Follow TV Tropes

Following

Context Main / EvilIsCool

Go To

1%%
2%%
3%% This image was chosen in an Image Pickin' thread, please don't replace it without starting a new thread.
4%%
5%%]]
6[[quoteright:349:[[Franchise/StarWars https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/rsz_darthsaws.png]]]]
7[[caption-width-right:349:[-Darth Vader DualWielding chainsaw lightsabers. If he got any more awesome, he'd [[AwesomenessIsVolatile explode.]]-] ]]
8%%
9->''"Why do the Decepticons always get the good shit?!"''
10-->-- '''Robert Epps''', ''Film/TransformersDarkOfTheMoon''
11
12There is a reason actors fight for the chance to play the bad guy. The lines [[ChewingTheScenery are great,]] the costumes [[EvilCostumeSwitch are awesome]], the [[VillainSong songs are spectacular]], [[EvilPlan their schemes]] are [[XanatosGambit brilliant]], the villains often look [[SensibleHeroesSkimpyVillains much sexier than the heroes]], they have their fair share of CoolPlanes, CoolCars and CoolBoats to flaunt, and they don't have to spend the whole shoot pretending they are nicer than anyone they've ever met. No, seriously; [[https://www.wired.com/2012/07/why-do-supervillains-fascinate-us/ it's psychological!]]
13
14Even the EvilOldFolks can be {{Cool Old Guy}}s and {{Cool Old Lad|y}}ies, if this trope kicks in.
15
16Plus, there are all those wonderful ''[[WhereDoesHeGetAllThoseWonderfulToys toys]]''!
17
18Why is all that true? Why does the bad guy get all the cool stuff? The more interesting the bad guy, the more interesting the story. It really is that simple. You don't have a story unless you have a conflict. The bad guy in most cases ''is'' the conflict.
19
20Plus, there are all those marvelous ''[[WhereDoesHeGetAllThoseWonderfulToys toys]]''... Wait, we already said that.
21
22Compare GoodIsBoring. Contrast ThisIsYourBrainOnEvil and BeingEvilSucks. See also BalanceBetweenGoodAndEvil. Those ''[[RuleOfThree wonderful]]''... Ahhh, forget it. The reason LoveToHate exists. DarkIsNotEvil, {{Noble Demon}}s, and some types of {{Anti Hero}}es are able to harness the coolness of evil without the actual ''evil''. Compare the subtrope DamnItFeelsGoodToBeAGangster when criminals are consciously portrayed as cool by the work itself. Compare DracoInLeatherPants when the coolness of the evil (among other things) makes fans think the baddie should be a good guy. Compare also FameThroughInfamy when being infamous is seen as cool as being famous.
23
24[[JustForFun/IThoughtItMeant No relation to]] EvilIsDeathlyCold.
25
26----
27!!Example subpages:
28
29[[index]]
30* EvilIsCool/AnimeAndManga
31* EvilIsCool/ComicBooks
32* [[EvilIsCool/AnimatedFilms Films — Animated]]
33* [[EvilIsCool/LiveActionFilms Films — Live-Action]]
34* EvilIsCool/{{Literature}}
35* EvilIsCool/LiveActionTV
36* EvilIsCool/{{Music}}
37* EvilIsCool/ProfessionalWrestling
38* EvilIsCool/VideoGames
39* EvilIsCool/{{Webcomics}}
40* EvilIsCool/WebOriginal
41* EvilIsCool/WesternAnimation
42[[/index]]
43
44!!Other examples:
45[[foldercontrol]]
46
47[[folder:Advertising]]
48* The Canadian [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sleeman_Breweries Sleeman Breweries]] launched an ad campaign playing up the bootlegging activities of the company's founder John Sleeman. It also plays up George Sleeman, whose business was threatened by prohibitionists who'd managed to get anti-liquor laws passed in his hometown, after which he ran for mayor himself and repealed the prohibition laws.
49* Jaguar's ad featuring Jag-driving {{Evil Brit}}s, with the tagline "It's Good to Be Bad."
