Follow TV Tropes

Following

Context Main / BigBadWannabe

Go To

1%%%
2%%
3%% This page has been alphabetized. Please add new examples in the correct order. Thanks!
4%%
5%%%
6%% Image selected per Image Pickin thread: https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/posts.php?discussion=17024587650.16614900
7%% Please don't change or remove without starting a new thread.
8%%
9[[quoteright:349:[[WesternAnimation/LeagueOfSuperEvil https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/league_of_super_evil_conquerers_of_neighborhoods.png]]]]
10[[caption-width-right:349:Hero or villain, never bet on the [[FunWithAcronyms L.O.S.E]].]]
11%%
12%% Caption selected per above thread. Please don't change or remove without approval from here:
13%% https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/posts.php?discussion=1404492079030138900
14%%
15
16->''"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."''
17-->-- '''Megatron''', ''WesternAnimation/TransformersAnimated''
18
19The Big Bad Wannabe is a villain who fashions themselves as a significant threat but can't back it up when it comes to the crunch. The actual level of menace varies widely, from an IneffectualSympatheticVillain having a good day, to a villain who ''[[OvershadowedByAwesome could]]'' legitimately be the BigBad if the real Big Bad wasn't even more badass than they are, but within a story they are (initially) presented as a big deal.
20
21There are a lot of ways of building up a baddie. In a SliceOfLife story, a school bully might just talk tough. In a more action-oriented work the wannabe might beat up a tough hero to look even tougher: TheWorfEffect.
22
23There are also many ways of revealing the villain is an over-inflated threat. A school bully [[DirtyCoward might run from a real fight]]. In the second example, WorfHadTheFlu — an unfair circumstance gave the villain the early victory. Sometimes it's just a matter of scale; the heroes catch a murderer, but just a copycat, not the ''real'' mastermind serial killer they were thought to be. Alternatively, the real Big Bad might prove they are EvilerThanThou as they [[OutGambitted outdo the wannabe]], or even kill the wannabe. Those that fall under this trope are also extremely vulnerable to PretenderDiss, both from actual {{Big Bad}}s and their enemies. Sometimes they may be a DiscOneFinalBoss, but in other cases, it’s made clear early on that there is a bigger threat lurking around. It’s also possible that they could be pawns for TheManBehindTheMan, and not even realize it.
24
25Contrast with TeamRocketWins. Compare with SmugSnake vs TheChessmaster or MagnificentBastard, and TheStarscream. See also DragonInChief. Compare and contrast with HeroicWannabe (A character that desires to be a hero, but lacks the mindset or resources to be one). See also NotSoHarmlessVillain for when the wannabe ''actually'' is more dangerous than they appear. Subtrope of PaperTiger.
26
27----
28!!Example subpages:
29[[index]]
30* BigBadWannabe/AnimeAndManga
31* BigBadWannabe/ComicBooks
32** BigBadWannabe/TheDCU
33** BigBadWannabe/MarvelUniverse
34* BigBadWannabe/FanWorks
35* [[BigBadWannabe/LiveActionFilms Films — Live-Action]]
36* BigBadWannabe/{{Literature}}
37* BigBadWannabe/LiveActionTV
38* BigBadWannabe/VideoGames
39* BigBadWannabe/WesternAnimation
40[[/index]]
41
42!!Other examples:
43
44[[foldercontrol]]
45
46[[folder: Audio Play]]
47* ''AudioPlay/BigFinishDoctorWho'':
48** The Meddling Monk tends to come across as this; he likes to consider himself the "hero", rebelling against Time Lord society to make history better according to his own views while dismissing the Doctor as a fool at best and a hypocrite at worst, but his efforts to supplant the Doctor always fail. When the Monk's return in the Eighth Doctor audios sees him [[spoiler:make a deal with the ''Daleks'', he is genuinely shocked when the Daleks betray him, spending time weeping about the death of his companion.]] The Monk goes on to try and [[spoiler:take the Doctor's place in history after convincing himself that the Doctor was the reason everything went wrong, but even when he succeeds after tricking the Fifth Doctor into changing history in "The Secret History", the Monk's former ally looks into the future and realizes that history is worse with the Monk's active interference than it would be with the Doctor's more benevolent, hidden assistance]].
