Line #77 Literature/HowToSucceedInEvil


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16	->'''Edwin''': So Doctor Loeb, tell me a little bit about your business plan.\
17	'''Dr. Loeb''': World domination!!!\
18	'''Edwin''': That's really more of a goal than a plan.\
19	'''Dr. Loeb''': Domination!!! Domination!!! Domination!!!\
20	'''Edwin''': I'll just put down 'Mergers and Acquisitions'.\
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23	[[http://www.succeedinevil.com How to Succeed in Evil]] is a PodCast and a series of novels. Both incarnations are {{parod\|y}}ies of the {{superhero}} genre. In the story, {{supervillain}}s are a dime a dozen and constantly rob banks, cause destruction, and all the other cliché things that villains do. Meanwhile, superheroes are anything but heroic; and frequently do much more harm in trying to subdue villains than good.
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25	Enter Edwin Windsor, a man who becomes the first "Evil Efficiency Consultant", a freelance advisor for supervillains. While he does very well, he is constantly frustrated by his job because of the sheer idiocy of the villains he is forced to work with. Although he tends to provide villains with marvelous {{Evil Plan}}s, their dim wits and large egos eventually cause Edwin's clients to mess everything up for themselves. Edwin still gets paid, so he tries not to think about it.
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27	Eventually, Edwin cannot take the inefficient and wasteful nature of his clients and the world at large, and decides to finally cross the threshold into full supervillainy. As described by the author, Patrick E. Mclean, "Edwin quickly becomes something more than a villain and less than a hero. He takes out villains because they are 'incompetent and inefficient' and heroes because they are 'ineffectual and in the way.' He often does the right thing for the wrong reason. Which, as fans can tell you, is very entertaining."
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29	How to Succeed in Evil alternates between lighthearted, funny stories and serious ones. It follows one main plot while also branching off into various prequel adventures. The updates are few and far between (almost a year has gone by since the last one because the author is currently working on the book), but every episode is available on the website and iTunes if you are up for a mini ArchiveTrawl.
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32	----
33	!!This show provides examples of:
34	* AdaptationalAngstUpgrade: In the original podcast, Edwin had a pretty "wonderful" childhood. It's implied that his book counterpart lost his parents when they fell victim to being collateral damage in a superhuman conflict.
35	* AndThenWhat: This is how Edwin manages to make Dr. Loeb to realize why he ''really'' wants to build an orbital laser: to get back at his mom.
36	* AmoralAttorney: Topper, whose corrupt and willing to cheat. Paired with him actually being a great attorney, he's become one of the most feared men in the city's courtrooms.
37	* TheAtoner: Excelsior [[spoiler:accidentally killed his parents when he ran into their truck while escaping imprisonment. Gus told him that he couldn't bring them back, but he could save others, so that's what he does]].
38	* BadassNormal: Edwin and Gus fit. Superlative Man didn't have any powers, but it's anyone's guess whether he was badass or not.
39	* BlackmailIsSuchAnUglyWord: It's not ''extortion''...
40	* BreakThemByTalking: At the end of the series reboot when Edwin manages to get Excelsior to consent to [[spoiler:being BuriedAlive in concrete]] by appealing to his guilt and his desire to be a hero.
41	* TheBrute: Barry's (and his later incarnation of Cromoglodon) purpose is to break things because he's not qualified for anything else.
42	* CommissionerGordon: Excelsior's [[CommissionerGordon point of contact]] is Agent Gus, a grumpy and tough old man. Gus is a bit of a...[[DeconReconSwitch reality-based inspection of the trope]]; Excelsior can be neurotic about saving lives and fighting villainy, and hence he can do a lot more harm than good due to his rashness and living in a world of cardboard. Gus's job is to keep the big picture in mind, motivate Excelsior when he's demotivated, and discourage him from doing damage by acting impulsively. Gus doesn't respect the agency he works for since it's run by arrogant and cowardly bureaucrats who have learned to take Excelsior for granted. Gus is the only real person Excelsior respects due to his hard-nosed resolve , and has become dependent on his handler for a sense of direction. When Gus is taken off of duty [[spoiler: by having a stroke]], the relationship between the other two parties collapses.
43	* CutLexLuthorACheck: Applies to almost all of Edwin's clients; they could make a lot of money if they weren't so focused on being evil.
