Line #31 BigBadWannabe/WesternAnimation


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7	{{Big Bad Wannabe}}s in western animation TV.
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9	!!The following have their own pages:
10	[[index]]
11	* BigBadWannabe/TheDCU
12	* BigBadWannabe/MarvelUniverse
13	[[/index]]
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15	* ''Franchise/AdventureTime'' has [[spoiler:Princess Bubblegum's uncle, Gumbald. He gathers an army of villains in the final episode, but he never gets to use it at all, being trapped in a dream world by Finn and Jake and getting betrayed by Aunt Lolly when he fakes an epiphany and tries to use the Dum-Dum Juice on PB.]] All of this before the final villain makes his appearance.
16	* Sasha Waybright and Grime in ''WesternAnimation/{{Amphibia}}'' throughout Season 2. After failing to defeat the Wartwood frogs in Season 1, Sasha and Grime decide to shift gears and hatch a plot to take over Newtopia. The plan [[spoiler:actually goes pretty smoothly throughout most of the season, culminating in them snatching the Calamity Box and briefly usurping the throne in the season finale]]. The main reason for their failure is them being unable to [[spoiler:convince anyone of their discovery that King Andrias is the BigBad and intends to become a MultiversalConqueror, thanks to a combination of [[ChronicBackstabbingDisorder Sasha's constantly betraying Anne's trust]] and Grime's own past villainous actions against the heroes making it impossible for them to get the heroes to listen to them. As such, the heroes help Andrias take the city back ''and'' give him access to the Box, unaware until far too late that Sasha and the toads were actually the LesserOfTwoEvils]].
17	* ''WesternAnimation/{{Arcane}}'':
18	** During Act 3 of season 1, Silco has to deal with a hotshot chem-baron named Finn who is trying to muscle him out of his position. Finn presents himself as a badass gangster; covered in tattoos, has a clearly prosthetic jaw that may or may not be replacing his real one, dresses very stylishly, and is clearly trying to give himself some sort of mystique with how he uses his cigarette lighter (holding it bizarrely by the lid while it's open). However despite the image he puts up (and despite the promos for the third arc displaying him as though he could be a threat), he is clearly out of his league. The first time he makes a push, Silco humiliates him. [[spoiler:And even though his second attempt seems to be more on track to success by recruiting Sevika, it turns out Sevika is still firmly loyal to Silco and slashes Finn's throat, leaving him to die pathetically.]]
19	** [[Characters/ArcaneSilco Silco]] himself becomes this by the end of the season, he is undeniably the most dangerous crime lord in the Undercity, but is weighed down by his attachment to Jinx. [[spoiler:His favoritism alienates Sevika, who only stays loyal during the chembaron's attempted coup due to Finn being a pathetic SmugSnake; Jayce only offers to give him his nation of Zaun because he knows his Hextech will massacre the Shimmer-enhanced soldiers, with Silco ultimately unable to accept the deal due to it requiring him giving up Jinx; and Jinx herself proves to be too uncontrollable, becoming the main threat for the first season's climax as she goes rogue and takes him hostage before accidentally gunning him down]].
20	* Mookie in ''WesternAnimation/AtomicPuppet'' is the disgruntled sidekick who betrayed Captain Atomic, turning him into a sock puppet in an attempt to replace him as Mega City's protector, making him Atomic Puppet's archenemy. However, he's rarely taken seriously by any of the characters as he tends to be incredibly inept and often requires saving from Joey and AP when his latest scheme to win over the townspeople goes awry. [[spoiler:However, in the Season 1 finale, he [[TookALevelInBadass takes a level in badass]] after finally reaching a breaking point over Mega City's refusal to accept him as their new protector and is subsequently sent to jail where he teams up with Atomic Puppet's most dangerous foe, Professor Tite-Gripp.]]
21	* ''WesternAnimation/AvatarTheLastAirbender'':
22	** [[Characters/AvatarTheLastAirbenderZuko Prince Zuko]] in the first season. Zuko is a more persistent threat than Zhao and a better fighter personally, but Zhao has an army at his command and is far viler. The climax of the season revolves around Zhao's plan to [[spoiler:kill the Moon Spirit and conquer the Northern Water Tribe]], and Zuko's attempt to capture the Avatar is reduced to little more than a side-story that pops up at an inconvenient time for the heroes. This ultimately turns out in Zuko's favor, though, since [[spoiler:unlike Zhao, he actually survives the season]].
