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17[[quoteright:350:[[TabletopGame/{{Warhammer}} https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/malekith_0.jpg]]]]
18[[caption-width-right:350:Drop the "Your Highness" stuff, we're all friends here. You may address me as "Dark Lord."]]
19%%
20->''"I am power unlike any you have known: absolute, infinite, and unrelenting. You have no choice but to prepare for a long dark future as my subjects -- and my slaves."''
21-->-- '''[[Characters/NewGodsDarkseid Darkseid]]''', ''WesternAnimation/SupermanTheAnimatedSeries'', "[[Recap/SupermanTheAnimatedSeriesS2E25E26ApokolipsNow Apokolips... Now! (Part 2)]]"
22
23The archetypal HighFantasy villain, often the BigBad.
24
25He usually lurks in an [[EvilTowerOfOminousness intimidating fortress]] in a [[{{Mordor}} near-uninhabitable landscape]], plotting to TakeOverTheWorld (if he [[VillainWorld doesn't already rule it]] or has already taken over parts of it), with hordes upon hordes of beastlike warriors (who may be [[DumbMuscle none too bright]]) at his beck and call.
26
27There are other, more bureaucratic versions of this character that fall under the "LawfulEvil" heading. What separates an Evil Overlord from those is a near-total absence of politics. No senate recognizes his authority, no Pope elected him, he seldom has need for RoyalBlood or a line of succession. He may even be immortal and expects to [[ImmortalRuler rule forever]]. He thinks nothing of resorting to [[IControlMyMinionsThrough terror, mind control, and/or selective breeding]] to corrupt and control his armies. The dark realm exists solely to conquer his neighbors' domains, and military service is non-negotiable.
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29This character is often deployed as a SatanicArchetype and associated with [[EvilIsNotWellLit eternal darkness]], [[EvilisBurningHot fire and brimstone]], and {{Ominous Opera Cape}}s. It is not uncommon for these types to be straight expies of Sauron from ''Literature/TheLordOfTheRings'', clad head to toe in imposing, spiked armor of black iron, or wizened necromancers clad in black robes and deathly pallor. Their origins vary, but they're most commonly a mortal sorcerer, tyrant or sorcerous tyrant turned terrible and inhuman by their arts (such as a [[OurLichesAreDifferent lich]]), a demon or evil deity of some kind, or [[MadeOfEvil a living accumulation of the evil of the world]].
30
31Exceptions to the brimstone look are usually female. The White Witch and the Lady of the Green Kirtle from ''Literature/TheChroniclesOfNarnia'' dress respectively in white and green to symbolize [[EndlessWinter winter]] and [[PoisonIsEvil venom]]. Some works also portray these characters as [[LightIsNotGood beautiful and radiant]], in a subversion of both this trope's usual appearance and of the cultural associations of angelic appearances.
32
33Odds are the Overlord probably wants to establish, or already rules, TheEmpire. In fact, TheEmperor often courts aspects of the evil overlord anyway, and [[GoodRepublicEvilEmpire a single character is likely to be both]]. If he isn't officially titled "Emperor" (and sometimes even when he is) he will instead adopt a grandiose title that [[CardCarryingVillain openly declares exactly which side he's on]], most often "Dark Lord" or "Demon King". What, exactly, he plans to do when he rules the world isn't always clear, but it's never anything good -- slavery, misery and toil are the best fates waiting for heroes who fail to thwart him.
34
35In battle, the Evil Overlord can be a variety of things, but he is generally the [[RankScalesWithAsskicking most powerful of his forces]]. He can be (and is quite often) a physical warrior [[TinTyrant decked in armor]] and usually [[FrontlineGeneral fighting on the frontlines]]. Some overlords, however, rely more on [[SorcerousOverlord magical power]] and may be frail and weak in battle, but world-bendingly powerful when they have time to scheme and prepare. Others [[OrcusOnHisThrone just tend to hang behind the action]].
36
37A particularly ambitious Overlord often [[AGodAmI declares himself a god]], and starts a ReligionOfEvil with him as its heart. In cases where an Overlord [[GodOfEvil actually is a god]], he is expanding his empire to [[GodsNeedPrayerBadly attain more worshipers]]. Heroes will have a difficult time dealing with a godly overlord, as he cannot be [[AsLongAsThereIsEvil fully killed]], and often must be [[SealedEvilInACan sealed away]] for another generation to deal with.
38
39Compare with TheCaligula, an AxCrazy and highly unstable ruler which sometimes overlaps with the Evil Overlord. The difference is that while they are both villains, the Caligula enjoys royal background (which is possibly the only reason why anyone puts up with them) and is likely to be just a plain terrible and ineffective ruler, whereas the EO doesn't have to be either.
40
41See also: OverlordJr, TinTyrant (often overlaps) DiabolicalMastermind (the real-world equivalent), and GalacticConqueror[=/=]DimensionLord (this trope [[RecycledInSpace In Space!).]] Namesake for the EvilOverlordList. For the most common interpretation of these characters in Japanese media, see MaouTheDemonKing.
42
43Not to be confused with the video game series ''VideoGame/{{Overlord}}'', nor the novel series ''[[Literature/Overlord2012 Overlord]]'' (although they both feature one of these guys as the protagonist).
44
45[[noreallife]]
46----
47!!Example Subpages:
48[[index]]
49* EvilOverlord/{{Literature}}
50* EvilOverlord/VideoGames
51[[/index]]
52
53!!Other Examples:
54
55[[foldercontrol]]
56
57[[folder:Anime and Manga]]
58* ''Manga/SazanEyes'': Kaiyanwang is the GodEmperor of the [[ThirdEye Sanzhiyan Humkara]], the Triclops, and rules with an iron fist over his subjects, enslaving thousands of demons and monsters to serve him as slaves. He also routinely performs a ritual to absorb the power and souls of his own subjects, when not brainwashing or executing anyone daring to oppose his ultimate plan of [[spoiler: gathering all the souls of the planet into one original Light and proceed forth in the cosmo, looking for a new planet to inhabit]]. During ''Trinetra'', it's revealed that [[TheDragon Benares]] originally was the [[DragonsAreDemonic Evil Dragon God]] who gained sentience after devouring Triclops for three days. He then assumed human form, mastered magic and became the undisputed (but revered) ruler of the creatures of darkness before being sealed for 4000 years by his DeceptiveDisciple and released by Kaiyanwang to be his Wu.