50[[/folder]]
51
52[[folder:Fan Works]]
53* ''Fanfic/AbraxasHrodvitnon'': In this ''Film/GodzillaKingOfTheMonsters2019'' fanfiction, it's Ghidorah again. Even after all of it except for San's severed head has been destroyed, it still exercises a Cthulhu-like BrownNote effect on every human who gets too close for too long without their guard up, and the further exploration of Ghidorah's PsychicPowers in flashbacks makes it more awesome.
54* ''Webcomic/TheBikiniBottomHorror'': The Tortured One is a colossal, starfish-derived EldritchAbomination set on devouring everything in its sight and it takes nothing short of [[spoiler:another {{Kaiju}}]] to fight it.
55* ''Fanfic/ChildOfTheStorm'' has Lucius Malfoy. The guy's as evil as they come, but he's also AManOfWealthAndTaste, an even bigger MagnificentBastard than Nick Fury himself, he's pragmatic, ruthless and proves that, despite the fact that he actually needs his ClassyCane to walk after Nick Fury destroyed his knee the night after the attack on Godric's Hollow, he is personally very dangerous by [[spoiler: killing Baron Von Strucker]]. And it's recently been revealed that he's been manipulating everyone, good guys and bad. At the start, he managed to weld together an impromptu alliance of some Death Eaters and HYDRA, along with [[WithGreatPowerComesGreatInsanity Grave]][[OmnicidalManiac moss]]. Now, [[spoiler: he's the undisputed Master of HYDRA with vast financial resources after inheriting or being granted control over a significant number of Death Eaters accounts, much of which is being invested by the Goblins on the London Stock Exchange, and he has command of [[OneManArmy the Winter Soldier]]]]. He's evil, but he's got ''style''.
56** The second book introduces us to {{Dracula}}, a ManOfWealthAndTaste (well, vampire, technically), who's a PhysicalGod and WickedCultured, displaying (usually) impeccable manners in addition to PhysicalGod levels of physical and psychic abilities, and being incredibly skilled in psychic combat as well.
57* ''Fanfic/CodePrime'' has, quite possibly, one of the most successful iterations of the [[Characters/CodePrimeDecepticons Decepticons]] ''period''. Not only do they succeed in [[spoiler:overthrowing Britannia and establishing themselevs the new rulers of Earth at the end of ''R1'',]] [[Characters/CodePrimeMegatron Megatron]] gives his ''Animated'' version a run for his money as an intelligent strategist that is able to rival Lelouch. Aside from that the roster also has various fan favorites such as Starscream, Shockwave, Soundwave, Knock Out, Bruticus, Dreadwing, and Sky-Byte among others.
58* ''Fanfic/FairyMayCry'' has [[VideoGame/DevilMayCry Vergil]], who spends his debut arc terrorizing Fairy Tail with such effiency and ease and delivering a CurbStompBattle to many of their strongest members, that many fans find it awesome. What also helps is [[NobleDemon he gives them a chance to surrender several times, all while maintaining a code of honor]]. These traits do not lessen when he returns in the Devil Hand arc and later joins Sabertooth, remaining just as formidable as ever.
59* Almost any villain in ''Fanfic/TheLionKingAdventures'' would have to qualify. [[EvilSorcerer Hago]], [[TheCaligula Scar]], [[AnthropomorphicPersonification Death]], [[ViolentGlaswegian Interceptor]], [[ShockAndAwe Shocker]], [[ReptilesAreAbhorrent Nyoka]], [[ScaryBlackMan Virusi]], and many more...
60* [[RatMen The Rat]] from ''Fanfic/TheNightUnfurls'', for being the first [[OurDemonsAreDifferent demon]], [[OurGodsAreDifferent god]], or whatever that resembles a malevolent entity ever introduced. His [[AffablyEvil eccentric]] personality aside, fans adore him for being exclusively introduced in the remastered version of the fanfic, paving a potentially different direction for the plot of the remastered fanfic, distinct from the original.
61* In ''Fanfic/TheOfficialFanfictionUniversityOfMiddleEarth'', this gets deconstructed with the subject "Evil Is as Evil Does 101", taught by Sauron himself, to teach that Evil is more than calling yourself evil because it's cool and dark and edgy. Like causing a river of blood, at least.