23	** Long Feng had a pretty good conspiracy going in Ba Sing Se, managing to keep the Earth King under his control by not letting him know there was a war going on. He manages to delay the Avatar and his friends, [[spoiler: brainwashes and kills Jet]], and even manages to maintain control of the Dai Li after he is exposed for his treachery. When [[MagnificentBastard Azula]] shows up in the city, he tries to use her to start a coup against his king. When this plan succeeds and he tries to betray her, he finds that Azula's charisma has made the Dai Li loyal to her [[spoiler: putting Ba Sing Se in the hands of the Fire Nation]].
24	* SequelSeries ''WesternAnimation/TheLegendOfKorra'':
25	** Season 1 has Councilman Tarrlok who practically rules the city with the other councilmen except Tenzin acting as [[YesMan yes men]]. He is able to enact [[FascistsBedTime curfew laws for non-benders]], and arrest a large group of people and Korra's friends when they try to stop him. When confronted by Korra, he demonstrates the previously unheard-of ability [[spoiler: to [[PeoplePuppets bloodbend]] during the daytime and without a full moon]], and actually manages to subdue and capture Korra. The next episode his plan is found out and he escapes with his [[spoiler:bloodbending, but loses his political power in the process. [[BigBad Amon]] is able to counter his bloodbending, defeats him and takes his bending away. In a twisted form of {{Irony}}, it is Tarrlok who kills Amon, and [[MurderSuicide he himself goes with him.]].]]
26	** Season 2 has [[spoiler: [[Characters/TheLegendOfKorraVarrickAndZhuLi Varrick]]]], who is a competent enough villain and got even farther than Tarrlok ever did, but ultimately the real {{Big Bad}}s [[spoiler:Unalaq and Vaatu]] are out of his league. He initially attacked [[spoiler:Unalaq]] to start a civil war. Then, he plans to bring Republic City into the war by bombing a peaceful demonstration and robbing Asami's company, blaming the north. When Mako catches on to his plans [[spoiler:he gets the gangsters Mako is forced to work with helping him rob Asami's last resources forcing her to sign interest over to him, and frames it all on Mako]]. His next plan though, [[spoiler:kidnapping the President, exposes him and he is arrested]]. He ultimately is forced to enter an EnemyMine with the heroes and help stop [[spoiler:Unalaq]] by giving them his ship. Ironically, despite all of this (and running afoul a few other nasty villains), he ends up surviving all the way to the end of the series.
27	** Season 3 has [[GodSaveUsFromTheQueen Earth Queen]] Hou-Ting, who plans to take back Republic City with an enslaved army of airbenders. When Korra and her crew search for new airbenders after Harmonic Convergence, she tries to hinder their search but Korra sees through her deceptions and rescues the airbenders. In her next appearance, she sets up a deal with Zaheer and the Red Lotus, who agree to take Korra from her in exchange for the location of the airbenders. When Zaheer finds out she does not have Korra, and therefore can't uphold her end of the deal, he and his group easily fight off the Dai Li and kill her. Due to her cruelty and wastefulness, Zaheer is seen by most of the population as a hero.
28	* Billy Billions from ''WesternAnimation/Ben10Omniverse'' considers himself Ben's archenemy. The thing is, Ben had ''never even known he existed'' before Billy confronted him with killer robots and started talking about "their" past. He, later on, attempted to drive Ben out of the hero business with his own superhero team called, "The Vengers". Ben doesn't even ''remotely'' take them seriously, and he just pulls an AchillesInHisTent and sits back ''literally watching paint dry'', all while waiting for them to collapse on their own due to their clashing egos rather than dealing with them directly. And to add insult to injury, it ends up taking ''even less time for them to successfully self-destruct than Ben was already expecting''!
29	* The Catatonians in the 2006 revival of ''WesternAnimation/BikerMiceFromMars'' are led by Hannibal T. Hairball, who is too incompetent to get anything done without the help of his [[DragonInChief smarter older brother and second-in-command]] Cataclysm.
30	** While Lawrence Limburger was the {{Big Bad}} of the original series, in the 2006 revival he's {{Demoted To Extra}} and ends up becoming this trope instead. His plans at getting revenge on the Biker Mice and taking over the galaxy manage to fail even ''more'' miserably than before, and he's foiled by not only the Biker Mice but also the Catatonians as well.
31	** Limburger's rival Napoleon Brie doesn't fare much better in the 2006 series, as his one and only appearance in the series has him try to get Limburger arrested while Brie gets a reward from [[GreaterScopeVillain Lord Camenbert]], except Camenbert turns out to be a Catatonian Shapeshifter who ends up causing both Limburger and Brie to be captured and finally taken out for good. Even Limburger calls Brie out on his huge failure.
