Line #22 Main/DastardlyDapperDerby


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11	[[quoteright:150:[[WesternAnimation/MeetTheRobinsons https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/bowlerhatguy_6.png]]]]
12	[[caption-width-right:150:Mustache twirling optional.]]
13
14	A bowler hat is a rounded felt hat commonly worn from the 1850s to the [[TheRoaringTwenties early]]-to-[[TheFifties mid-1900s]], especially in UsefulNotes/VictorianBritain and TheWildWest. Bowler hats were once considered the national hat of England, and used to be associated with the upper-middle class there, especially with bankers, in the early half of the 20th century.
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16	Nobody is sure why bowler hats can be associated with evil characters, since most of the time they show a character who is civilized. {{Irony}}, perhaps? (Or AffablyEvil, even FauxAffablyEvil!) Some creators might also be aware that a bowler is actually a fairly functional helmet (it was originally designed to protect gamekeepers on horseback from low branches), so a character wearing one may be anticipating getting into a fight.
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18	Compare and contrast DashinglyDapperDerby, although they can overlap- see WickedCultured.
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20	Compare SharpDressedMan, BadassInANiceSuit, EvilBrit, DastardlyWhiplash.
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22	!!Examples:
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24	[[foldercontrol]]
25
26	[[folder:Advertising]]
27	* One ad for [[DeliciousDistraction Hostess Fruit Pies]] has ComicBook/SpiderMan taking on a villain called Demolition Derby whose shtick (like Oddjob's) was that he wore a [[WeaponizedHeadGear bowler hat he could throw as a weapon]].
28	[[/folder]]
29
30	[[folder:Anime & Manga]]
31	* Speedwagon is introduced wearing one of these in ''Manga/JojosBizarreAdventurePhantomBlood''. This makes sense as Speedwagon is shown to be a rough and tumble street tough, so it makes sense he'd wear a fairly hard had to protect his head in a fight. [[WeaponizedHeadgear He's also put saw blades into the brim of his hat]], because this is Jojo. Becomes a DashinglyDapperDerby after his HeelFaceTurn thanks to [[DefeatMeansFriendship Jonathan kicking his ass for wholesome, noble reasons, charming Speedwagon and turning him into a lifelong friend]].
32	** The trope was brought back over thirty years later in ''Manga/JojosBizarreAdventureJojolion'', with the mysterious and extremely dangerous character Satoru Akefu, whose appearance is based on the Gentleman character from the paintings of Creator/ReneMagritte.
33	* ''Manga/MoriartyThePatriot'': Played with, since the first time VillainProtagonist William wears a bowler hat is actually ''after'' his reformation and beginning his RedemptionQuest.
34	[[/folder]]
35
36	[[folder:Comic Books]]
37	* ''ComicBook/{{Batman}}'': ComicBook/TheRiddler dons one most of the time.
38	* In ''WesternAnimation/TheHauntedWorldOfElSuperbeasto'', presented by Rob Zombie, sub-story ''Suzie-X'', the characters Bobbie Wulfgang and the Moloko Boys are werewolves who speak, dress, and act as an homage to Alex and his droogs from ''A Clockwork Orange.'' Only three of them wear bowlers.
39	* ''Spooky the Tuff Little Ghost'', ''WesternAnimation/CasperTheFriendlyGhost'''s cousin, always wears one. He once claimed he got it from a babysitter who taught him how to scare and make mischief, though the ending of the story, which he was telling his "goil" Poil, seems to suggest he was [[UnreliableNarrator making it all up as he went along]]. Dapper as it may be, it can be a nuisance; he always has to remember to take it off to go through walls or when he turns invisible. ([[FunetikAksent "Sometimes dere are disadvantages to woikin' wit' props."]])
40	* ''ComicBook/{{Superman}}'': Mister Mxyzptlk tends to wear one of these. Mxyzptlk is obsessed with making mischief to amuse himself, often at the expense of others.
41	[[/folder]]
42
43	[[folder:Film -- Animation]]
44	* Most of the members of Warren T. Rat's gang in ''WesternAnimation/AnAmericanTail''.
45	* In ''WesternAnimation/MeetTheRobinsons'', the "Bowler Hat Guy" appears to be the [[IneffectualSympatheticVillain goofy]] BigBad. Turns out [[spoiler:''the hat itself'' is an evil robotic mastermind intent on taking revenge on Lewis, who invented it. Its name is DOR-15, or [[FluffyTheTerrible Doris]].]]