59* ''Manga/AttackOnTitan'': King Fritz started out as a ruthless warlord [[spoiler: who would RapePillageAndBurn every other tribe he came across, but after inadvertently causing his slave Ymir to become the Founding Titan, he forced her to become his concubine while using her power to [[DespotismJustifiesTheMeans terrorize the rest of the world and create an empire]]. After Ymir [[LoveMartyr died saving his life]], he [[AbusiveParents forced their daughters to cannibalize their own mother]] to ensure the power of the Titans lived on.]]
60* ''Manga/{{Berserk}}'': Emperor Ganishka of Kushan [[IHaveYouNowMyPretty kidnaps]] Queen Charlotte and creates a demonic army by dropping pregnant women into an EldritchAbomination, after which their corrupted children rip themselves out of their mothers' wombs and devour them.
61* ''Manga/{{Bleach}}'': Both {{Big Bad}}s operate as evil overlords:
62** [[TheHeavy Sosuke Aizen]] is a narcissistic sociopath who manipulates and betrays everyone who trusts him, and doesn't hesitate to leave even his closest associates nearly dead on the floor. He overthrew Baraggan for control of Las Noches, where he led his army of Arrancars against the Soul Society. Aizen controls his men with a hand of cold authority and intimidation. Despite the fact that the Espada weren't particularly fond of each other, they were all kept in line by Aizen's tremendous power. He isn't above toying and sadistically playing with his subordinates for his own amusement, as he let Tosen cut off Grimmjow's arm for fun. He is careless of his men's lives, and coldly cuts down Harribel when Starrk lost against Kyoraku, convincing Aizen that the Espada were nothing more than a failed experiment. He desired to usurp the Soul King and become the undisputed ruler of the Cosmos.
63** [[GodEmperor Yhwach]], is TheEmperor of the [[PuttingOnTheReich Vandenreich]], a hyper-militant Quincy organization. He is a brutal, intolerant autocrat primarily interested in causing as much discord, conflict, and death as possible for the sake of fueling his life-span with the souls of all who are killed. He's completely willing to encourage his Sternritters to engage in team killing and mistreating their subordinates whenever they feel like it. He himself is also a truly horrifying authority figure whom Yamamoto claims has absolutely no compassion towards those in his service. Yamamoto's claims would later prove to be greatly founded. Yhwach resides within the Schatten Bereich (the Shadow Realm), the location of the Vandenreich (both the city and the organization), but he generally resides within Silbern, an ice palace. As a bonus, when he makes his debut, he'd already conquered Hueco Mundo on the side. His desire is to kill the Soul King, which serves as the linchpin of the three worlds. Once he kills him, he decides to absorb him into himself, and transforms the Royal Palace into a new realm for the Quincy, in the center of which lies a fortress called Wahrelt. He then eventually decides he no longer has any use for his remaining Sternritter and uses Auswählen on them before setting out to bring ruin to existence.
64* ''Anime/CodeGeass R2'': Lelouch and Schneizel are fighting for this position in the final arc; Lelouch as the Emperor of Britannia and Schneizel with his nuked armed fortress Damocles. Slightly subverted in that [[spoiler:Lelouch appears to be one but pulls a Milliardo Peacecraft maneuver like in ''Anime/MobileSuitGundamWing'' by dying a villain but uniting the world against him and behind [[MyHeroZero Zero]]]], while Schneizel acts all nice when it's been indicated he's the real deal. Having a father who promoted Social Darwinism means they may need something more to overshoot him...or not.
65%%zce* Light Yagami or Kira more or less becomes this in the second half of ''MangaDeathNote''.
66* ''Manga/DemonSlayerKimetsuNoYaiba'': The BigBad Muzan Kibutsuji is the lord of the demons, being the first and most powerful of Demonkind, and being responsible for their existence in the first place. He commands twelve powerful demons who act as his top enforcers in his goal to achieve immortality.
67* Various ''Franchise/{{Digimon}}'' villains, including most of the ''[[Anime/DigimonAdventure Adventure]]'' bad guys and the [[Anime/DigimonAdventure02 Digimon Kaiser]].
68* ''Anime/DigimonFusion'': Bagramon tops this for all villains in the ''Digimon'' franchise, by conquering all of the digital world, as well as nearly conquering Earth as well.
69* Many of the {{Big Bad}}s from the ''Franchise/DragonBall'' series fall into this category, including Commander Red of the Red Ribbon Army, Great Demon King Piccolo, and Freeza. Great Demon Piccolo's title is the most fitting for his trope and he literally wants to turn the world into a VillainWorld purely ForTheEvulz.
70* The Black King in ''Manga/{{Drifters}}'' plays with this trope: in one hand, he looks pretty sinister due to his name and wearing a [[TheFaceless face-concealing]] [[InTheHood hood]] and leads an AntiHumanAlliance that seeks revenge on humanity as a whole. On the other hand, he is a BenevolentBoss that is adored by his monster followers and uses [[GoodPowersBadPeople his ability to heal on injured]]. His end goal is to create a thriving civilization for the monster races, but he still serves as the BigBad for the entire series, nonetheless.
71* Il Palazzo from ''Manga/ExcelSaga'' is a notable parody as well a deconstruction. [[spoiler:When his dark side takes over him, he's a frighteningly capable Evil Overlord.]]
72* The Maoh King in ''Anime/GenmaWars'' governs [[AfterTheEnd a post-apocalyptic Earth]] with iron fist, subjugating humans with [[TheLegionsOfHell his demonic armies]]. He is a notoriously despicable due to his favorite pastime being [[MarsNeedsWomen abducting human females]] to [[RapeIsASpecialKindOfEvil forcefully]] produce heirs, [[AbusiveParents which he discards]] [[YouHaveOutlivedYourUsefulness if they fail to live up to his high expectations]] and start the whole process all over again.