32	* In ''WesternAnimation/TheBoondocks'' episode "[[Recap/TheBoondocksS1E4GranddadsFight Granddad's Fight]]", the Freemans think Colonel Stinkmeaner is a serious threat from the way he easily took Granddad down the first time they crossed canes, and Stinkmeaner certainly seems to agree with them. Nope; Stinkmeaner was just ''obscenely'' lucky. Their rematch is an actual fair fight, Granddad doesn't hold back, and [[spoiler:he ends up ''killing'' Stinkmeaner completely by accident.]]
33	* ''WesternAnimation/{{Castlevania\|2017}}'' has [[SinisterMinister the Bishop]], the ArcVillain of the first season who takes center stage as the antagonist while the real BigBad, Dracula, is a mostly offscreen GreaterScopeVillain. Despite this, he's ultimately taken down very easily [[spoiler: [[BadGuysDoTheDirtyWork by Dracula's minions]] once they find him, shrugging off the idea of God still protecting him, and only bother taking their time killing him because of his direct role in Lisa's death and Dracula's revenge on Wallachia]]. Otherwise, he's not a threat at all. Even his attempt of killing the Speakers falls apart as soon as Trevor reveals to the mob that the Church was the one responsible for the monsters' invasion.
34	* ''WesternAnimation/TheDragonPrince'': Despite initially coming across as a reasonably effective threat in season 1, [[Characters/TheDragonPrinceViren Lord Viren]] is ultimately revealed to be far less dangerous than initially believed in season 2. First his attempts to become regent and manipulate the Pentarchy end up failing big time. His actions are then discovered by Opeli, who strips him of his power, and he gets taken down rather anti-climatically without ever confronting the heroes. Finally, it's revealed that for all his mastery in magic, [[AlwaysSomeoneBetter there's someone else more powerful and knowledgeable than him]]. [[SubvertedTrope He manages to turn it around, and comes roaring back to prominence over Season 3.]]
35	* The Professor from the 1950s ''WesternAnimation/FelixTheCat'' cartoons. He is the main villain of the series, [[HarmlessVillain but he's not very good at it most of the time]], and [[AffablyEvil he isn't even that villainous most of of the time either]]--the bulk of his crimes amount to petty thievery or just screwing around with Felix, and [[HoistByHisOwnPetard he'll ruin his own schemes just as often as Felix can stop them]]. In some episodes, [[GoKartingWithBowser he isn't even an enemy to Felix.]]
36	* ''WesternAnimation/GeneratorRex'' has the Consortium, a CosmopolitanCouncil of [[GodhoodSeeker godhood seekers]] who were responsible for causing the [[MassSuperEmpoweringEvent Nanite Event]] and later turn out to be the {{Mysterious Backer}}s for [[CreatureHunterOrganization Providence]]. After the TimeSkip, they replace Van Kleiss as the Big Bad and are hyped up. In reality, they're a bunch of rich idiots with a SmugSnake complex who rely on their HypercompetentSidekick Black Knight in order to get anything done. When Black Knight decides to [[TheStarscream usurp them]], they are completely helpless to stop her. [[spoiler:Even after they fuse with the Meta-Nanites and are granted [[StoryBreakerPower story-breaker powers]], the group's [[UnskilledButStrong inexperience makes them ineffective]] to the point where [[TheHero Rex]] easily [[CurbStomp curb-stomps]] them, despite being outnumbered five-to-one.]]
37	* ''WesternAnimation/TheHead'': Dr. Elliot in the opening AlienInvasion arc. He had more screen time than the alien villains, but the invasion was always the real threat.
38	* ''WesternAnimation/JackieChanAdventures'': At the beginning of Season 3, Daolon Wong became the main villain and tried to get the talismans' powers for himself. He got two powers (Rooster and Pig) for most of the season and (briefly) Sheep. When he brought Shendu back so the Dragon power would be available again, [[HijackedByGanon things went downhill for him]].
39	* Lucius Heinous VII in ''WesternAnimation/JimmyTwoShoes''. Though he's a tyrant who rules Miseryville with an iron fist, he himself is actually a rather pathetic and incompetent figure, being completely dependent on his underlings Molotov and Heloise to enforce his will. WordOfGod is that he's a powerful enough RealityWarper that he could potentially be a threat despite his stupidity, but avoids using them because he wants to prove he can be a threat without them.
