murderer in each book. This still happened with Isaac [=McQueen=] in ''New York To Dallas''. He started out as a cunning pedophile who had never been caught and he seemed to avoid even being noticed in the first place...until Eve took him down as a rookie. She wasn't even out to arrest him, she was just questioning him on a matter that was not really related to him, and he attacked her when she wouldn't leave. Twelve years later, he escapes from prison trying to get {{Revenge}} on Eve and still seems untouchable. However, by the end of the story, he turns out to be a pedophile who has lost a lot of his intelligence, and his ability to make even ''basic'' decisions. Dr. Mira even explains that the 12 years in prison, having the power to make decisions taken away from him in that time, and breaking most, if not all, of his patterns in illogical ways have ''devolved'' him!

** The non-canon TNG novels have {{retcon}}ned this in a rather interesting way by having the Ferengi intentionally disseminate rumors of the Ferengi's bloodthirsty nature as a calculated response to a perceived threat from the United Federation of Planets. Essentially, the Ferengi were so worried about first-contact with moneyless society that they hoped give themselves a fearsome image before the first meeting took place. In universe, when first-contact actually occurred, each side underwent almost total VillainDecay from the perspective of the other.

** The Dominion in ''[[Series/StarTrekDeepSpaceNine Deep Space Nine]]'' suffer heavily from this trope as well. In Starfleet's first military encounter with them, three of the weakest Dominion fighters [[spoiler:destroy the ''Galaxy''-class USS ''Odyssey'', ostensibly one of Starfleet's most powerful ships, with relative ease]]. However, by the end of the show we can see ''Galaxy''-class starships destroy the Dominion fighters ''in one shot''. By the time of the Dominion War, Starfleet ''had'' developed defenses to the phased polaron beams that the Dominion Ships use, and [[TookALevelInBadass upgraded their weapons]]. They turned the ''[[GlassCannon Galaxy]]''[[GlassCannon -class Explorer]] into the ''[[MightyGlacier Galaxy]]''[[MightyGlacier -class Battleship]]. Precisely why the Dominion belong on the VillainDecay page, and not on FridgeLogic. The Dominion continued to be a serious threat right up until the final battle of the Dominion War. Often, however, one side in an all-out conflict undergoes villain decay as the natural result of a long, drawn-out struggle. Vichy France, Fascist Italy, and Nazi Germany all underwent their own separate decay at different points in the war.

** In general, if a MonsterOfTheWeek makes a return appearance on the show, it's almost never as formidable as it was the first time. (Probably the most extreme case was in the multi-part episode "The Wedding", where the Rangers took on an army of monsters that they had fought previously, and took them all down without breaking a sweat.) One notable exception was the Pumpkin Rapper, who seemed to TakeALevelInBadass the second time; he was able to put up a pretty good fight against the Thunder Megazord, despite the fact that the Rangers defeated him the first time without using a Megazord at all.

*** The numbers of the Daleks making it more likely for the Doctor to figure out a way to stop mostly occurs because a few individual Daleks can be let to run around for an episode or two and kill [[RedShirt red shirts]] before the Doctor finds a way to stop them. If there's a lot of them, they'd destroy the Earth if left around. Consider that when we have a fleet of Daleks at the end of season 1 of the 2005 series, the nearly destroy the Earth, and at the end of a season 2, we see an army of them would have leveled London at the very least if the Doctor took any longer than he did.