73* ''Franchise/{{Gundam}}''
74** ''Anime/MobileSuitGundam'': Gihren Zabi is an EvilChancellor who's dangerously close to becoming this. He's the ''de facto'' ruler of Zeon by the time the series begins, uses his father as a PuppetKing, has a [[GloriousLeader tremendous personality cult]] and legions of fanatical followers, and a preference for [[ColonyDrop blitz tactics]] and destructive superweapons.
75** ''Anime/MobileSuitZetaGundam'': [[CorruptPolitician Jamitov Hymen]]'s end goal was to become this by using the [[StateSec Titans]] to supplant the Earth Federation, by stoking a conflict that causes the Federation's downfall and a mass exodus into space with himself at the top. [[EnigmaticMinion Paptimus Scirocco]] has similar ambitions, desiring to creating a society ruled by intelligent elites like himself.
76** ''Anime/MobileSuitGundamCharsCounterattack'': Char steps into this role after becoming supreme leader of Zeon, getting his own CultOfPersonality and deciding that [[ColonyDrop dropping an asteroid]] and destroying the environment of Earth is what's best for humanity.
77* ''Manga/HunterXHunter'' has the King of the Chimera Ants Meruem who was literally born to be the most powerful of his species and destined to conquer the world. At first, he fits the entire criteria such as seeing everyone from humans to his own species as inferior and won’t hesitate to kill them, being born with immense unfathomable power, and taking over a nation in order to create an army to begin his conquest. [[spoiler: He surprisingly he grows out of this after his encounter with Komugi, becoming an [[NobleDemon honorable]] [[WellIntentionedExtremist well-Intentioned]] [[VisionaryVillain visionary]] who seeks to rule the world and end inequality along the way]].
78* ''Manga/InuYasha'' subverts the trope. Naraku does take over a castle but that's because he wants control over the people who serve the young lord whose body he's possessed. He kills everyone in the castle soon enough and focuses on building up enemies and destroying the bonds between people at every opportunity. He has absolutely no interest in taking over the world, however. He simply wants to [[TheCorrupter twist all bonds]].
79%%zce* Claw from ''MangaKimbaTheWhiteLion''.
80* Queen Esmerelda of ''Anime/MagicalWitchPuniechan'' is the queen of Magical Land. She's also an massively evil being who issues slave labor for public transportation, ruthlessly dispatches with protesters and gained her position via slander and mudslinging against the previous rulers. The main character Punie is a MagicalGirl Evil Overlord in training.
81* Moo from ''Anime/MonsterRancher''. By the time the series starts, he has already conquered most of the continent with [[CoDragons his generals]] ruling their respective sections. He also has a floating fortress which is helpful since it makes him hard to track and he could be anywhere.
82* ''Manga/OnePiece'' has Kaido "of the Beasts", who lords over battalions of underlings and territories under his command [[AsskickingLeadsToLeadership purely for his combat ability]].
83** Though most of the "Four Emperors", whom Kaido belongs to, could be considered such, with the exception of [[TokenGoodTeammate Shanks]] [[spoiler:and formerly Whitebeard.]] All of them are extremely powerful pirates with a massive amount of islands under their dominions and a lot of soldiers and resources available.
84* Marder from ''Anime/PanzerWorldGalient'' displays most of traits, but he's a subversion: he wears black, he dwells in a huge fortress-city from which he deploys his troops, he's conquered huge chunks of planet Arst and is trying to tave over the whole world... however, he doesn't care about Arst at all. He only wants [[spoiler:to seize the planet's resources and weaponry to achieve his true goals.]]
85* Emperor Beld and Wagnard from ''Literature/RecordOfLodossWar''.
86* Talpa/Arago from ''Anime/RoninWarriors'' is a powerful armored warrior from the Netherworld who came to medieval Japan to conquer the mortal world, resides in a giant demonic castle in the sky and controls armies of mooks, warlock spirits and four loyal generals. Season 2 reveals two more villainous inhabitants of the Netherworld who had similar plans to Talpa, namely Saranbo and Kenbukyou (the latter was actually TheRival to Talpa and, surprisingly enough, a NobleDemon ).
87* ''Anime/ScienceNinjaTeamGatchaman'' has [[TheManBehindTheMan Sosai X]] and Berg Katse.[[note]]Battle of the Planets has them as the Luminous One, [[ItMakesSenseInContext Zoltar and Mala]], while G-Force: Guardians of Space has them as Computor and Galactor.[[/note]] Katse wants to rule the world; X starts out that way, [[spoiler:but midway through switches to wanting to [[EarthShatteringKaboom destroy it.]]]] Katse goes for purple and a pointy-eared cowl and once fought Gatchaman to a standstill, while X is a blue flame with glowing eyes [[spoiler:ensconced in a secret base in the Himalayas]].
88* [[BigBad Great Demon King Chestra]] from ''Manga/ViolinistOfHameln''. You can guess this from his title, really. Though ''Violinist of Hameln'' is an action/comedy series that parodies a lot of shonen and fantasy tropes, this particular trope is played straight.
89* Judai Yuki of ''Anime/YuGiOhGX'' fits almost all of this trope's requirements (up to and including SpikesOfVillainy) during his time as [[SuperPoweredEvilSide Haou]][[note]]can be translated as "Supreme King", "Overlord" or "Hegemon"[[/note]], a merciless tyrant obsessed with the completion of a powerful card and with the elimination of all evil in the world -- even if he must use heinous methods in order to do so. Brron, Mad King of Dark World, whom Judai displaced, counts as well.
90* ''Anime/YuGiOhArcV'':
91** Reiji Akaba uses a deck themed after demonic kings. Surprisingly, unlike other rival characters focusing on a single ace monster, Reiji doesn't focus on a single king. His Extra Deck is 100% full of overlords, while his Main Deck has at least three different overlords, which makes a total of 19 different overlords. At the end of the series, three of them can be referred to as "super overlords", being extremely powerful and they are almost invincible when they are together.
92** [[spoiler:Haouryuu[[note]]Supreme King Dragon[[/note]]Zarc is a giant dragon who opposes humanity and leads his own legion of servants [[JackassGenie to give humanity their desire for violent duels by destroying them]]]].