40	* Stumpy from ''WesternAnimation/{{Kaeloo}}'' has shown signs of being this, but he always fails horribly due to his own stupidity, bad luck and sheer lack of skill, so he winds up teaming with [[VillainProtagonist Mr. Cat]]. In one episode, he takes martial arts lessons from Kaeloo to get back at Mr. Cat for taking his stuff by force and knocks him out. At the end of the episode, he takes over his role as villain and tries to take everyone else's stuff by force.
41	* Voltar from ''WesternAnimation/LeagueOfSuperEvil'' is an {{exaggerated\|Trope}} example. He fancies himself as the world's greatest supervillain, but he never actually does ''anything'' really evil, and most of his deeds are only PokeThePoodle moments.
42	* ''WesternAnimation/TheLionGuard'': In season 3, Mama Binturong is first introduced as an elderly mob boss-like figure who terrorizes the jungle she lives in with an iron paw. And when she later joins up with Makucha, Chuluun, and Ora, her skill at planning results in several clever ideas that ''[[NearVillainVictory almost]]'' allow her and her partners to achieve victory. But while she is capable of putting up a good fight against Bunga in particular if you [[BerserkButton so much as mention tuliza]], her elderly age, small size, and general lack of true combat ability prevents her from being that much of a threat in combat against any member of the lion guard that isn't Bunga. And for all her skill as an EvilGenius, the same elements that prevent her from posing a credible threat in combat scenarios also leave her forced to rely upon stronger and more combat experienced animals such as her porcupine mooks in her debut episode and [[CatsAreMean Makucha, Chuluun]], and [[MaliciousMonitorLizard Ora]] in all her subsequent episodes in order to allow her plans to be properly carried out. And even with her being the one responsible for making the plans, it's all too clear that Makucha is the one amongst the group who's really in charge.
43	* ''WesternAnimation/MiraculousLadybug'': Zig Zagged. [[Characters/MiraculousLadybugChloeBourgeois Chloé Bourgeois]] made Marinette's life miserable every chance she gets and ends up being attacked by an Akumatized villain, usually one with a grudge against her, or she becomes one herself with Hawk Moth manipulating her. While she does become the central antagonist in "[[Recap/MiraculousLadybugS05E23Revolution Revolution]]", she was ultimately a pawn of the series Big Bads and gets abandoned by them in the end.
44	* ''WesternAnimation/TheModifyers'': Baron Vain has big aspirations but, like [[WesternAnimation/KimPossible Dr. Draken]], he's too ineffectual to actually get anything done. That's what he has [[HyperCompetentSidekick Lacey]] for... except she's really [[spoiler:Agent Xero]] [[DoubleAgent in disguise.]]
45	* ''WesternAnimation/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagic'':
46	** [[Characters/FriendshipIsMagicKingSombra King Sombra]] legitimately ''was'' the BigBad at one point, but that was way back in the third season. Since then the good guys have gotten several layers of magnitude more powerful, [[CantCatchUp whereas he's been dead]] and thus [[VillainForgotToLevelGrind remains exactly the same]]. The real BigBad of the final season, Grogar, uses this as a lesson, allowing Sombra [[XanatosGambit to try and fail in order to make the point that none of them can succeed alone]]. It doesn't help that Sombra TookALevelInDumbass from "CrazyPrepared NoNonsenseNemesis" to "LeeroyJenkins SmugSnake."
47	** [[spoiler:Grogar himself ultimately winds up as this as the other villains acquire the ArtifactOfDoom under his nose and plot against him with his being none the wiser. He's ultimately helpless as a result once they make their move and backstab him. And then it turns out he was never even the real Grogar and was just a disguise.]]
48	* In ''WesternAnimation/TheNewAdventuresOfHeMan'', Flogg is the leader of the Evil Mutants, but once the outsider named Skeletor offers his help to turn Flogg into the king of the Tri-Solar Galaxy in exchange for a chance to defeat He-Man, Flogg never realizes that he has become a pawn of the Lord of Destruction.
49	* ''WesternAnimation/TheOwlHouse''
50	** Kikimora, though she is more of a [[TheDragon Dragon Wannabe]]. While she has no intentions of usurping [[BigBad Emperor Belos]], she considers herself so important to his plans she's practically his right hand woman, while in reality she's barely a step above a henchman. This leads her to develop a bitter hatred of Belos's ''actual'' [[TheDragon Dragon]], Hunter the Golden Guard, to the point that she tries to have him killed ''multiple'' times, and [[spoiler:after his defection, gleefully tries to drag him back to Belos in the hopes of receiving a promotion--only for Belos to coldly dismiss her in response.]]