** The Master particularly suffered from this, with many writers simply using him as a convenient bad guy with little motivation beyond being "eeeevil". The trend arguably started from his very first appearances, since he appeared as the BigBad in every episode of Season Eight of the classic series, which arguably diluted his effectiveness right from the off. He always allied with another evil power, which then betrayed him, forcing him to work with the Doctor. Over his many appearances in both classic and new series, writers have tried most of the tricks above to avert Villain Decay, including threat escalation, frequent EnemyMine plots, AlternateUniverse victories, and having him murder the family members of series regulars. Probably for the same reasons that the series itself has been so long-lived, despite succumbing to VillainDecay several times over, the character somehow keeps bouncing back as a MagnificentBastard. [[spoiler: The new series attempted to correct this both by giving him a plausible motivation - complete insanity - and by showing how BadAss he could be; not least by stranding the Doctor at the end of time itself, becoming [[PresidentEvil Prime Minister of Great Britain]], massacring a tenth of the population of Earth and all in all being a rather MagnificentBastard before the Doctor managed to [[ResetButton undo everything]].]]
** The Cybermen were ''Doctor Who'''s most {{egregious}} victim of this trope. In Second Doctor Cybermen stories, they were powerful, some might say too powerful. That may be a good reason they weren't used for the entire Third Doctor run. When they were brought back at the beginning of the Fourth Doctor era, they were given a weakness: gold dust would clog their chest units and suffocate them. All well and good, until someone misinterpreted that to mean that gold itself was their weakness. In ''Earthshock'' it wasn't so bad, as only one was killed, and that weapon (Adric's badge) broke and was unusable. Despite their gold weakness not coming up in ''The Five Doctors'' and ''Attack of the Cybermen'', they were still killed in heavy droves by Rassilon's tower's defenses, the Raston Warrior Robot, and even human weapons. The weakness returned with a vengeance in ''Silver Nemesis'', however, treating us to the wonderful sight of Ace killing Cybermen with gold coins fired from a slingshot. The Cybermen seen that come from a parallel Earth do not have this weakness, and the ones from this universe that returned in the new series were no longer defeated that way (although one flagship was entirely destroyed by the Doctor as part of TheTeaser of "A Good Man Goes to War").

* Ben Linus from ''Series/{{Lost}}'', through a mix of SortingAlgorithmOfEvil and CharacterDevelopment. In seasons 2 and 3, he comes across as the ultimate in {{Magnificent Bastard}}ry (and he's still got most of those skills), but season 4 saw the introduction of his arch-nemesis, Charles Widmore, a guy that Ben is actually afraid of, and the conclusion of season 5 reveals that Ben [[spoiler:has been the [[BigBad Man in Black]]'s unwitting pawn all along]]. Adding to that, circumstances saw Ben becoming the Losties' TokenEvilTeammate from season 4 onwards. But in this case, VillainDecay doesn't preclude being awesome, thanks to Ben's always-entertaining approach to solving problems and Michael Emerson's award-winning performance, and despite working with the Losties for three seasons he doesn't actually make a HeelFaceTurn until [[spoiler:season 6's "Dr. Linus"]].

* Bowser of the ''[[Franchise/SuperMarioBros Mario]]'' series does this depending on the type of game. In most of the main platformers, he is shown as a genuinely powerful threat to the Mushroom Kingdom (and in ''[[VideoGame/SuperMarioGalaxy Galaxy]]'', the ''entire universe''). In the sports spinoffs, he is the {{Trope Namer|s}} for GoKartingWithBowser who is actually on friendly terms with Mario. In the [=RPGs=], barring the first ''VideoGame/PaperMario'' and the 3DS game ''VideoGame/PaperMarioStickerStar'', he is upstaged by another BigBad while he provides comic relief. Played with in ''[[VideoGame/MarioAndLuigiBowsersInsideStory Mario & Luigi: Bowser's Inside Story]]''. He goes through his usual VillainDecay like he always does in the [=RPGs=], but it establishes him as a legitimate {{Badass}} at the same time.

*** The Burning Legion are arguably hit worse than Arthas. Formerly set up as the {{Big Bad}}s of the whole series, WoW has them DemotedToExtra and rarely to do we see anything they do perceived as a big threat. Somewhat justified since a bunch of their high ranking members are dead, but to put this is in perspective, they're overshadowed by the Undead Scourge, an army they created.