49** The Time Lord criminal known as 'the Eleven' was described at least once by the Doctor as being potentially more dangerous than the Master because his own criminal actions are committed ForTheEvulz rather than because he has a clear plan and long-term agenda. However, in "[[Recap/BigFinishDoctorWhoNEDASRavenous4E3DayOfTheMaster Day of the Master]]", [[spoiler:when the Eleven offers an alliance between himself and three different incarnations of the Master as the Doctor's two greatest arch-enemies, the three Masters shoot the Eleven and throw him out of the TARDIS, dismissing the idea that a lunatic like the Eleven could be the Doctor's other greatest arch-enemy]].
50[[/folder]]
51
52[[folder:Films -- Animation]]
53* Black Mask in ''WesternAnimation/BatmanUnderTheRedHood''. He's actually pretty competent, but becomes the UnwittingPawn in Red Hood's scheme to get hold of [[AxeCrazy the Joker]] and [[spoiler:try to force Batman [[SadisticChoice to kill the Joker]].]] Worse, when Black Mask frees the Joker (under duress), [[ChronicBackstabbingDisorder the Joker]] has Black Mask and [[TheDragon Ms. Li]] captured alongside all the other heads of Gotham's mob!
54* ''WesternAnimation/DuckTalesTheMovieTreasureOfTheLostLamp'': The cowardly and greedy Dijon knows full well that he's just the lackey of the ancient sorcerer Merlock, but when he accidentally gets control of the genie's lamp he abandons his master and briefly takes over Duckburg. Merlock sneaks into the palace by hitching a ride with the Ducks and demonstrates who the real villain is.
55* The Duke of Weselton in ''WesternAnimation/{{Frozen|2013}}'' fancies himself as the mastermind, planning to exploit Arendelle for its riches but is unable to hide his intentions. When Elsa runs away and causes the eternal winter, he tries to restore the kingdom [[PragmaticVillainy for his own benefit]]. He sends his two bodyguards on Prince Hans's rescue mission to kill Elsa, but Prince Hans saves her. Hans then proceeds to [[spoiler:frame Elsa's accidental freezing of Anna's heart as intentional murder, leaves Anna to die, and sentences Elsa to death, so he can claim the throne for himself]]. This turns the Duke into a complete non-entity.
56* Trixie in ''WesternAnimation/MyLittlePonyEquestriaGirlsRainbowRocks''. She and her band are a significant challenge to the Rainbooms, and Trixie is enough of a SmugSmiler and [[TheBully bully]] to them to definitely be called antagonistic. At one point, Trixie even causes a NearVillainVictory for the Dazzlings by trapping the Rainbooms beneath the stage they perform on. But, the Dazzlings are interested in winning the BattleOfTheBands for sinister reasons (namely, to brainwash the school and TakeOverTheWorld) whereas Trixie just wants to win to rub it in everyone's faces. And, Trixie only trapped the Rainbooms because of a BatmanGambit on Adagio Dazzle's part.
57* ''WesternAnimation/{{Ratatouille}}'': When first introduced, Skinner initially comes across as a major antagonistic figure for the film by both being visibly less than amused to have Linguini around as a staff member at Gusteau's and also one of the very first staff members there to order for Rémy to be disposed of upon first catching sight of him at the restaurant while also consistently making efforts at getting Linguini removed from the restaurant and Rémy exposed under the belief that Linguini is trying to pull a fast one on him involving the rat. But after being ousted from the restaurant as a result of Linguini [[spoiler:discovering the truth about his being Gusteau's son and subsequently]] claiming his inheritance, Skinner is reduced to a minor nuisance compared to the real threat to Linguini's rising success: Anton Ego. While Skinner does lay the foundation for the restaurant's eventual closing (namely calling in a health inspector) and even traps Remy with plans to force the rat chef into becoming his business partner, the real climax is Rémy cooking up to Anton's standard and proving him wrong on his disdain for Gusteau's philosophy; Rémy's rat family even ensures that Skinner's attempts to sabotage these efforts are thwarted quickly and the health inspector's work to bring the apparent rat infestation to the attention of the appropriate people is delayed long enough for Remy to help Linguini in his work at cooking up a meal that fits Anton's standard.