93[[/folder]]
94
95[[folder:Comic Books]]
96* ''Franchise/TheDCU'':
97** ''ComicBook/NewGods'': Darkseid embodies[[note]] and yes, literally "embodies"; he's the AnthropomorphicPersonification of Tyranny[[/note]] virtually every aspect of this trope, on a cosmic scale. There's a reason he's the one quoted at the top of the page.
98** ''ComicBook/{{Superman}}'': Lex Luthor, in some incarnations, resembles a modern Evil Overlord: a CorruptCorporateExecutive with a skyscraper fortress and a suit of PoweredArmor for when he needs to get his hands dirty. However, he keeps up his VillainWithGoodPublicity status meticulously.
99** ''Comicbook/TheWarlordDC'': One of the more common types of foe, with Deimos being the most dangerous and most persistent.
100** ''ComicBook/WonderWoman2011'': Diana's supposed brother the [[AncientEvil First-Born]] ''used'' to be this trope in his backstory. After being exiled from Olympus, he proceeded to conquer the world during TheTimeOfMyths and remade it into his own dark image in order to get Zeus' attention. When he was ignored, he rallied his armies and tried to wage war on Mount Olympus. His forces were swiftly crushed, he was buried beneath the Earth and [[UnPerson all evidence of his existence was erased]]. He is now an OmnicidalManiac consumed by hatred, desiring to destroy everything on his way.
101* ''Franchise/MarvelUniverse'':
102** Doctor Doom from ''ComicBook/FantasticFour'' is probably the closest you could get to the classic depiction in a modern setting. He's the ruler of Latveria, and while his official title shifts between "dictator" and "absolute monarch", he is consistently an autocrat. Unlike most Evil Overlords, he isn't oppressive to his people, he actually makes it a point to maintain the prosperity of his subjects but due to his personal issues he likes to keep them isolated from the outside world and in a near-medieval [[{{Ruritania}} Ruritanic]] state. He is also a MadScientist who wears PoweredArmor, and a [[SorcerousOverlord surprisingly powerful sorcerer]] who wants to TakeOverTheWorld, because he genuinely believes that the world would be a more peaceful place under his rule (he has looked into a number of alternate universes, and the one he saw where Victor Von Doom had succeeded in conquering the whole world was a total utopia)
103** EldritchAbomination DimensionLord Dormammu from ''ComicBook/DoctorStrange'' seeks to conquer every realm there is so he can impose his will on all life and afterlife. He is also worshipped by lots and lots of beings (many of them are magical ones, mind you) across all reality, and most of them are happy to act as his [[{{Mooks}} foot soldiers]]
104** Mephisto, the Marvel Universe's primary SatanicArchetype, also fits the bill. Bonus points for his home dimension being a classic FireAndBrimstoneHell.
105** The ''ComicBook/XMen'' villain Apocalypse takes this role in the BadFuture ruled by him and the AlternateHistory ''ComicBook/AgeOfApocalypse'' timeline, where he conquered North America and divided the world among himself and his generals. Given his SocialDarwinist beliefs, he rules his domains as dog-eat-dog hellholes where only those he considers strong enough are allowed to live.
106** Loki from ''ComicBook/TheMightyThor'' takes on this role sometimes, but it doesn't usually last long.
107** [[ComicBook/TheIncredibleHulk The Hulk]]'s evil alternate self the ComicBook/{{Maestro}} in ''ComicBook/TheIncredibleHulkFutureImperfect'', who ruled as a brutal despot in a [[AfterTheEnd post-apocalyptic society]] with an iron fist and lives off as a hedonist that surrounds himself with concubines. He is still a dangerous foe, since he has Banner's intellect, the Hulk's strength augmented several times and absolutely no moral inhibitions.
108** ComicBook/KangTheConqueror is notable for ruling various worlds like this across all of time. He is also partly responsible for the afromentioned Apocalypse turning out like he did.
109** [[ZigZaggingTrope Zig-zagged]] with Thanos. Unlike Darkseid, his primary inspiration, Thanos isn't interested in ruling or conquering worlds, specially under his creator Creator/JimStarlin. However, he has been depicted as a straight example in recent years since ''ComicBook/{{Infinity}}''.
110** Solus from ''ComicBook/SpiderVerse'' is the god-like ruler of Earth-001 and patriarch of an immortal clan that sustains themselves on [[AnimalThemedSuperbeing totems]].
111* The title character of ''ComicBook/{{Arawn}}'' seems like a textbook example at first a fell being [[TinTyrant clad in dark armor]] and known by [[SarcasmMode many colorful names]] such as Lord of the [[{{Mordor}} Burning Lands]], [[EveryoneHatesHades King of the Underworld]] and [[GodOfEvil God of Wrath]], to name a few. However, [[DeconstructedCharacterArchetype he turns out to be a pretty tragic figure with a sad backstory]], as he tells the readers.
112* ''ComicBook/{{Birthright}}'' desconstructs this trope with God-King Lore (if his name wasn't indication): he is an extremely powerful, horrifying magic user that has managed to enslave the fantasy realm of Terrenos for ages with his unrelenting power and endless hordes. Fighting against [[InvincibleVillain this kind of foe]] has proven to be a fruitless endavour for any hero, who either chooses to flee to other worlds or submit to his rule to stop the war. [[spoiler:It turns out that Lore himself might not be pure evil either, since he is also tired of fighting endlessly and just wants to restore peace to everything, though it remains to be seen what kind of "peace" he desires]].
113* A standard type of of foe for Comicbook/ConanTheBarbarian and Comicbook/RedSonja. Major evil overlords included Thulsa Doom and Kulan Gath.
114* ''ComicBook/TheDarkness'': While the current wielder is a NobleDemon mobster, the most competent and power-hungry Darkness users from the past managed to achieve this status, such as [[PredecessorVillain Lord Cardinale]] in ''[[ComicBook/{{Spawn}} Medieval Spawn]][=/=]ComicBook/{{Witchblade}}'', who ruled from his fortress in the Pyrenees over a kingdom that stretched from Flanders to the south of Spain in 1175 AD, his army being composed of dark creatures and even his own HotConsort was a female Darkling [[PygmalionPlot he created magically]].
115* Lord Void of ''WebComic/{{Dreamkeepers}}''. [[NamesToRunAwayFromReallyFast Seriously, look at his name.]]