* In ''VideoGame/CommandAndConquerRedAlert'', the [[UsefulNotes/RedsWithRockets Soviets]] are fear-inspiring Nazi replacements who want to TakeOverTheWorld and cross the MoralEventHorizon several times. Over the course of the games, they become increasingly goofier and sillier, eventually becoming {{Harmless Villain}}s in ''VideoGame/CommandAndConquerRedAlert3'', compared to the new antagonist, the [[KatanasOfTheRisingSun Empire of the Rising Sun]].

* Most of Batman's rogues in ''[[VideoGame/LegoAdaptationGame Lego Batman 2.]]'' While it takes the entire game to bring them down in the original, most of them are curb stomped in the first level of the sequel. It doesn't help that all of them have tiny health bars and Freeze and Croc don't even make it out of their cells. The only exceptions are Joker who [[spoiler:manages to destroy the Batcave]] and Scarecrow who takes a level to catch, has a big health bar and a NightmareFuel filled boss battle where he turns into a giant.
* The ''VideoGame/{{Spider Man|Trilogy}} 2'' tie-in game has Mysterio, who starts out demolishing a theatre, staging an alien invasion, and holding the Statue of Liberty hostage. Shortly afterwards, once you've beaten his "Funhouse of Death", he resorts to sending out small parties of useless robots that break like fine china when you hit them, and is eventually defeated with one punch while holding up a convenience store.
* Winston Payne from the AceAttorney series is billed as the Rookie Killer, with a seven-year winning streak. In the events of the story, though, he serves as a WarmUpBoss who never wins a single victory against the player, and quickly becomes a ButtMonkey who isn't even recognized by fellow prosecutor Edgeworth. After his first defeat by Mia Fey in a flashback in the third game, he only wins a single case, and that's only because the defense was ''trying'' to lose.

* Subverted in ''Webcomic/GirlGenius'': DeliberatelyDistressedDamsel and general MagnificentBastard Zola has habit of ''recovering'' from VillainDecay and becoming stronger and smarter than she was before in the process.

* The CC Corporation in FlandersCompany started out as a relatively competent organisation who actually succeeded in taking over Trueman's company without him even noticing, and their leader Carla Brunelle was a PsychoElectro and {{Magnificent B|astard}}itch who could handle the whole team of protagonists of her own. Come season 3, the arrival of [[KnightOfCerebus Aegis]] cause Carla to suffer a VillainousBreakdown, leading her to a {{Genre Blind|ness}} decision. Her group is even worse, as most competent members are either KilledOffForReal or PutOnABus, leaving her more and more SurroundedByIdiots

** Averted with ''WebVideo/AtopTheFourthWall'''s villain Mechakara, who is presented as a KnightOfCerebus that almost kills Linkara in his first appearance, and when he later reappears, despite being DemotedToDragon for the new BigBad Lord Vyce, he's become even more a threat due to being upgraded, shown most notably in that his re-match with Linkara he {{No Sell}}s the methods used to defeat him the first time. (And then in ''WebVideo/ToBoldlyFlee'', he not only takes out Linkara in five seconds, but comes within an ace of killing ''the entire TGWTG cast''.)
** As well from WebVideo/AtopTheFourthWall we have the Gunslinger, who in his first appearance takes out Linkara without too much effort, and then in his final episode (of his arc) [[spoiler: Yoink! Insano's back baby. And he uses the tech he's taken from ToBoldlyFlee and reverse engineered his own equipment, taken over Neutro, and then proceeds to beat Linkara AND the Gunslinger for a larger part of the fight.]]

* The Shredder of the '''second''' ''WesternAnimation/{{Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles|2003}}'' cartoon series, on the other hand, managed to emerge seven seasons mostly unscathed by villain decay, growing more powerful to the point where the turtles stopped being able to defeat him with martial arts alone, and ''always'' portrayed as both [[MagnificentBastard scarily competent]] and pure evil. However, not all the series villains are so lucky--the Shredder's [[TheDragon dragon]], Hun, in particular, went from "tough" to "joke" in the space of one season, before regaining some measure of respectability during the last third of the show's second season, which he retains--mostly by not featuring him in any extended battles with the turtles--until the end of the show...[[spoiler: and gains a considerable power upgrade upon becoming a BadassAbnormal in ''WesternAnimation/TurtlesForever'']]. Karai went from beating all four turtles and Casey Jones (easily) in her first appearance to Leo and Mike making a complete mockery of her in her own base when all they were there to do was steal an AncientArtifact.