62* ''Fanfic/QueenOfAllOni'' initially plays this straight, but the second half of the story [[AvertedTrope averts]] it ''[[{{Deconstruction}} hard]]''. At first, Jade is essentially the same character, with the addition that she's [[FaceHeelTurn now a villain]], and generally just succeeds where other villains failed just to prove that she ''can'', without really acting truly "evil" (at one point she organizes a complex scheme to steal the Dog Talisman for no other reason than to [[PetTheDog make her dog immortal]]). But between the continued Shadowkhan corruption, and a TraumaCongaLine she [[MotiveDecay slowly becomes]] [[SanitySlippage worse and]] [[TheCaligula worse]] and starts crossing the MoralEventHorizon repeatedly, and becoming less and less sympathetic. Lampshaded by the author at one point:
63--> '''Creator/EduardKassel:''' I am sure many of you are disappointed, wanting a cool villain Jade. Well, you had her, more or less, for a while. This story has been about exploring Jade's fall to darkness, not celebrating it. And my explorations, in planning this story, lead me to [[EvilIsNotAToy evil not being a toy]]. And as [[SlowlySlippingIntoEvil you give yourself to darkness]], [[TheDarkSideWillMakeYouForget bit by bit you lose yourself to it]].
64* Princess Jody's LegionOfDoom-type organization "Injustice Unit Patrol Squad" in [[http://fav.me/d4a27sp Super Milestone Wars]].
65* ''Fanfic/InkopolisChaos'' has Cyalux Clover for being a conniving and manipulative bastard all while being a LaughablyEvil LargeHam. There are reasons why he is arguably the best loved villain in the trilogy.
66* In ''FanFic/TheFireOfFuturesPast'', Bonnie (Experiment 149)'s response to being the villain of Nani's story is just the third word of this trope. She likes the idea of being the bad guy so much that she impatiently gets Nani to skip to the climax.
67* Invoked in ''Fanfic/KaraOfRokyn''. Wrestler Jara is a "heel" because she likes playing the villain and going wild on her adversaries, to her audience’s delight.
68-->Jasmine stood up, smiled, and preened herself for the crowd. There were boos, but, satisfyingly, a few cheers. Lots of guys like to see the heroines take a beating, she reflected, and that's what I'm here for.
69[[/folder]]
70
71[[folder:Puppet Shows]]
72* Uncle Deadly of Franchise/TheMuppets. He's a sinister-looking and eerie [[{{Dracolich}} ghostly dragon]] [[ClassicallyTrainedExtra Shakespearean]] [[NinjaPirateZombieRobot actor]]. Being a Muppet, this trope is subverted for most of his appearances; in ''Series/TheMuppetShow'' [[spoiler:he was only scaring the cast for fun and [[DarkIsNotEvil pretending to be evil]]]], and in [[Film/TheMuppets2011 the 2011 movie]] he [[spoiler:performs a HeelFaceTurn and has his SugarWiki/MomentOfAwesome right at that point]].
73[[/folder]]
74
75[[folder:Tabletop Games]]
76* Chaos epitomizes this trope in ''TabletopGame/{{Warhammer 40000}}''. Then again, [[TheEmpire so does the Imperium...]]
77** Also, [[AxCrazy Kharn]] [[ChronicBackstabbingDisorder the Betrayer]]. Seriously, [[MemeticMutation what a great guy!]]
78** From the spinoff ''VideoGame/DawnOfWar'' computer games: [[SinisterMinister Eliphas the Inheritor]] is universally considered one of the top five characters, as is [[LaughablyEvil Gorgutz 'Ead 'Unter]]. Mainly because Eliphas is almost painfully badass with a dark charisma and Gorgutz is awesomely insane.
79* ''TabletopGame/MagicTheGathering'' reintroduced the [[TheLegionsOfHell Phy]][[CyberneticsEatYourSoul rexians]], who want to corrupt and assimilate the entire multiverse. Naturally, half the fan base takes their side. 51%, at last count, in fact.