58[[/folder]]
59
60[[folder:Multiple Media]]
61* ''Toys/{{Bionicle}}'':
62** The Piraka are introduced {{brainwash|ed}}ing a whole village of [[{{Hobbits}} Matoran]] to do work at a ''volcano'' in an attempt to get an ArtifactOfDoom, committing several KickTheDog moments purely ForTheEvulz, and [[TheWorfEffect taking out the veteran Toa heroes]] who showed up. In addition, leader Zaktan knew BigBad Makuta's EvilPlan and swore to use it to his own advantage, and there's TheReveal they were all Dark Hunters who fought and killed for a living, including against various other Toa in their careers. Turns out they were [[TheManBehindTheMan manipulated by Makuta]] from day one, and eventually got beaten by a rookie team of Toa (albeit a team formed out of Matoran [[BadassNormal far tougher they were used to]] and they [[UnderestimatingBadassery gravely underestimated]]). They were shortly afterward mutated into sea snakes and captured by the HeroSecretService. They're imprisoned in a fish tank. Zaktan tried to offer his knowledge of the gambit in exchange for parole, leading some other heroes to Makuta -- but when they get there, Makuta blows him up, and he goes missing for a while.
63** Subverted later on, when a group of Skakdi (the Piraka's species) performed a ritual sacrifice, during which they threw the remaining Piraka snakes and various other beings into a vat filled with MutagenicGoo -- along with, unknown to them, Zaktan's still living particles. The result is a god-like fusion who has become one of the several BigBad expectants of the online serials. It's unknown how this would have unfolded since the series got LeftHanging.
64** Both Karzahni qualify:
65*** The [[BotanicalAbomination Karzahni]] plant was a [[BetaTestBaddie sentient tree prototype]] that became too ambitious and got left to die by its creator, Makuta. In the book ''Maze of Shadows'', it acquired a vial of [[{{Phlebotinum}} Energized Protodermis]], a substance that destroys or transfigures all it touches, convinced its destiny was to become an unstoppable monster to take revenge on its maker and dominate the world. It wasn't -- the liquid kills Karzahni who ultimately ends up being less dangerous than the book's other major villains, the [[{{Robeast}} Rahi]] [[{{Kaiju}} Nui]] and the [[SentientPhlebotinum Energized Protodermis Entity]]. Only a tiny shoot of it survives. When a newly regrown Karzahni returns in ''Time Trap'' and finally meets Makuta, he [[BackForTheDead casually kills it]] for good.
66*** The actual Karzahni, a crazed ancient ruler of myth who had no idea of the world for 100,000 years, was shocked [[IgnorantOfTheirOwnIgnorance when he learned]] how insignificant he was in the grand scheme of all things and decided to conquer the universe he had just found out about. Sadly for him, the first major challenger he faced was Makuta himself. Though inhabiting a weaker body at the time in which he couldn't use all his powers, Makuta easily beat Karzahni, reducing him to a harmless, braindead state.
67[[/folder]]
68
69[[folder:Pro Wrestling]]
70* Many times when a popular {{face}} wrestler is on a title reign, [[WrestlingMonster a monster]] or such will typically be built up to challenge him. He'll start out by utterly smashing {{jobber}}s before plowing through the midcard with a few [[TheWorfEffect easy victories over established, popular superstars along the way]], but by the time the big showdown at the pay-per-view rolls around, the heel will usually lose decisively to the popular face and will be booted back down to the midcard, rarely if ever seen again in the main event. Examples include the pushes received by Snitsky, Chris Masters, and Wrestling/{{Umaga}}, among many others.
71* This is a recurring problem for [[Wrestling/DeanAmbrose Jon Moxley]]. From thinking himself king of the Heartland Wrestling Association, even with member of his own "crew" gunning for his title, to assuming he could just walk step into NEWP and start running through the roster, to threats of arson on his first day at Wrestling/{{CZW}}, to blabbing about world take over schemes as if he was the undisputed leader of KAMIKAZE USA in Wrestling/DragonGate. His insistence on being "the baddest man on the planet" despite constant backup from the rest of Wrestling/TheShield shows not even WWE could beat this trait out of him.