116%%* Emperor Golgoth of ''ComicBook/{{Empire}}''.
117* ''ComicBook/Elsewhere2017'': Lord Kragen is a very blatant example, being the despotic ruler of an area of Korvath who killed the previous king and now usurped his thrown. He even has a CoolHelmet to boot!
118* [[ShadowDictator The Adversary]] in ''ComicBook/{{Fables}}'' is the illusive leader of the Empire responsible for exiling the titular fables. He is revealed to be none other than [[spoiler:Pinocchio's father Gepetto]].
119* ''ComicBook/JudgeDredd'':
120** In the "Judge Child" arc, Murd the Oppressor is an alien tyrant-sorcerer who rules over the planet Necros. She regularly has enemies fed to her giant toad Sagbelly.
121** Judge Death tends to be like this whenever he gets into a position of power. As Chief Judge of his own world, he was basically a lich-like TinTyrant who mercilessly butchered the entire living population. During "Necropolis", his first act after taking over Mega-City One was to put the entire city under penalty of death after closing the gates, even regularly mocking the citizenry by having the Sisters of Death providing "news updates" on the mass killings taking place day and night. In the "Dark Justice" arc, he's ruling over the ice moon Dominion from a palace of evil with his undead servants, then on Thanatopia, a CultColony of the [[ApocalypseCult Death cult]]. They even gave him a cape to match.
122* ComicBook/LadyDeath in the Avatar Press continuity has fought against these kind of foes such as Sagos and the Death Queen, both of whom had an army of undead and demons at their back and call and ruled over their own portion in [[TheUnderworld the Labyrinth]]. Played with in their cases, since they were both {{omnicidal maniac}}s who sought to destroy all life in the realm, but for different reasons: Sagos wanted to offer all life in the Labyrinth as a sacrifice to dark spirits so he could rule his own dark domain in the afterlife, while the Death Queen just wanted to destroy everything in revenge for [[spoiler:the abuse and torture she endured as Marion at the hands of the demons]].
123* The mummified, sinister King Yod of ''ComicBook/{{Megalex}}''
124* ''ComicBook/NemesisTheWarlock'' had Torquemada, the iron-fisted supreme leader of the Termight Empire -- Earth controlled by an absolute xenophobes out to exterminate all alien life on the galaxy -- and he served as ArchEnemy to the title protagonist.
125* Lord Golgotha in ''ComicBook/{{Reborn}}'' is the demonic-looking ruler of the Dark Lands, a section of the afterlife where all the evil and damned are sentenced to upon death. He has designs of conquering the realm of Adystria (where the good and noble are sent) [[spoiler:as well as the living world]].
126* {{Dracula}} in ''ComicBook/RequiemVampireKnight'' fits this trope like a red spiky glove, not only being the king of all vampires, but also of an ''entire hell-like dimension'' that makes {{Mordor}} look like daycare park and he dresses the part, being [[TwentyFourHourArmor clad all the time in a draconic red armor.]] His ZeroPercentApprovalRating aspect is desconstructed when it gets every faction in the setting conspiring to overthrow him -- the only reason they haven't succeeded yet is because every single one of them has their own agenda and struggle among themselves as much as against their enemy.
127* Several of ''ComicBook/SavageDragon'' arch-enemies were this type of villain: the aptly named Overlord and his successors, Darklord, Cyberface and Mr. Glumm to name a few, though the original Overlord was more like a [[DiabolicalMastermind criminal lord]] instead of an actual dark lord. And then there is the fact that [[spoiler:Dragon himself used to be one as Emperor Kurr, since he was a power-mad despot that aimed to conquer Earth before being betrayed by his kin and had his memory wiped out]].
128[[/folder]]
129
130[[folder:Comic Strips]]
131* Ming the Merciless in ''ComicStrip/FlashGordon'', and the associated serials and TV shows, is one of the iconic sci-fi examples of this trope. Creator/GeorgeLucas even cited him as one of the major inspirations for [[Franchise/StarWars Emperor Palpatine]].
132[[/folder]]
133
134[[folder:Fan Works]]
135* ''Fanfic/AllForLuz'': Like in the show, Belos rules over the entire Boiling Isles and the main feature of his regime is the oppressive Coven System with a recruitment policy that is basically "join or suffer". He also set up a FantasticCasteSystem, too. [[spoiler:All For One's end goal is to become this on a multiversal-level through Luz and wants to usurp the Demon Realm from TheEmperor.]]
136* ''Fanfic/CodePrime'': [[Characters/CodePrimeMegatron Megatron]] is the leader of the Decepticons who helped support and eventually [[spoiler: conquer the Holy Britannian Empire when he learns of Charles secret plot and outlived their usefulness]].
137* Emperor Vakudos from ''[[http://alaxr274.deviantart.com/gallery/37280372 Hottie 3: The Best Fan Fic in the World]]''. His daughter, Princess Lotora, counts too after she replaces him as the current BigBad.
138* ''Fanfic/ABriefHistoryOfEquestria'':
139** [[GeneralRipper Commander]] [[TheCaligula Sullamander]] was the military dictator version of this trope, ruling the Celestine Junta with an iron hoof, going so far as to indoctrinate the younger generations of troops to view her as [[LikeAGodToMe a god]].
140** [[DarkMessiah Talonhoof the Reviled]] was a more traditional example, being a brutal warlord who united the remnants of the [[TheEmpire Griffin Empire]] and [[TheHorde Mongrellian Horde]] by force, enslaving and torturing any ponies in his territory, before launching a war of extermination against Equestria.
141* ''[[http://archiveofourown.org/series/37557 The Charming Universe]]'': in which Franchise/HarryPotter becomes a "[[DarkIsNotEvil Benevolently]] [[DeadpanSnarker Snarky]] Dark Lord."
142* The Psyche Master from ''Fanfic/EmpathTheLuckiestSmurf'', although it's played with as the only evil thing he ever did was take Empath away from Papa Smurf and raise him as a Psyche. (He's basically the series' {{Expy}} of the MCP from ''Film/{{Tron}}''.)
143* Everyone believes Ami to be one of these in Fanfic/DungeonKeeperAmi despite her best efforts to convince them otherwise.