44	* DepravedDwarf: Topper, a man of short statue but grand appetites. He is heavily into bodybuilding and hedonism, eating an entire jar of whey protein and washing it down with a pony keg. He likes custom-built muscle cars, guns, and [[ArsonMurderAndJaywalking cheating at golf]].
45	* DiabolicalMastermind: Edwin strangely sits somewhere between this and CorruptCorporateExecutive, being a master planner with plentiful resources and a man running a legitimate business, and actually committing only a few crimes. When he hits his RageBreakingPoint, he leaves consulting and embraces this trope fully.
46	* DudeWheresMyRespect: Played with for Excelsior. On one hand, he enjoys the adulation of the masses. On the other hand, he wishes people accepted him personally, not the image of him as a superpowered icon.
47	* DumbMuscle: Barry Banister is basically the Hulk; really dumb, and has a lot of muscle.
48	* EvilVersusEvil: Edwin is evil but he's fighting evil-er people.
49	* {{Expy}}: usually with a deconstructive twist:
50	** Excelsior: Superman (powers, Midwestern origin) and Captain America (red, white and blue costume, patriotic symbol) without the ability to think independently. [[spoiler:And, like Spider-man, his primary motivation is atoning for the death of his relatives, which he feels responsible for]].
51	** Barry Banister: Bruce Banner without the genius.
52	** Bryce Warner, AKA The Lynx, is a clear stand-in for Batman.
53	* FakeNationality: {{Invoked}}. "Dr Loeb" is from Mississippi and his Austrian accent is transparently fake.
54	* {{Foil}}: Topper is an opposite to his client Edwin in almost every possible way except gender. He's impulsive and hedonistic to Edwin's thoughtfulness and methodicalness. Short to Edwin's tall. Libidinous while Edwin is functionally asexual. And so on. Both are actually pretty smart and capable at their jobs, and love golf. See Odd Friendship, below.
55	* ForTheEvulz: What separates supervillains from more pragmatic criminals like Edwin, who are primarily concerned with money and other resources.
56	* HeroesWithBadPublicity: Heroes aren't likable people, especially if you're asking the local police who have to clean up their messes.
57	* HeroInsurance: Villain insurance exists, but not hero insurance, which has been judged an "act of God".
58	* HulkSpeak: Barry, again.
59	* InsistentTerminology: Agnes being [[StiffUpperLip a proper English lady]], she is quite insistent that she is not any sort of "executive assistant" - something she dismisses as barbarous jargon - she is a ''secretary'' and don't you forget it.
60	* InvisibleToNormals: Defied. Not only do people notice the super people around them, the majority dislike them because of all the damage they cause.
61	* LargeAndInCharge: Edwin is freakishly tall and is often the one calling the shots.
62	* LordErrorProne: Every hero/villain in the story; a career with these guys is what drove Edwin over the edge to evil.
63	* MadScientist: Most of Edwin's clients. Special mention to Brainitar, who was driven mad by a phantom itch after he transplanted his brain into a robot body.
64	* MobBossSuitFitting: (the novel for sure, probably the podcast too) features, actually, ''many'' of these. Edwin Windsor's tailor is not just such a consummate discreet professional that a consulting supervillain can talk freely in front of him, he's actually one of his closest and most dependable cronies. Edwin's favored mode of re-centering himself and rebuilding his morale after any big setback is by having a new suit fitted.
65	* MoralityPet: Agnes and Topper are this to Edwin. Topper somehow manages to be an ''a''morality pet at the same time.
66	* MyGreatestFailure: Edwin considers Brainitar this. Brainitar developed a revolutionary way to transplant his brain into a robotic body, but soon developed a phantom itch that drove him completely insane, torpedoing all of Edwin's plans to profit from the technology.
67	* TheNapoleon: Topper is a dwarf, and has constantly struggled for respect despite his stature. As a result, he lives a larger-than-life lifestyle and keeps a chip on his shoulder twice the size that he is.
68	* NotEnoughToBury: Excelsior, in his attempts to stop the crash of Flight 206, [[spoiler:discovers to his horror that while he is [[NighInvulnerability a man of steel]], neither the plane he is saving nor the people on it are. The most he ends up managing to save is the Captain's arm]].