72* Wrestling/CandiceLeRae in All Pro Wrestling. While she was savvy enough to at least wait until [=ChickFight=]'s functional mascot Wrestling/CheerleaderMelissa was on hiatus before proclaiming herself "Queen", it didn't change that she usually got beaten up and or stretched out [[TheWorfEffect by incoming wrestlers]]. Who would then show up but [[Wrestling/JessicaKresa ODB]]?
73* Wrestling/JoeyRyan in regards to Wrestling/ProWrestlingGuerilla and Championship Wrestling From Hollywood, where trying to convince him he is anything but the biggest money-making star is nothing but an exercise in frustration.
74* Nikki Storm is a relentless, terrifying, indomitable [[WrestlingMonster monster]] in her own words. In practice, relentless is the only part that's true. Her rants can seem intimidating at first but she has a tendency to talk [[CharacterFilibuster a lot more than needed]] till they [[{{bathos}} start to become comical]], [[BigLittleMan camera angles]] often hide that she's pretty tiny by wrestling standards and she tends to get kicked around buildings because of these things.
75[[/folder]]
76
77[[folder:Tabletop Games]]
78* ''TableTopGame/TheDresdenFiles'' RPG introduces Domocles Ravenborn, something of a subversion because he is a very legitimate and deadly threat if you get into a fight with him, but also a bully who folds under pressure. He's the ultimate poser, but with actual power, if he knew what to do with it.
79* ''TabletopGame/MagicTheGathering'': [[spoiler:Averru]] makes an 11th-hour attempt to become a BigBad in ''[[Literature/OnslaughtCycle Scourge]]'' by draining the true Big Bad of her power. She [[BeCarefulWhatYouWishFor gives it to him]] all right.
80* ''TabletopGame/{{Mystara}}'': King Thar rules [[{{Mordor}} the Broken Lands]], having uniffied Orcs, Goblinoids, Trolls, Gnolls, Kobolds and Ogres under his command and dreams of nothing more than to lead TheHorde to RapePillageAndBurn every nation he sees. Too bad he's the ultimate case of VileVillainLaughableLackey, whose subordinates are a bunch of buffoons in charge of even bigger buffoons. As a result, in big storylines like ''Wrath of the Immortals',' he tends to be DemotedToDragon to villains who command more competent forces.
81[[/folder]]
82
83[[folder:Web Animation]]
84* In ''[[WebAnimation/RedVsBlueTheRecollection Red vs. Blue: Revelation]]'', this is the role taken by Agent Washington. Determined to get out of jail no matter what, he turns evil, teams up with the Meta, and goes on the hunt for the Epsilon AI. However, although he has a good start, he ends up getting his ass kicked by the Reds, and finds himself constantly bickering with the Meta and Doc. Ultimately, the Meta turns on him and Wash needs the Reds and Blues to fix things. Afterwards, he has a HeelFaceTurn and joins Blue Team.
85* ''WebAnimation/{{RWBY}}'': [[Characters/RWBYAdamTaurus Adam Taurus]] has the incredibly lofty goal of [[LittleBitBeastly Faunus]] ruling the world, but his actual ability to implement that vision is lacking. In his first appearance outside of the trailers, he's already been forced into a "partnership" with Cinder and provides her with troops to do her dirty work for the first five volumes. His violent tendencies and shortsightedness lead to the Albain twins having to pick up the slack when it comes to strategy and public relations, his assassination attempt on the Belladonnas and cowardice at the Battle of Haven result in him losing all of his supporters, and that's not even mentioning how utterly insignificant of a threat he is compared to the immortal and millennia-old [[HumanoidAbomination Salem]]. With no allies remaining, the once-feared revolutionary is reduced to single-mindedly stalking his former lover-turned-obsession, dying at the hands of Blake and Yang.
86[[/folder]]
87
88[[folder:Webcomics]]
89* In ''WebComic/TheAdventuresOfDrMcNinja'', King Radical is a major villain and the BigBad of [[spoiler: the final StoryArc.]] However, in "Futures Trading", there's an alternative future where dinosaurs from space have taken over the Earth, and there, he's been stuck fighting against them instead of following his own EvilPlan. Thus, ironically, all he can manage to be is a not terribly powerful BigGood leading LaResistance.