80** They eventually took over the world they were invading, and there's a persistent myth that it was a popularity contest and that 51% "vote" was what doomed Mirrodin. (Actually, with set lead times, New Phyrexia was finished and printed before Scars of Mirrodin even came out, and plans for corrupting Mirrodin went back to the original block, but the "popularity contest" myth is engaging enough to hang on.)
81** Nicol Bolas definitely earned some fans due to having so much villainous charisma.
82* ''TabletopGame/{{Exalted}}'': [[DealWithTheDevil Infernals]] are widely considered to be ''way'' more awesome than Solars. The Solar charmset is generally viewed as kind of bland (the overriding theme is "I am really good at this" with a few paragraphs for each Charm describing what they are good at and how that is expressed), while Infernals do things like turning a glass of water into a tentacle or ''undergoing mitosis''. Solars have an ascension path of "Solars with higher Essence", while Infernals can forge themselves into new Primordials. Abyssals, the other equivalent of Solars, [[SubvertedTrope on the other hand, are much less popular due to flaws in their Charmset]] and limited support for character paths other than "angsty penitent" or "kill the world and piss on the ashes".
83** The Ebon Dragon is seen as this as a portion of the fandom, even the point of his character is the [[TheDevilIsALoser opposite]].
84* For ''TabletopGame/IronKingdoms'' players, much of the appeal of the evil factions is how cool their models look. In particular, Cryx's popularity was only ''partially'' due to their power level in Mk 2; a lot of the rest of it was the armies of cyborg zombies, sexy but sadistic satyr buccaneers, and malevolent ghosts, backed by scuttling, buglike black-iron warjacks and led by machine-liches.
85* The [[TheEmpire Imperium]] in ''TabletopGame/StrikeLegion'' has this going for it by being an {{Expy}} of the Imperium of Man, but they go MANY extra miles, possessing armies that include Godzilla type monsters, MANY forms of super soldiers even deadlier than its [[SpaceMarine Space Marines]], and [[MonsterClown MonsterClowns]] that include lightsaber wielding {{Expy}}s of ComicBook/TheJoker.
86* Two of the most popular of the LoadsAndLoadsOfRaces in ''TabletopGame/DungeonsAndDragons'' are the [[OurElvesAreDifferent Drow]] and [[BigRedDevil Tiefling]].
87** Drow were the original "evil PC race" of choice, thanks to their combination of the inherent popularity of elves with more explicit and overt sexual overtones. They were one of the major reasons that the ''TabletopGame/ForgottenRealms'' eventually overtook ''TabletopGame/{{Greyhawk}}'' as the most popular default setting, and by 4th edition, were so popular that they were one of the "intrinsic races" deemed vital for presentation as part of the adaptation of the Realms to that edition. In 5th edition, whilst plagued by rising voices complaining they possessed UnfortunateImplications, they still remained one of the most popular playable races, and even made it into the core player's {{sourcebook}}, such is their popularity.
88** Tieflings were originally introduced as little more than half-orcs for the ''TabletopGame/{{Planescape}}'' setting; people cursed with distant demon, devil or other evil planar creature ancestry, which resulted in them being perceived as inherently tainted and shunned. Despite this, or perhaps because of it, they became immensely popular[[note]]the inherent customization options for the race, which appealed to both TheRoleplayer and the {{Munchkin}}, and the multiple art pieces by the great Tony [=DeTerlizzi=], probably didn't hurt[[/note]]. In 4th edition, they displaced the older half-orc as the "evil-touched" race of the first player's handbook, with [[AllThereInTheManual designer commentary in a preview sourcebook]] openly stating that they were chosen due to their popularity, and their popularity stemmed from their status as "the bad boys/girls race". They likewise made it into the player's handbook for 5th edition, and if anything their popularity exploded in the late 2010s, where they developed something of an LGBTFanbase.
89[[/folder]]
90
91[[folder:Theater]]
92* The Creator/{{Shakespeare}}an characters ''every'' actor wants to play are his most notorious villains, Iago of ''Theatre/{{Othello}}'', and the eponymous MagnificentBastard of ''Theatre/RichardIII''. Similarly, every actress wants to be Lady Theatre/{{Macbeth}}, his greatest villainess. The roguish buffoon Falstaff was so popular that Shakespeare gave him his own spin-off comedy in which he is the protagonist. (By royal command, no less - Queen Elizabeth turned out to be one of Falstaff's admirers.)