51	** The penultimate special "[[Recap/TheOwlHouseS3E2ForTheFuture For the Future]]" has a few examples:
52	*** [[spoiler: Kikimora tries to make the leap to Big Bad by secretly aiding Boscha's takeover of Hexside, intending to later betray Boscha and use it as a starting point for her own takeover of the entire Boiling Isles. But the moment this gets revealed, Boscha and the other students immediately turn against her and pelt her with grudgby balls.]]
53	*** [[spoiler: Boscha has taken over Hexside and serves as the primary antagonist that Luz and the Hexsquad must face for that special. But it quickly becomes apparent that Boscha doesn't really want this and is deeply in over her head. In the end, Amity manages to simply talk her down and she relinquishes control of the school.]]
54	*** [[spoiler: Odalia tries to take advantage of her servitude to the Collector to influence him for her own ends. But since the Collector is only interested in his games, her attempts fall flat and she quickly backs down once he gets annoyed with her.]]
55	*** [[spoiler: Downplayed with [[Characters/TheOwlHouseEmperorBelos Emperor Belos]]. He spends most of the special in a highly weakened state with his body falling apart and is only able to weakly drag himself around, largely irrelevant for a large portion of the episode. But by the end of the special, Belos is able to maneuver himself into a position that allows him to become the FinalBoss of the series in the GrandFinale.]]
56	* ''WesternAnimation/PawPatrol'': Sweetie is a mischievous puppy who proclaims herself as a villain and refers to Busby as her minion. Despite having a softer side, Sweetie insists she is "good at being bad".
57	* [[Characters/PhineasAndFerbHeinzDoofenshmirtz Dr. Heinz Doofenshmirtz]] in ''WesternAnimation/PhineasAndFerb'' is a textbook example. He has ambitions to take over the Tri-State area, the classic evil scientist motive of revenge, and the technology to boot. No matter how hard he tries, however, he is a complete laughingstock in the eyes of ''every'' villain.
58	* Megabyte from ''WesternAnimation/ReBoot'' has an... interesting relationship with this trope. He ''seems'' to be the BigBad in the Mainframe, but it's eventually revealed [[spoiler: his dreams of taking over the whole Supercomputer are an egotistical delusion at best; the Guardians could've had easily blasted him to dust decades ago, but the idealistic [[TheHero Bob]] believed that Megabyte could be redeemed and so blocked their attempts to kill him. However, Megabyte eventually realizes that he's a Wannabe and thus dedicates himself to becoming more powerful, [[SlowlySlippingIntoEvil beginning to go to increasingly vicious lengths to get what he wants]]. By Season 3, he's sufficiently [[TookALevelInBadass Taken His Level In Badass]] and after the battle with Daemon, it's clear that Megabyte was the one true BigBad all along.]]
59	* ''WesternAnimation/SheRaAndThePrincessesOfPower''
60	** [[Characters/SheRaAndThePrincessesOfPowerShadowWeaver Shadow Weaver]] is powerful, intimidating, and threatening. However, her single-minded obsession with getting Adora back under her thumb instead of fighting the war makes Shadow Weaver a much less efficient enemy than her subaltern Catra. Also, Shadow Weaver's power is wholly limited to what Hordak allows her to do, and while she's a powerful sorceress, she's an extremely weak fighter that can be taken out easily. Eventually, this destroys her when Catra proves to be the better soldier and strategist, gaining favor from Hordak and becoming his second in command over Shadow Weaver.
61	** [[Characters/SheRaAndThePrincessesOfPowerHordak Hordak]] start out as the main villain for the first four seasons who was seeking to conquer all of Etheria and defeat the Rebellion. [[spoiler:But, we also find out he’s a clone of his emperor, Horde Prime and served as his general until an error in his cloning caused a crippling illness, and he’s been trying to earn his respect and retake his position. By the end of the fourth season, Horde Prime took offense at his clone brother’s attempt at making his own empire, and sentences him to be reconditioned and demoted, effectively establishing himself as the true BigBad of the series]].
62	* ''WesternAnimation/SouthPark'':
63	** Season 20 has Kyle's father Gerald Broflovski. Gerald likes to think of himself as a manipulative mastermind sowing chaos to the world, but all that he really did was troll women and girls on the Internet. When he pisses the wrong people with his trolling and they come after him, he reveals to be a DirtyCoward and his threat levels get eclipsed by other antagonists, most notably [[OmnicidalManiac Lennart Bedrager]].