90* ''WebComic/DarthsAndDroids'':
91** In the "Revelation of the Sith" campaign -- based on ''Film/RevengeOfTheSith''[[note]]in this universe, ''Franchise/StarWars'' doesn't exist other than as a series of TabletopRPG campaigns played by a group of gamers[[/note]] -- the GameMaster had planned General Grievous and Nute Gunray as major villains, but this changes when the players take the plot OffTheRails. Ben, playing Obi-Wan Kenobi, insists on going after Grievous early and manages to kill him solo, prompting the GM to make a funeral pyre for Grievous's character sheet and extensive plot development notes. As for Gunray, the players never take the hint to go deal with him until they have changed the plot to the point that he's become insignificant enough to be easily killed, overshadowed by the real villain, [[spoiler: the PlayerCharacter Anakin Skywalker.]]
92** Subverted with [[spoiler:the "The Enemy Let Slip" campaign (based on ''Film/TheEmpireStrikesBack'') revealing that Gunray actually survived as a computer virus, becoming quasi-immortal in the process. By the time of "The Forced Away Kin" (based on ''Film/TheForceAwakens''), he's the GreaterScopeVillain commanding the First Order, with Snoke and Kylo Ren as his minions. Time will tell if he's more of a threat this time around.]]
93* In ''Webcomic/{{Goblins}}'', Dellyn Goblinslayer fantasized about becoming a fixture of goblin folklore, their hereditary enemy slain by Thaco in a story told for generations. Thaco refused to kill Dellyn, denying him any form of lasting fame as a final insult.
94* The Condesce from ''Webcomic/{{Homestuck}}''. She's definitely a ''physical'' threat to the MainCharacters. However, despite this and her rampant egomania, she's hopelessly outmatched in every way by Lord English, the true BigBad. She's not even that intelligent really, simply relying on her insanely strong powers (which she only has because she was lucky enough to become empress) and big army to bully others into following her. When she loses said army, she ends up being reduced to Lord English's lackey, preparing things for his arrival in return for ruling Earth as a cheap, half-assed replacement of Alternia. The Alpha version of Jade plastered English's face all over merchandise to mock the Condesce by constantly reminding her of how pathetic she really is. Despite all of this, she [[spoiler: still manages to be strong enough to act as the TrueFinalBoss of the webcomic, and the last villain to be killed off. She still manages to be a match to three [[PhysicalGod God Tier players]] and a particularly [[ArsonMurderAndJaywalking stylish alien vampire.]] ]]
95* ''Webcomic/KlonoaDreamCrusaders'': Tenebrae Hue starts the conflict with his grand ambitions to use dream power for nefarious purposes. But then he accidentally summons an ancient evil who teleports everyone to various locations, leaving Hue angry, confused, and probably frightened as he's stranded with Lolo and the King of Sorrow.
96* Lupin Madblood of ''Webcomic/{{Narbonic}}'', who tries to defeat Helen Narbon or take over the world, and never comes close to succeeding. Once he was thwarted by a gerbil. Okay, it was a really smart gerbil, but still.
97* ''Webcomic/TheOrderOfTheStick'':
98** [[EvilTwin Nale]] tries to be a {{Chessmaster}}, but events have repeatedly shown that while he's pretty good at putting plans together, they ultimately tend not to work out. His first scheme would have succeeded if not for Haley making an almost impossible shot with her bow. His second scheme, in which he impersonated Elan, would have also succeeded if Elan had remained as dumb and incompetent as ever, instead of [[TookALevelInBadass taking a level in badass]] since their last encounter. And, more generally, if Nale didn't constantly trip over his megalomania. [[spoiler: Later, he finally manages to actually kill Malack, but this results in Durkon being released from Malack's control and killing Zz'dtri, his last loyal ally on the field. He then proceeds to taunt his father about it, right in the middle of his father's army and in the presence of one of Tarquin's powerful companions. Tarquin tries to offer Nale the chance to reconcile, but Nale brags about how he managed to kill Malack without Tarquin's help, complains about how much he resents his father and rejects his Last-Second Chance. Tarquin finally proceeds to show Nale just how quickly he would have died without his protection, by stabbing him without a second thought and having his Psion Laurin disintegrate his corpse so he can't be brought BackFromTheDead]].