93* Similarly, the really cool characters in opera are not the tenor good guys, but the jealous/mad/pervert baritones and the creepy basses who sing low notes of Doom. Who would ever prefer the nice, boring tenor Don Ottavio to the MagnificentBastard Don Giovanni? Or, in ''Theatre/DerFreischuetz'', prefer the utterly bland Max to the ribaldly malevolent Kaspar?
94* And one of the greatest soprano roles in the entire repertoire is the evil [[GodSaveUsFromTheQueen Queen of the Night]] in ''Theatre/TheMagicFlute'', despite having only two solo arias -- they're both [[SugarWiki/MomentOfAwesome complete show-stoppers]], especially "Der Hölle Rache köcht in meinem Herzen" ([[VillainSong "Hell's vengeance boils in my heart"]]).
95* Despite the fact that ''Theatre/ThePhantomOfTheOpera'' is an obsessive, controlling, homicidal, textbook 'bad boyfriend', he is inevitably the one the audience roots for. You'll have to scour through hundreds of Phantom/Christine {{Shipping}} {{Fan Fic}}s to find one Raoul/Christine, and it's better than even money that actors would rather play the Phantom. Why? Raoul is a largely ineffective ponce; Erik ''drops chandeliers on people''. Plus, in the case of the musical, he gets all of [[VillainSong the cool songs]] and a [[BlackCloak stylish black cape]].
96* ''Theatre/{{Cats}}'' has Macavity.
97* Creator/ChristopherMarlowe was good at writing this type of character; the best-known example is Mephistopheles in ''Theatre/DoctorFaustus'', but Tamburlaine of [[Theatre/{{Tamburlaine}} the play of the same name]] and Barabas of ''Theatre/TheJewOfMalta'' also qualify. Oh, and the evil ghost Machiavelli.
98* Mr Doolittle of ''Theatre/MyFairLady'' is an amoral drunkard, but for all his faults, "With a little bit of luck" is so charming, we can't help but think this guy cool.
99* The entire point of the ''Theatre/VillainsTonight'' stage show on the Disney Cruise Line, featuring Hades, Maleficent, Ursula, Jafar, Yzma, Captain Hook, Cruella [=DeVil=], and Dr. Facilier ''all together'' in one show!
100* In ''Theatre/PokemonLive'', Giovanni, Team Rocket, and even the Rocket Grunts completely steal the show with their catchy songs, villainous plots, stylish outfits and dancing, and getting as close as they ever come to outright winning.
101* You can't possibly toss a ball into a room filled with ''{{Theatre/Elisabeth}}'' fans without hitting someone who loves the show because of Death, whether it be AllGirlsWantBadBoys or LoveToHate. He's snazzy in every version. Into OtherworldlyAndSexuallyAmbiguous? There's Uwe Kröger and an entire fleet of Takarazuka actresses. Adore HellBentForLeather? There's Mark Seibert and the rest of the new Deaths in the German/Austrian productions. Somewhere in between? Hello, Máté Kamarás. The show is very often marketed as a love story between Elisabeth and Death, and/or a triangle if you add Franz Joseph.
102* ''[[Theatre/IstvanAKiraly István a Király]]'': Given that it's a historical rock opera, István is the eventual winner. However, Koppány is a WalkingShirtlessScene with [[VillainSong far better songs]], three attractive nymphomaniac wives, and he is usually played by veteran rock singers with a powerful voices in contrast with the young tenors cast as István.
103[[/folder]]
104
105[[folder:Web Animation]]
106* Strong Bad was originally the antagonist in ''WebAnimation/HomestarRunner'', but he was loved by so many fans that he pretty much became the main character.
107[[/folder]]
108
109[[noreallife]]
110----
111[[RuleOfThree Ooh,]] [[OverlyLongGag look,]] ''[[BrickJoke toys]]''!

Top