64	** ''[[WesternAnimation/SouthParkTheStreamingWars The Streaming Wars]]'' has Mr. Cussler and the water commissioner. They try to control the streaming services in Colorado, but end up getting killed by Pi-Pi and [=ManBearPig=], the true {{Big Bad}}s of the special.
65	** [[Characters/SouthParkEricCartman Eric Cartman]] himself is actually this. While Cartman has been the BigBad on occasion, his schemes only work if he can manipulate people into following his whims. If he can't do that, he reveals himself to be a very petty and inept dumbass whose plans backfire tremendously on himself. This is shown with his interactions with his mother during ''The Streaming Wars'', who has become wise to Cartman's tactics while Cartman just ends up getting breast implants. In fact, Cartman would end up homeless and miserable if he remains evil, with the only thing that he managed to accomplish is driving everyone away from him with his awful behavior to the point where not even Butters wants anything to do with him.
66	* Mister Smarty Smarts and Octocat from ''WesternAnimation/{{Spliced}}''. [[TheDreaded Everyone on Keepaway Island is utterly terrified of them]], but they're really {{Ineffectual Sympathetic Villain}}s whose schemes are as likely to foil themselves as be foiled by someone else.
67	* [[Characters/SpongeBobSquarePantsSheldonPlankton Sheldon Plankton]] from ''WesternAnimation/SpongeBobSquarePants'' is described by Karen as "1% evil, 99% hot gas". He thinks he's an EvilGenius but he fails to grasp even the simplest concepts, to the point that he once forgot how to blink.
68	* ''WesternAnimation/StarVsTheForcesOfEvil'':
69	** Zigzagged with Ludo. He's completely incompetent as a villain, never showing to possess any magical abilities of his own and [[NeverMyFault frequently blaming his failures on his minions]]. In the case of the latter, he at one point punishes them for something that was clearly his fault, which is what leads to [[TheStarscream Toffee]] convincing most of his minions to turn on him towards the end of the first season. He [[TookALevelInBadass takes a level in badass]] in Season 2, [[spoiler:only to not only become Toffee's pawn once again, but become outright possessed by him towards the end of the season.]] After the "Battle for Mewni" arc, the pathetic bird man is then rendered irrelevant to the plot for the remainder of the series, barely even receiving a mention outside the two ADayInTheLimelight episodes he receives.
70	** Subverted in the fourth season with Mina Loveberry. Originally just a comic relief character, Mina is given the power needed to overthrow Eclipsa as ruler of Mewni by [[spoiler:the Magic High Commission]] (as well as [[spoiler:Queen Moon]]), turning her into an actual threat that the heroes struggle to defeat in the show's final episodes.
71	* In ''WesternAnimation/StarWarsTheCloneWars'':
72	** [[Characters/StarWarsDarthMaul Darth Maul]], Savage Oppress, and the Death Watch are certainly dangerous antagonists in their own right and they talk a big game. However, the second their schemes start interfering with [[BigBad Palpatine's]] work, Palpatine heads to Mandalore personally and [[spoiler: effortlessly curb-stomps Maul, kills Oppress, and cripples Deathwatch.]]
73	** The Nightsisters [[SmallNameBigEgo sing praises about themselves]] and their dark magic make them dangerous to many, but when they get in the way of what Palpatine wants he just sends General Grievous and his droid army in, who proceed to massacre all but two of the Nightsisters with ease. The fact that [[SuicidalOverconfidence the Nightsisters thought they could beat gun-toting enemies made of metal with spears, bows, and hand-to-hand combat]] helped.
74	** Jedi Master [[spoiler:Pong Krell]] was a MoleInCharge who sought to defect to the Separatists and become Dooku's apprentice by acting as a GeneralFailure and sabotaging his own side. However, he ends up getting found out and executed by the very clones [[FantasticRacism he looked down on and marched to their deaths]].
75	* ''WesternAnimation/StarWarsRebels'': The Seventh Sister in Vader's absence during Season 2. Out of the other shown Inquisitors, the Seventh Sister is seen to be the most ambitious for the position of Grand Inquisitor. She is also seen giving orders to the Fifth Brother (who is implied to be of higher rank than her) and later the Eighth Brother as well. Ultimately, they all get ousted by Ahsoka and Maul, and she will still be under the command of Vader no matter if she gets the promotion or not.
76	* ''WesternAnimation/TotalDrama'':
77	** Eva in ''Island'', when she returns for the merger she promises to spend the rest of the season getting her revenge for her early elimination, all she manages to do is repeatedly harass Bridgette and then she's voted off just as quickly as she came back and ends up becoming one of the only three members of the original cast to never get brought back for another season.