99** [[AristocratsAreEvil Daimyo Kubota]] tries to usurp Hinjo's position, culminating in him ordering the assassination of a pair of former commoners who were promoted to nobility. The wife is pregnant. When the plan fails, he murders Therkla, his own number two, with poison just to give himself time to escape and [[DeceasedFallGuyGambit frame her]]. He then surrenders to go on trial and use his aristocratic talents to turn around and slander Hinjo, but [[spoiler: Vaarsuvius just disintegrates him, simply because there's more important things to do than deal with him]]. His status as this is cemented by the fact that he just doesn't stack up against Xykon and Redcloak, and is naive enough to think that taking the city back from Xykon will be a trivial matter.
100** [[spoiler:Elan and Nale's father]] Tarquin truly believes he is the real BigBad, and that Xykon is just the end goal of some minor sidequest, and that Elan, not Roy, is the main protagonist. In their final confrontation, [[spoiler:after Tarquin killed Nale (mainly because he was a distraction in the conflict between himself and Elan), Elan flat-out refused to fight, capture, or engage with Tarquin in any way and just left him in the desert without any sort of climactic confrontation, which was [[CruelMercy probably the worst thing he could have done to him]]. Tarquin is left screaming after a departing Elan to come back and "finish the story".]] Even among his own party, Tarquin is not the leader. Neither Malack, Laurin, or Miron have any interest in doing what he says, they mostly just put up with it because Tarquin's narrative logic assists in their own personal motives, and is quite profitable to boot. He has to cajole and run on a system of favors in order to get them to do anything for him, and his military prowess is stated to come from elsewhere in the party. Even [[spoiler:Julio Scoundrél]] only considers him one of his "B-list villains".
101* In ''Webcomic/PowerpuffGirlsDoujinshi'', we have several examples of this: First, Mojo Jojo -- the Girls' canonical ArchEnemy -- nearly succeeds in killing them with a monster, only for them to be saved by [[WesternAnimation/SamuraiJack Jack]], at which point Mojo is captured by [[TheDragon Bell]] and forcibly "recruited" to work for the Darkstar Council. Then, when they arrive at the Council's base, they're greeted by [[WesternAnimation/InvaderZim Zim]], who for a moment seems to be pretty high up in the organization, since he's sitting on a throne and giving a MotiveRant about their goals... then, Dr. X, the real BigBad shows up, and tells Zim to get out of his chair and get back to his janitor duties. Later on, [[WesternAnimation/DextersLaboratory Mandark]] shows up and appears to be a major villain, but it's quickly made apparent that he's nothing but a [[UnwittingPawn pawn]] that [[ManBehindTheMan Dr. X]] is [[ManipulativeBastard manipulating]] through his mental instability.
102* Black Licorice from ''[[Webcomic/TriggerStar The Last Mystical Legend Of The Fantastic Fantasy Trigger Star]]'' is a living embodiment of this trope. He starts out burning a city to ashes for the sake of being evil, causing the main character to seek revenge against him. He then turns out being extremely weak, unable to beat ''even his own mooks''. He is ''less'' evil than the main character. In an actual fight against the main cast, they point out how weak this enemy was and that it couldn't be the real Black Licorice-at which point he pretends being a mook, flee, and burst out crying wondering what's going to happen to him.
103* Incubus from ''Webcomic/KillSixBillionDemons'' is a [[WhiteHairBlackHeart white-haired evil swordsman]], a SatanicArchetype and one of the [[BigBadEnsemble Seven Black Emperors]] who rules Creation. Being a DreamWalker he's the only one of them to have direct access to [[TheHero Allison's]] mind and the only one who knows she's Zoss' intended Successor. His ultimate goal is to [[spoiler:manipulate Allison and five of the Demiurges into [[EnemyCivilWar re-igniting the Universal War]], casting Creation into one final battle where the others will die, either at the hand of Allison, the seventh Demiurge (Jagganoth, an OmnicidalManiac and Incubus' ally), or his own.]] Unfortunately for Incubus, [[spoiler:Allison ends up taking the Prophecy of the Successor ''way'' OffTheRails and he fails at manipulating her, and then Jagganoth decides to jump the gun and attacks all the other Demiurges on his own, forcing Incubus to team up with Allison ''and'' the Demiurges against Jagganoth as a bit player.]]