144* In [[Fanfic/EquestriaAHistoryRevealed Equestria: A History Revealed]], the LemonyNarrator seems to believe Celestia secretly is one, and is behind every evil event in Equestria's history. Subverted in that this is clearly not true, but it doesn't stop her from trying to [[IRejectYourReality push these theories as truth.]]
145* ''Fanfic/MortalKombatDesperation'': [[FallenHero Raiden]] becomes this after he CameBackWrong at the end of ''VideoGame/MortalKombatX''. At first, he starts out as a WellIntentionedExtremist with of a bit of the HeWhoFightsMonsters and KnightTemplar personalities, but the thunder god becomes a straight villain after crossing the MoralEventHorizon by mass-zapping Sub-Zero and the Lin Kuei to near-death just for questioning him. [[DisproportionateRetribution He's now more than willing]] [[AxCrazy to injure, kidnap and kill]] [[TheUnfettered anybody who questions him]], and many of his former allies realized this the hard way; they even call him a [[TheSociopath sociopathic]] [[AxCrazy monster]] who's now willing to [[OmnicidalManiac instigate]] [[ApocalypseHow Armageddon]] just for his [[ItsAllAboutMe selfish]] [[ForTheEvulz gains]].
146* ''Fanfic/TheNightUnfurls'' has two examples.
147** For a RareFemaleExample, the Dark (Elf) Queen Olga [[NamesToRunAwayFromReallyFast Discordia]] is set up as this the old-fashioned way. She lurks in an [[EvilTowerOfOminousness intimidating fortress]] (the Black Fortress) amid a {{Mordor}} in [[GrimUpNorth the North]] (Garan), with the AlwaysChaoticEvil fantasy races [[TheWomanBehindTheMonsters under her command]]. She's [[RankScalesWithAsskicking the most powerful among her forces]] due to her [[LadyOfBlackMagic sorcerous powers]], yet [[OrcusOnHerThrone hangs behind the action]]. Moreover, she has attributes of a SatanicArchetype (e.g. {{Pride}}, [[MsFanservice beauty]], association with [[PlayingWithFire fire]] and [[DarkIsEvil dark]], rebellion against the [[CrystalDragonJesus Goddess Reborn]], [[ArsonMurderAndJaywalking and]] the [[IHaveManyNames many names]]).\
148However, Olga ends up being a {{subversion}} over time. To begin with, she is actually the DiscOneFinalBoss since she is [[FallenPrincess ousted]] and later gets a HeelFaceTurn. As the readers see her HiddenDepths throughout the story ([[AdaptationExpansion especially]] in the remastered version), it is revealed that her motivation for starting the ForeverWar against Eostia is not some generic [[TakeOverTheWorld world domination]], or conquest for that matter. Rather, it is her wrath for the FantasticRacism and subsequent enslavement of the dark elves, which leads to her prejudiced hatred of humanity as a whole. Last but not least, for all her flaws, especially the time where she [[EtTuBrute sacrificed]] one of her cities to the orcs, she's neither a [[AGodAmI megalomaniac]] nor an [[MadeOfEvil incarnation of evil]].
149** Vault later [[TheUsurper usurps]] Olga's role and [[PlayedStraight plays it straighter]][[spoiler: in the original version]]. A self-proclaimed king who wants to build a [[SexSlave Sex]] [[TheEmpire Empire]], he is the BigBad that resides in the same place as above and commands the same {{mooks}}, in addition to the Black Dog mercenaries that make up his entire ArmyOfThievesAndWhores. Unlike most examples, he ''does not'' have overwhelming power -- he would risk being on the receiving end of a CurbStompBattle courtesy of [[WorldsStrongestMan Kyril]] (which does happen twice), if he were to directly engage with TheAlliance. Therefore, he spends most of his time in the fortress plotting [[AllYourBaseAreBelongToUs invasions]], [[VillainWithGoodPublicity securing alliances with his supporters]], and [[RapeDiscretionShot helping himself with the female dark elves captured throughout Garan]].
150* Discord was already established as one in [[WesternAnimation/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagic canon]], but the ''Fanfic/PonyPOVSeries'' shows just how ''horrid'' a ruler he would be. Especially in [[BadFuture Dark World]] [[spoiler:until it turns out he's long since been reduced to a tormented puppet of [[TheVoice the Nameless Passenger]]/[[KnightTemplar Nightmare Paradox]].]]
151** There's also [[FromNobodyToNightmare Film Critique]] and several other ponies who got their hooves on one of the [[DismantledMacGuffin Shards of the Rainbow of Light]] from Patch's 7 Dreams/Nightmares Side Story, though the former is the only one we see in detail. He used the Shard to take over a city and rule it as one of these, complete with turning mares [[RapeAsDrama into his brainwashed harem]]. Incidentally, since the Shards are the source of their powers, most of these, including Film Critique, meet a KarmicDeath shortly after Patch steals them.
152* In ''Fanfic/QueenOfShadows'', due to [[RewritingReality alterations to the Book of Ages]], Jade finds herself in a new reality wherein she's taken over the life of the latest Queen of the Shadowkhan, making her ruler of an [[TheEmpire empire]] that's aggressively taking over Japan one island at a time. And try as she might to [[LesserOfTwoEvils minimize the damage]] while avoiding detection by the actual Shadowkhan, Jade is slowly BecomingTheMask and identifying more with them than the humans she's trying to protect.
153** And then there's Shendu, who in this time period is ruling over half of China, and a chunk of Southeast Asia, with an iron fist.
154* ''Fanfic/TheRiseOfDarthVulcan'' has one as a protagonist -- in actuality, a GenreSavvy teenager in a really good Halloween costume who somehow got his hands on the [[ArtifactOfDoom Alicorn Amulet]] and got dropped into Equestria, where he takes on a tribe of Diamond Dogs as his RedShirtArmy. Later, he also begins employing [[spoiler:changelings]], minotaur mercenaries, and pony criminals, social outcasts, and others just plain dissatisfied with the Princesses' rule. His power grows to the point that he's able to get away with declaring himself lord of the Everfree forest, with no one able to defeat him in direct combat.