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47	[[/folder]]
48
49	[[folder:Film -- Live-Action]]
50	* Random Task, in ''Film/AustinPowersInternationalManOfMystery'', a parody of Bond's Oddjob above, wears a bowler.
51	* The Riddler sports a green bowler with a question mark in several scenes in ''Film/BatmanForever''.
52	* ''Film/AClockworkOrange'': Alex [=DeLarge=] is the leader of a gang of "droogs"--Georgie, Dim and Pete--who get intoxicated on drug-laden "milk-plus" and engage in acts of of "ultra-violence" while dressed in all-white outfits accented with black bowler hats and canes .
53	* In ''Film/TheHatefulEight'', 'English' Pete Hicox, the outlaw masquerading as the hangman Oswaldo Mobray, sports one.
54	* The Devil in ''Film/TheImaginariumOfDoctorParnassus''.
55	* ''Film/JamesBond''
56	** The eponymous BigBad of ''Film/{{Goldfinger}}'' has [[TheDragon his servant]] Oddjob with his blade-tipped bowler, which was made behind the scenes by turning a [[RingsOfDeath chakram]] into a hat.
57	** Nick Nack in ''Film/TheManWithTheGoldenGun'' wears more conventional bowler, [[DepravedDwarf albeit smaller]].
58	* The bad guy newsies in ''Film/{{Newsies}}'' wear bowlers.
59	* The Devil wears a bowler whenever he appears on Earth in ''Film/SixGunSavior''.
60	* Horvath, TheDragon from ''Film/TheSorcerersApprentice''.
61	* In ''Film/TombstoneRashomon'', Johnny Behan, the cowardly and corrupt sheriff of Cochise County, in dressed in a natty suit and dapper brown derby, which the film crew gets him to keep on during his interview.
62	[[/folder]]
63
64	[[folder:Literature]]
65	* The Fetchers in ''Literature/KeysToTheKingdom'' are dog-faced monsters who wear bowler hats.
66	* The bledlows [Unseen University porters] in ''Literature/{{Discworld}}'' are generally petty bullies who victimise the students and have secret contempt for the wizards. They are described as not just wearing bowler hats, but having heads ''designed'' to wear bowler hats.
67	** Not exactly dastardly, existing in the overlap between PunchClockVillain and ThePiratesWhoDontDoAnything, but Mr Boggis of the Thieves' Guild is usually portrayed wearing a bowler hat. In ''Literature/{{Thud}}'', he refuses to replace it with a helmet when acting as a Special Constable.
68	** In ''Literature/{{Snuff}}'', the groundskeepers on the Ramkin estate wear leather bowlers as a form of protection and signification of their profession. They're not villainous, but pretty rough characters.
69	** Less "evil" and more "annoying and unpleasant", but [[spoiler:the Verucca Gnome]] in ''Literature/{{Hogfather}}'' is described as wearing "the type of hat known in various parts of the multiverse as 'bowler', 'derby' or 'the one that makes you look a bit of a tit'."
70	* Like his movie counterpart, Oddjob in ''Literature/{{Goldfinger}}'' wears one with a leadlined brim, making it a lethal throwing weapon. Using it for that purpose however damages the felt around it, forcing him to always repair it afterwards.
71	[[/folder]]
72
73	[[folder:Live-Action TV]]
74	* The idea of the Riddler wearing a green bowler hat and suit originated on the ''Series/Batman1966'' TV series. the look was created by actor Creator/FrankGorshin who dislike the green jumpsuit he originally had to wear.
75	* ''Series/{{Bonanza}}:'' In "The Fighters," this was the signature headgear of the arrogant prize fighter that routinely goaded Hoss. Also worn by his handler.
76	* ''Series/BuffyTheVampireSlayer''. The MonsterOfTheWeek in "Killed by Death". He even tips his hat to Buffy at one stage.
77	* Badger from ''Series/{{Firefly}}''. While not exactly "evil", he was an unsavory underworld character.
78	* In ''Series/KamenRiderGaim'', Sid - a GRatedDrug dealer, HateSink, and all-around slimeball - wears a black bowler.