78	** Justin starts off ''Action'' as a ManipulativeBastard [[TheBlueBeard who'd use his good looks to manipulate the female contestants into doing his bidding]]. Over the course of the season, however, it becomes highly obvious that he has no real skills outside of his looks and he quickly becomes OutGambitted when Courtney returns.
79	** ''World Tour'' has two: Ezekiel who was [[ButtMonkey the first person eliminated two seasons in a row]], he stowed away on the plane throughout the season [[{{Determinator}} determined to either get back in the contest or find some other way to get the money]]. In he process he TookALevelInBadass and became [[SuperStrength the strongest character in the history of the show]] [[DiscardAndDraw but at the cost of]] mentally degenerating into a feral mindless beast. This made him a reoccurring nuisance to the other players but the true BigBad was Alejandro who while less strong than Ezekiel was intelligent, charismatic and manipulative making him a much stronger threat. Then there was Blainley who after being an ArcVillain in the aftermath specials, joined the show late into the season. Personality-wise she was probably [[EvilerThanThou worse than Alejandro]] but her attempts to be a MagnificentBastard like him fell flat due to her arrogance and unwillingness to put the work in in challenges (like Justin before her) very quickly [[HatedByAll alienated all the other players]] and [[ScrewTheRulesIMakeThem Chris]] leading to her being voted out after just two episodes. (like Eva before her)
80	** Jo from ''Revenge of the Island'' tries to be the main villain by bossing her team around but gets overshadowed by [[BigBad Scott]]. After both are eliminated, [[DragonAscendant Lightning]] becomes the final villain of the season.
81	** The Villainous Vultures from ''All-Stars'', [[LegionOfDoom a team made up of the biggest antagonists from all the previous seasons]]. Given how well each member performed in previous seasons you'd think they'd be a force to be reckoned with but they actually had one of the biggest loosing streaks in the show since [[NonIndicativeName Team Victory]]. Four members still managed to make it to the merger [[MakeWayForTheNewVillains but they all suffered brutal defeats]] by [[VilerNewVillain Mal]] in the episodes leading up to the finale.
82	** Max from ''Pahkitew Island'': he deludes himself into thinking that he's the true evil of the season, but is truly nowhere near the level of other antagonists. The only reason he isn't known to be a wannabe is due to [[spoiler: the true antagonist Scarlett doing most of the work for him]].
83	* ''Franchise/{{Transformers}}'':
84	** ''WesternAnimation/TheTransformers'':
85	*** Starscream repeatedly tries to kill Megatron and fails miserably every time, but always gets let off with a slap on the wrist. When Megatron turns into Galvatron after Starscream betrays him yet again, Megatron decides he has had enough and disintegrates Starscream.
86	*** Ratbat, in most modern forms of the franchise, tends to assume this role (when he isn't Soundwave's pet, anyway). Though he's a good planner and highly ambitious, capable of masterminding fairly complex political schemes while having a remarkable eye towards efficiency and logistics, he [[SmugSnake lacks the charisma to actually maintain his position]] (unless it's enforced by greater politics and the chain of command), his preference for BoringButPractical strategies means he's often perceived as a cowardly bureaucrat, and he's a pretty lousy fighter in a world where RankScalesWithAsskicking.
87	** This happens to [[TheStarscream Starscream]] a lot in ''WesternAnimation/TransformersAnimated'', where he'll show up with some sort of uber-plan (clones, immortality, Omega Supreme, etc) only to have [[BigBad Megatron]] either [[ImplacableMan shrug it off]] or [[OutGambitted effortlessly take advantage of it]]. Starscream is plenty dangerous when he's by himself, but next to [[BigBad Megatron]], he just doesn't compare. Megatron put it best:
88	---> '''Megatron:''' [[IsThatTheBestYouCanDo Is that the best you could do]], Starscream? And to think, you actually believed you could take over as leader of the Decepticons? You couldn't lead a parade.
89	** The ''WesternAnimation/TransformersPrime'' [[Characters/TransformersPrimeStarscream Starscream]] seems like a big threat to start off with, killing one of the Autobots in the first ten minutes, competently leading the Decepticons and showing some signs of beating his ChronicBackstabbingDisorder when he displays concern for Megatron’s wellbeing. Unfortunately, he is extremely vulnerable to {{Villainous Breakdown}}s and thinks he’s far tougher than he actually is, the humiliation piling up until he’s left badly damaged with no allies and is [[PutOnABus forced onto a bus]] for the rest of the season. [[spoiler: In a surprising moment of clarity on his part during the hunt for the Omega Keys, he ends up realizing this and how acting on his own he has no hope of ruling Cybertron even if he collects the keys. So instead he uses them to convince Megatron to take him back and remains loyal to him for the rest of the series.]]