69	* OddFriendship: Topper and Edwin. [[BigGuyLittleGuy Their difference in height]] nothwithstanding, Edwin is cold hearted, impersonal, [[ConsummateProfessional holds himself professionally]] at all times, and seeks his way through challenges with skill, diplomacy, and planning. Topper is a man defined by his passions; he's loud, larger than life, hedonistic, not afraid to pick a fight, puts himself fully into everything he does, and loves winning to the point that [[BunnyEarsLawyer he actually became quite an excellent attorney]] as well as thinking that if you aren't willing to cheat to win then you're just being lazy. Both are drawn together by mutual respect for their drives and skill, and a love of money and golf.
70	* OnlyInItForTheMoney: During his career as a consultant, Edwin is motivated largely by the pursuit of wealth. He hates destruction, since it means the erasure of assets that can be used and wiping away the capital that was used to create them. He thinks using supervillainy for power is pointless, since heroes always step in and it's easier to gain and maintain control of something [[MundaneSolution if you simply buy it out]]. He often advises villains to go legit and use their powers in business pursuits, since it's [[BoringButPractical a lot more practical]] than villainy.
71	* PersonOfMassDestruction:
72	** Barry basically breaks anything that gets in his way, and seems essentially indestructible.
73	** Topper, while an unpowered dwarf, sometimes creates more devastation than the super-powered individuals. After all, he's rich, he's got a severe case of short-man's syndrome, and he's got a knack for getting everyone else on board with his insanity.
74	* ProtagonistCenteredMorality: It's hard to tell whether Excelsior has this naturally or it was brainwashed into him by Gus ([[spoiler:The third book reveals that it's guilt from accidentally causing the death of his parents]]), but it plays a very important role throughout the book.
75	* PunchClockHero: Excelsior, in a variation, takes all his work from a body of the US government dedicated to keeping him on a tight leash, lest as a loose PersonOfMassDestruction he do something counterproductive.
76	* {{Retcon}}: In "How To Succeed in Evil" Brainitar's downfall is described as being the result of a phantom itch, and Edwin regards it as MyGreatestFailure, because he invested heavily in Brainitar's technology and lost untold amounts of money when he went off the deep-end. Come "Brainitar" and it's clear that the title character is already off his rocker and Edwin never entertains the possibility that Brainitar might be otherwise. Edwin invests no money in Brainitar's technology and in fact ends the book richer than ever.
77	* SecretIdentity: Amazingman has one which is revealed pretty early.
78	* ShooOutTheNewGuy: Edwin 2.0 qualifies. Mr. [=McLean=] decided to re-write his main character by turning him into an AffablyEvil, Lex Luthor-esque, EvilBrit complete with a [[StealthClothes suit that turns him invisible]]. Almost immediately afterward, Mr. [=McLean=] realized that his Reboot was a horrible idea and dedicated an entire episode to deconstructing him.
79	* SmokingIsCool: Deconstructed with Gus, who is seen coughing during the first half-to-two-thirds of the story, and then [[spoiler: he has a stroke, and it turns out he's had cancer since before the story started.]]
80	* SomethingPerson: Names like 'Amazingman', 'Powerboy', and 'The Justinator'. Done on purpose.
81	* StockEvilOverlordTactics: [[DeconstructedTrope Deconstructed]]; Edwin points out the flaws in these methods and [[PragmaticVillainy suggests better uses of these resources.]]
82	* {{Superhero}}: Edwin toes the line between this and {{Supervillain}}, as noted in the description.
83	* SuperheroesWearTights: Though some of them really shouldn't and those who can pull it off annoy the sensible characters.
84	* SupervillainLair: With a sign out front so the pizza man can find it.
85	* SurroundedByIdiots: Edwin's company and henchman are all very competent; he doesn't hire idiots. But the ''rest'' of the world on the other hand...
86	* ThereWasADoor:
87	** Excelsior was dissuaded from using the three story window while going ''in''. Going ''out'', on the other hand...
88	%%** Superlative Man!
89	* {{Ubermensch}}: Edwin considers everyone around him to be "lemmings" and "ants".
90	* VaporWear: Cindi with an I.
91	* VillainProtagonist: Edwin is TheProtagonist and also a super villain.
92	* VisionaryVillain: This is why Edwin became a villain, after a string of not-so-visionary clients; if evil is to be done it should be done ''efficiently''.
93	* VitriolicBestBuds: Agnes and Topper despise each other and never waste an opportunity to trade barbs, but they have a grudging respect for each other and Agnes gets upset if Topper's insults aren't up to par.
94	* WhatTheHellHero: Edwin delivers a truly magnificent one of these to Powerboy.

Context Literature / HowToSucceedInEvil