155* In the ''Franchise/{{Digimon}}'' fan fiction ''Fanfic/Zero2ARevision'', there is another section of the Digital World known as the Dark World, which is ruled by [[EvilVersusEvil two opposing evil overlords]] -- Dragomon, the Lord of the Dark Ocean, and Demon, the Lord of [[SupervillainLair Archfiend Castle]]. While the former is [[YouHaveFailedMe willing to execute his "Deadmon" minions]] due to the slightest failure (such as succeeding to bring his target a few minutes later than he wanted), the latter averts this as he treats his minions quite well in spite of his harsh treatment towards his Black Generals. Despite the fact that traversing between the Digital World and Dark World is downright impossible, both however, can traverse at will, owing to their massive power. Belialmyotismon later reveals that there were two other rulers of the Dark World, Lucemon and Apocalymon, with all four at war with each other as well as [[GodOfGood Huanglongmon]]. The former [[DeathByOriginStory died after attempting to duel Dragomon to the death with his newly unlocked Chaos mode and lost]] while the latter ended up being defeated by the Digidestined after [[TakingYouWithMe attempting to self-destruct himself]].
156[[/folder]]
157
158[[folder:Films -- Animation]]
159* The Horned King in Disney's ''WesternAnimation/TheBlackCauldron'' may be the most archetypical example of this trope in animated film, although all things considered, he was mostly a physically intimidating OrcusOnHisThrone without much actual prowess, who was [[CruelAndUnusualDeath quite unceremoniously defeated]] by ThePowerOfFriendship.
160* Ben Yussuf in ''WesternAnimation/ElCidTheLegend''. He might not be supernatural, but he does look ObviouslyEvil with his completely [[DarkIsEvil dark robes]] and [[RedRightHand disfigured face]], and threatens both Christians and Muslims by conquering them through force.
161* [[EveryoneHatesHades Hades]] in ''WesternAnimation/{{Hercules}}''. He's the [[GodOfEvil evil ruler]] of the Underworld, but has a desire to overthrow his brother Zeus and take over Mount Olympus. Even the Underworld looks quite gloomy, which gives the viewer an idea of what his rule over Olympus and the mortals would look like. It says a lot that when two of his deceased subjects touch his toga imploringly, he responds by blasting them with his fire, shutting them abruptly and burning their hopes of ever escaping his rule. It's even lampshaded by the Muses below:
162-->'''Muses:''' He ruled the underworld... but thought the dead were dull and uncouth. He was as mean as he was ruthless... and that's the gospel truth... he had a plan to SHAKE things up... and that's the gospel truth!
163* Mandrake in ''WesternAnimation/Epic2013'' who wants to overthrow the Leafmen and take over the forest.
164* Lord Shen in ''WesternAnimation/KungFuPanda2'' is a genocidal maniac who desires to expand his rule from Gongmen City to the rest of China and eradicate kung fu while he's at it.
165* Lord Business in ''WesternAnimation/TheLEGOMovie'', who presides over a practically defined {{Dystopia}} as President Business, but is so theatrical with his outfit, his infinitely tall tower with his Think Tank, [[WeaponofMassDestruction Kragle]] and hundreds of minions he's virtually melodramatic.
166* Played with ''WesternAnimation/{{Megamind}}''. He literally refers to himself as an "Evil Overlord", but his acts are limited to stealing money that he doesn't need, and minor vandalism.
167* ''Franchise/{{Shrek}}'': The villains that meet the criteria would be [[WesternAnimation/Shrek1 Lord Farquaad]] who is a [[FeudalOverlord feudal version of one]], [[WesternAnimation/ShrekTheThird Prince Charming]] who nearly succeeds in taking over the Kingdom of Far Far Away after his mothers defeat in the [[WesternAnimation/Shrek2 second movie]], [[WesternAnimation/ShrekForeverAfter Rumplestiltskin]] manages to succeed in becoming one by tricking Shrek and the goal is to undo his victory.
168* Maleficent in ''WesternAnimation/SleepingBeauty''. She dwells in [[EvilTowerOfOminousness a rundown castle perched atop a jagged mountain formation]], oversees an unidentified [[{{Mordor}} land of darkness]], commands an army of goblin-like [[{{Mook}} minions]], refers to herself as "[[RedBaron the Mistress]] [[NamesToRunAwayFromReallyFast of]] [[CardCarryingVillain All]] [[ObviouslyEvil Evil]]," calls upon the powers of Hell during the climax, etc.
169* ''WesternAnimation/StrangeMagic'': The Bog King, who rules over the Dark Forest and its goblins denizens. He [[BadBoss physically manhandles his own subjects]] and despises love so much that he attacks the fairy kingdom over them making a love potion. [[spoiler:Except he's correct that a love potion is a terrible idea and ends up falling in love with [[TheHero Marianne.]] ]]
170* ''WesternAnimation/ToyStory3'': [[Characters/ToyStoryLotso Lots-o'-Huggin' Bear]] is the tyrannical ruler of the Sunnyside daycare. At first Lotso seems like a reasonable toy, but as the plot progresses his true colors are shown, it is revealed that he runs Sunnyside like an dictator/warden with an iron fist with a sadistic streak, showing a total willingness to brutalize and torture toys by leaving them in the caterpillar room with the destructive toddlers until they are broken and thrown to the dump.
171* Blackwolf in ''WesternAnimation/{{Wizards}}''. He takes over an ruined radioactive wasteland after being exiled by his brother when he tried to take power following their mother's death, and proceeds to turn the mutant inhabitants into his personal invading army, consciously emulate Adolf Hitler using old projection tapes to inspire his soldiers (and demoralize his victims) and adopts an ideal of [[ANaziByAnyOtherName mutant supremacy]].
172[[/folder]]
173
174[[folder:Films -- Live-Action]]
175* ''Film/AvengersInfinityWar'': Despite being a nigh-unkillable maniac with insane powers and what Bruce Banner called "the biggest army in the universe" at his command, [[VillainProtagonist Thanos]] is a subversion as he doesn't actually want to rule anything, he is just going around the galaxy, invading planets and committing genocide as the biggest [[NGOSuperpower terrorist]] ever.
176* The Dark Lord in ''Film/{{Bright}}'' was a renegade elf that tried to take over the world 2,000 years ago and it took an alliance of nine races to take him down. He serves as GreaterScopeVillain of the setting, since the reason why orcs face so much [[FantasticRacism discrimination]] was because many of their ancestors sided with him and the story's villains are seeking to bring him back to life.