90	** In the sequel series '' WesternAnimation/TransformersRobotsInDisguise2015'', Megatron's defeat has left a vacuum that many Decepticons are rushing to fill. A few (Soundwave, Cyclonus, and his team) show legitimate potential to reforge the Decepticon Empire. Most, however (Steeljaw, Glowstrike, the Stunticons, etc.). are just glorified henchmen who have gotten big heads since Megatron was defeated. The Stunticons are especially bad about this, as the only reason they manage to be serious threats at all is because of GameBreaker powers and equipment they stole from others; once Team Bee catches onto their tricks or starts using those tricks themselves, the Stunticons get completely curb-stomped.
91	** ''WesternAnimation/BeastWars'':
92	*** Terrorsaur, while smarter than G1 cartoon Starscream, proved to be as big of a failure. His attempts to overthrow Megatron generally resulted in whoever he was working with manipulating him as part of their own plan. He's an 80s Starscream {{Expy}} in a DarkerAndEdgier 90s series, and "Megatron has falle- oh, wait!" just doesn't cut it when you're surrounded by true {{Magnificent Bastard}}s. As TF Wiki puts it, "Terrorsaur is always thinking two steps ahead. Unfortunately, the big guns of the Beast Wars are usually thinking at least four steps ahead, and Terrorsaur always ends up on the short end." Unlike most characters of his type, he learns his lesson and doesn't try again after a while.
93	*** Tarantulus, [[CharacterizationMarchesOn once the writers figured out what they wanted to do with him]], plays this role acting as TheStarscream for most of the series and is ultimately revealed to have been an agent of the Tripredicus Council following their agenda to rule the universe. While he's smart enough to keep his agenda a secret, Megatron is almost always a step ahead of him and [[MagnificentBastard manipulates his schemes to further his own]].
94	** The series sequel ''WesternAnimation/BeastMachines'' has Tankor, after he's revealed to have been a reprogrammed Rhinox from the previous series. Gaining his original memories, but having none of his morals, he decides to wipe out Megatron and the Maximals both and rule Cybertron himself. After faking his own death his plotting seems to go unnoticed, but in the climax of Season 1 it's revealed Megatron always knew Tankor was betraying him and had all of his generals' programmed so they could never directly harm him, at which point Tankor is crippled just by the sheer act of trying to attack Megatron. Megatron proceeds to call out Tankor on this and explains that the only reason he was able to run around with any free will was that it indirectly aided Megatron's own goals. And even before that point, Tankor was often shown to be not quite TheChessmaster he thought himself as, with the Vehicon often being sent scrambling when the people he was trying to manipulate [[SpannerInTheWorks didn't behave as he expected them to.]]
95	* Jack Spicer from ''WesternAnimation/XiaolinShowdown'' actually started out as something of a BigBad during the show's first season, before getting unseated by Wuya. After that, Chase Young and Roy Bean came onto the scene, both more powerful villains, which started his decline into VillainDecay, until Jack was only an IneffectualSympatheticVillain. One time-travel episode subverts this though when it turns out Jack ''could'' grow up to become the successful supervillain he always dreamed of being.
96	* ''WesternAnimation/WanderOverYonder'': By the start of Season 2, thanks to his obsessive desire to destroy Wander instead of focusing on being a GalacticConqueror, Lord Hater falls into this category. Lord Dominator usurps him as the BigBad of the show at that point, while Lord Hater starts losing every planet he's conquered and any respect or fear he still managed to command after chasing Wander for so long.
97	* ''WesternAnimation/ZorroTheChronicles'': [[GeneralRipper Captain Monasterio]] is initially presented as the show's main villain. He's the one in command of Monterey's garrison and is the closest thing that Zorro has to an ArchEnemy. Despite this, he's little more than a glorified DirtyCop in the long run and still answers to the whims of [[SleazyPolitician Governor Parasol]]. This all comes to a head in the series penultimate episode, where Monasterio is made into an UnwittingPawn by BigBad Dona Verdugo, who tricks him with a BatmanGambit that results in him getting stripped of his rank and thrown in prison.
98

Context BigBadWannabe / WesternAnimation