104* ''Webcomic/{{Unsounded}}'': [[spoiler:Hetr]], who despite being little more than a murderous {{Mook}} is convinced he will be regarded as a pivotal figure by future historians. This is ultimately spoofed with his LameLastWords: quoth Emil, ''"Don't worry, no one's gonna look them up."''
105[[/folder]]
106
107[[folder:Web Original]]
108* As far as Blog/DasSporking is concerned, any villain of [[SturgeonsLaw bad fanfiction]] is this trope irrespective of how threatening the narrative [[ShowDontTell claims them to be]], and this is true of both [[OriginalCharacter original]] and [[AdaptationalWimp canon]] characters. No amount of CharacterShilling can nullify [[IdiotBall their idiocy]], after all.
109* Nephandus of the Literature/WhateleyUniverse. A member in bad standing of the Bad Seeds (children of supervillains club) at SuperheroSchool Whateley Academy, none of his nefarious plans have succeeded. One of his plans ended with him duct-taped head down in a toilet.
110[[/folder]]
111
112[[folder:Web Videos]]
113* Dr. Linksano from ''WebVideo/AtopTheFourthWall'' appears from another universe and tries to take over ours, but all of his plans end up failing without Linkara even noticing. After the review of ''Warrior 2'' and ''3'', he retreats at the sight of Lord Vyce's approach, which he said was the reason he fled his universe. After Vyce's defeat, he makes another attempt to attack Linkara, but [[EldritchAbomination The Entity]] appears to kill him. After he is brought back from ''that'', Linkara just hires him as a tech expert and he becomes a (so far) loyal ally.
114* Sir Pentious in ''WesternAnimation/HazbinHotel'' thinks of himself as a legitimate challenger for the rule of Hell, but while he is dangerous, he's really just another gangster fighting for territory. When he goes up against Alastor, one of the ''real'' powers in Hell, he's handed a swift and humiliating defeat. And to add insult to injury, Alastor doesn't even know his name.
115* In ''[[WebVideo/{{Oxventure}} The Oxventure]]'':
116** The adventure "Corn Ultimatum" has the bandit leader [=McCluskey=], who manages to intimidate a village into giving him tithes of corn and crops and has a fortress of bandits; however, the village is entirely made up of noncombatants and his men are demolished by the combined forces of the Oxventurers Guild, Rust-on-the-Harbour (an assassin) and a Treant, who barely break a sweat taking him down.
117** From "Epic Jail", Sulpigius, "The Scourge of Man", is a [[DownplayedTrope downplayed]] and justified example of this. He was legitimately threatening and a powerful necromancer, who was capable of killing and raising ten guards effortlessly and had scared an entire prison into avoiding him. His ultimate aspiration was to TakeOverTheWorld, however, the Guild managed to kill his thralls and therefore stop him before he gained enough traction.
118* ''WebVideo/ThePerfectCastlevaniaTimeline'': The segment about ''VideoGame/CastlevaniaDawnOfSorrow'' presents Dario Bossi and Dmitrii Blinov in this way. Both of them believe they can out-perform [[AntiAntiChrist Soma Cruz]] as a Dark Lord candidate. [[spoiler:It ends with Dmitrii dead, Dario a fugitive from justice, and [[FallenHero Soma]] as Dracula incarnate.]]
119* ''WebVideo/SMPLive'': Schlatt prides himself on being a brilliant scammer and a CorruptCorporateExecutive, when in actuality he tends to be more of a mild nuisance to other players. His schemes often backfire hilariously, and to most he comes off as more of an incompetent grifter than a dangerous conman.
120* {{Discussed}} in ''WebAnimation/SoThisIsBasically Franchise/KingdomHearts:''
121-->"...spend 60% of each game doing the Disney characters' chores while fighting [[WesternAnimation/SleepingBeauty Maleficent]], who is ''absolutely'' convinced that she is the main antagonist. (As [[BigBad Xehanort]]) ''Girl, please!''"
122[[/folder]]

Top