79	* Nobody in England has worn a bowler hat since ''Series/MontyPythonsFlyingCircus'' did the "Ministry of Silly Walks" sketch, since anyone foolhardy to venture out wearing one was liable to be accosted by an idiot who DEMANDED that he show the his "Silly Walk".
80	[[/folder]]
81
82	[[folder:Music]]
83	* {{Downplayed\|Trope}} in the video for Music/PoetsOfTheFall's ObsessionSong "[[https://youtu.be/MKk1u5RMTn4?list=PLjACqN5i5sDWIIpg-5EB4WcitMMqnXhFP Carnival of Rust]]," where several of the vaguely menacing male [[CircusOfFear Carnival]] staff wear them, including SadClown Zoltar the fortuneteller, who manages to put off a customer by being so LoveHungry he becomes intimidating as a result.
84	[[/folder]]
85
86	[[folder:Professional Wrestling]]
87	* The Japanese heel manager Wrestling/MrFuji was rarely seen without his iconic bowler hat in the WWF.
88	[[/folder]]
89
90	[[folder:Theater]]
91	* Sally Bowles in ''Theatre/{{Cabaret}}'' by Christopher Isherwood. While Sally is not sinister, she lives in sinister times, is given to inebriated debauchery, seduces men for favors, has no moral compass, and she most admires her friend Elsie, who died young "from too much pills and liquor, but when I saw her laid out like a queen, she was the happiest corpse I'd ever seen." And "When I go, I'm going like Elsie." Suicidal Weltschmerz indeed. Also retained in the film.
92	* Mackie Messer in ''Theatre/TheThreepennyOpera'' by Bertolt Brecht and Kurt Weill; AKA Mack the Knife. May be the origin of this trope, and inspiration for ''A Clockwork Orange'''s Alex and his droogs, as Alex also carried a sword cane (really more of a knife cane.) Retained in the film starring Raul Julia, although his character also wears a seal fur top hat in some scenes.
93	[[/folder]]
94
95	[[folder:Video Games]]
96	* The logo for ''VideoGame/{{Device6}}'' has a prominent one.
97	* ''VideoGame/{{Overwatch}}'': Ashe's robot butler/bodyguard B.O.B. wears one of these.
98	* ''VideoGame/TeamFortress2'' has The Spy's [[http://wiki.teamfortress.com/wiki/Backbiter%27s_Billycock Backbiter's Billycock]]. Has a humorous variation in the [[https://wiki.teamfortress.com/wiki/Counterfeit_Billycock Counterfeit Billycock]]: a top hat supposedly disguised as a bowler hat.
99	[[/folder]]
100
101	[[folder:Web Animation]]
102	* As a crime lord that was inspired by Alex [=DeLarge=] from ''Film/AClockworkOrange'', Roman Torchwick from ''WebAnimation/{{RWBY}}'' wears red-banded black Derby hat. [[spoiler:After his death, Neo takes to wearing it as a TragicKeepsake.]]
103	[[/folder]]
104
105	[[folder:Webcomics]]
106	* Itchy, Clover, Sawbuck, Eggs, Biscuits, and Cans of mobster gang The Felt from ''Webcomic/{{Homestuck}}'' each wear one.
107	[[/folder]]
108
109	[[folder:Western Animation]]
110	* In one of Creator/TexAvery's MGM shorts, ''WesternAnimation/BadLuckBlackie'', there is a black cat who caused bad luck to anyone whose path he crossed, wore a bowler. Averted however, as he seemed to only cause bad luck to those who deserved it.
111	* ''WesternAnimation/LooneyTunes'':
112	** In the WesternAnimation/BugsBunny short "WesternAnimation/AHareGrowsInManhattan", the leader of the gang of dogs is a bulldog wearing a bowler hat. There was another bullying bulldog in WesternAnimation/LooneyTunes cartoons named Spike, who also wore a bowler, who was teamed with Chester the Terrier.
113	** Another Bugs Bunny short "Bowery Bugs" features Steve Brodie, after the historic Brooklyn Bridge daredevil jumper, as a derby wearing thug who is always looking for an easy score between bouts of fearful superstition.
114	[[/folder]]
115
116	[[folder:Real Life]]
117	* UsefulNotes/BenitoMussolini, when not in his trademark fez.
118	[[/folder]]

Context Main / DastardlyDapperDerby