* On ''WesternAnimation/CodenameKidsNextDoor'', it took an age-ified Nigel and the rest of the team to take Father down in his first appearance ("Operation: G.R.O.W.-U.P.). Then a few cadets took him down in his next appearance ("Operation: T.R.A.I.N.I.N.G."), making him more of a comic-relief pest. Then the writers escalated his crimes by turning the KND into animals ("Operation: G.R.A.D.U.A.T.E.S."), and after that was taken care of, they had him extend school hours to 8:25 p.m. (a big deal, since the protagonists are school-hating children -- "Operation: P.R.E.S.I.D.E.N.T."). In ''WesternAnimation/OperationZERO'', he is reduced to being completely ineffectual when faced with his father. ''Z.E.R.O.'' plays with this, however: [[spoiler:after his father banishes him for not being competent enough, he goes into a state of depression which takes his moral opposite brother to pull him out of. Together they face their father and thotgh Father is still afraid he tries to stand up for himself. Soon after he gets sucker punched and Grandfather begins to rag on him a bit and sets off his BerserkButton. His unstoppable rage is so fierce that it makes his heroic brother, who was previously shown to not be afraid of anything, step back and makes Grandfather, the unstoppable evil who has conquered the world, afraid. But before he can do anything he gives up because he's too depressed.]] This shows that it's not the lack of ability that holds him back but rather the lack of self-confidence.

** Jack Spicer became full-on comic relief with the emergence of Chase Young. Chase himself became less of a threat ''to the Xiaolin monks'' when Hannibal Roy Bean was released, moving more into EvilerThanThou and EnemyMine plots against Bean, but he is still a BadassAbnormal MagnificentBastard to the end.

** The Dark Hand, the criminal organization in question, went with him, going from a NebulousEvilOrganization with an army of {{Mooks}} to Finn, Ratso and Chow. Until they decide to retire because, after being repeatedly beaten up by Jackie Chan and enslaved by evil sorcerors and demons with nothing but pain to show for it, they decided BeingEvilSucks.

** Even the films have done this. The Decepticons were nearly unstoppable g, being in Icy mode most of the time, manages to out maneouver the Autobots in the first film, in the sequel they get thrown around. Although the extent of decay is hard to tell since [[spoiler: the Autobots and humans from around the globe have been fighting for two years now as a specialized task force. They're better prepared this time. Plus the fights aren't in crowded cities, so the Autobots can cut loose, especially Optimus.]]

* Carface, the BigBad of ''WesternAnimation/AllDogsGoToHeaven'', was legitimately menacing in the original film (it was his henchmen who were [[IneffectualSympatheticVillain incompetent jokes]]). The scene where he and his gang threaten Itchy at Charlie's Club may indeed be NightmareFuel for some. However, in ''All Dogs Go to Heaven 2'', he loses several IQ points, and becomes the idiot henchman. The VillainSong, 'It Feels So Good to Be Bad', sung by Satan to Carface, seems to be about reversing VillainDecay and going in the complete opposite direction, but nothing ever comes of it. Carface never really regains the menacing quality he had in the first film, and ends up being sent to FireAndBrimstoneHell because he made a really stupid DealWithTheDevil. While this plot point seems to be retconned in the series, he seems to only get worse, ending up playing a Scrooge archetype in "An All Dogs Christmas Carol". This was a chain-smoking, [[EvilSoundsDeep gravel-voiced,]] ManipulativeBastard BadBoss that waits until Charlie's wasted and [[NoKillLikeOverkill rolls a car into Charlie that if he didn't die from the impact would drown,]] took everything Charlie had, manipulated an orphan for gambling tips, beat Itchy with a gang of Mooks within an inch of his life then almost killed Charlie ''again'' until he himself was eaten by King Gator. Essentially '''if you're a Creator/DonBluth villain in a sequelized franchise, prepare to be decayed.''' The only way out of that is to never appear in the sequels at all, which many Bluth villains do not.

** Even worse with the Forever Knight, who went from a mysterious evil organisation to ridiculously weak villains who served as the heroes' punching ball (to the point in one episode, Gwen felt like it was more important for Ben to assist his girlfriend's tennis match than keeping an eye on them). Fortunately corrected in season 2 of Ben10UltimateAlien.

** Zombozo initially [[DefiedTrope defied]] this Trope in Ultimate Alien; In his original appearance, he was a horrific and creepy stalker-like character who required being a MookHorrorShow from [[CreepyGood Ghostfreak]] to be defeated, but was an otherwise one-shot villain. When he comes back in Ultimate Alien, he proves to be a decent, AxeCrazy and still scary villain, forming an alliance between various villains to attempt RevengeByProxy on Ben and almost getting Gwen's aunt killed. Sadly however, Ben10Omniverse decided to play this trope straight by making him DenserAndWackier and having him going for petty theft such as rob bank.

* Mandark's first appearance in ''WesternAnimation/DextersLaboratory'' established him as clearly superior to Dexter in terms of brains, to the point where he could read minds, and saying his name invoked TheScottishTrope. He was quickly brought down to being Dexter's equal, with his telepathy disappearing. In fact, "[[TheMovie Ego Trip]]" even stated he had to resort to stealing Dexter's ideas to get ahead. Justified in that Mandark was badass until meeting [[AchillesHeel Dee-Dee]] in that very episode, so as long as she's around, he's too lovestruck to do anything, even while she wrecks his lab. The '''real''' VillainDecay for Mandark came in the final season where he [[RetCon has a Flashback episode, revealing his birth name was "Sue," an innocent flower child that met Dexter years ago, taking the name Mandark after being refused friendship by Dexter,]] despite the fact that his debut ep introduced his real name as Ivan Astronomonov with the aforementioned nickname [[TheScottishTrope Mandark.]]

** Kalibak was perhaps the most obvious example. His first appearance was a whole-episode slugfest where he stood toe-to-toe with Superman. In every subsequent appearance he's little more than a doorstop: Superman punches him out in less than a minute in "Legacy", and he loses to Batman during ''Justice League''. In his final appearance he finally got to do something useful... Because he was in an EnemyMine situation with Scott Free and The Flash.

** Not entirely true; he ''did'' steal a bunch of nuclear weapons to arm his mutant utopia Asteroid M, if only to protect it from outside attacks (and personally broke into the United Nations to warn them off); later, he teamed up with ''Apocalypse'' of all people and ''did'' attack the X-Men in that appearance, in order to ''kidnap'' someone no less- he later turns against Apocalypse and was ruspichous of him from the start, and he and Wolverne end up saving each others lives; but still, its not hard to see why they are suspicious of him. His first EnemyMine situation, for the record, occurred ''after'' he abducted a United States Senator and possibly planned on killing him (a JerkAss anti-mutant senator, but that's not the point).

* The AffablyEvil [[TricksterArchetype Discord]] of ''WesternAnimation/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagic'' is introduced as a genuine threat that even ''Princess Celestia'' is afraid of. In Season Three, however, he's released to be reformed and spends the episode hanging out in Fluttershy's house and having a dinner party with the ponies. Interestingly, he's every bit as powerful as before, but he flat out behaves himself ''so he can screw around with the ponies as they try to reform him''. [[spoiler:By the time he's tired of playing and decides to enact his evil scheme, however, he has actually come to consider Fluttershy a friend, and promises to reform for her sake.]]

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