177* The Lord Marshal of the Necromongers in ''Film/TheChroniclesOfRiddick2004''. The supreme ruler of a tyrannical [[ReligionOfEvil death cult]]/conquering civilization of superhuman warriors, his goal is to subjugate and destroy every world in the cosmos and lead them to a promised land of darkness they call the Underverse, which he has visited in his pilgrimage. Outright supernatural himself, and [[http://www.legionxxiv.org/riddicklord03.jpg he's got the look down pat]].
178* Thulsa Doom in ''Film/ConanTheBarbarian1982''. While he doesn't rule a country of his own, he has enough power to threaten kings with his deadly cult and styles himself as a prophet that will "cleanse" the world.
179* Khalar Zym in ''Film/ConanTheBarbarian2011'' qualifies even though he has no magical powers of his own. He aspires to gain control over the dead and has raised such massive forces that he is TheDreaded among the Hyborian peoples.
180* ''Franchise/DCExtendedUniverse'': Darkseid makes his first live action film appearance in ''Film/ZackSnydersJusticeLeague''. He spearheaded an invasion of Earth in the distant past, and in present-day he can be seen among his court on the [[IDontLikeTheSoundOfThatPlace aptly named]] Apokolips, surrounded by hundreds of Parademon soldiers and dominating them by his [[LargeAndInCharge sheer height, massive presence]] and GlowingEyesOfDoom.
181* ''Film/GodsOfEgypt'': Set becomes this trope after usurping his brother Osiris and ruling over Egypt with iron fist, enslaving the populace, demanding they pillage riches in order to secure their afterlives and commanding legions of demons and demigods to enforce his will.
182* Balem Abrasax in ''Film/JupiterAscending'' is this trope combined with a CorruptCorporateExecutive, since he is the King of Universe due to his status as an Entitled and head of the Abrasax Industries, an inter-galactic company responsible for harvesting billions of planets of life in order to gain immortality. Even though Balem has no powers as he is [[HumanAliens technically just like any human]], he is over [[TimeAbyss 10,000 years old]] and has reptilian aliens as minions to do his bidding.
183* Vortigern in ''Film/KingArthurLegendOfTheSword'': dresses in all black? Check. Draws magic from dark entities? Check. Is a tyrant that usurped the rightful king? Check. He also turns into a demonic knight that makes him look like this trope even more when he sacrifices a loved one to his dark masters.
184* ''Film/{{Krull}}'': The Beast. An alien overlord who invades the titular planet seeking to marry Lyssa so they could have a child that would rule over the galaxy.
185* ''Film/KullTheConqueror'' has a female example with Akivasha, the demonic queen of the Acheron Empire from ancient times when demons walked the earth. She is resurrected by a couple of corrupt nobles to seduce Kull in hopes of overthrowing him, but they soon find out that EvilIsNotAToy, and she proceeds to usurp the throne from him and turns said conspirators in her lackeys.
186* The Lord of Darkness in Creator/RidleyScott's ''Film/{{Legend 1985}}'' fits this to a T, being the embodiment of evil with an army of goblins to do his bidding, and wishes to [[TheNightThatNeverEnds plunge the world in darkness forever]].
187* Immortan Joe in ''Film/MadMaxFuryRoad'' governs the Citadel with iron fist and is revered as [[GodEmperor a divine ruler]] by his followers who will lead them into Valhalla upon a glorious death.
188* ''Film/TheMummyTrilogy''/''Film/TheScorpionKing'':
189** [[UsefulNotes/QinShiHuangdi Emperor Huang]] in ''Film/TheMummyTombOfTheDragonEmperor'' was a ruthless Chinese warlord who forged his empire over the corpses of countless victims and was cursed with mummification in his attempt to become immortal. Its explicitly said that he will crush freedom everywhere and slaughter without mercy to impose order upon the world.
190** Every BigBad in ''The Scorpion King'' series qualifies for this trope: [[MasterSwordsman Memnon]], [[SorcerousOverlord Sargon]], [[SmugSnake Tallus]], [[TheUsurper Drazen]] and [[ScaryBlackMan Nebserek]] are all power-thirsty and ambitious warlords that for [[YouKilledMyFather one reason]] or the other got to [[AntiHero Mathayus']] bad side over the course of the series.
191* In ''Film/QueenOfTheDamned'', vampire Queen Akasha's reign over Ancient Egypt with her consort King Enkil is inferred to have been insanely tyrannical. Marius notes that she nearly drank the world dry to satiate her bloodlust and she shows several visions to Lestat of random massacres of her subjects. Later on she feeds on hundreds of people and declares the resulting graveyard her new kingdom to a disturbed Lestat. In the climax she announces to the other Ancients that she wants to return the world to the way things were and reduce humanity to cattle.
192* ''Film/SolomonKane'' has Malachi who also doubles as SorcerousOverlord, leads an evil army of corrupted minions to ravage the countryside from his castle, which he usurped from the hero's family.
193* ''Franchise/StarWars'':
194** Emperor Palpatine (as opposed to his alter ego Senator/Chancellor Palpatine, a VillainWithGoodPublicity), is a Dark Lord of the Sith who doubles as ruler of a galactic empire, and well versed in manipulating TheDarkSide.
195** Most other Sith Lords in the universe with a position of command of some sort fit this trope as well, notably Darth Vader and Count Dooku (two of Palpatine's [[TheDragon apprentices]]). In the ''Franchise/StarWarsExpandedUniverse'', we have Darth Revan, Darth Nihilus, Darth Malak, Darth Krayt, and many, many others.
196** Downplayed with Supreme Leader Snoke in the sequel trilogy. While he is a Dark Side user, he is not a Sith Lord like Palpatine and his predecessors and is more of a [[TheGeneralissimo military junta leader]] than an Emperor. Yet, he managed to reorganize the Imperial remnants into the First Order which he controls as its sinister GloriousLeader. [[spoiler:He is later [[TheStarscream succeeded]] by his apprentice Kylo Ren in ''The Last Jedi''.]]
197* ''Film/ThreeHundred'': Persian King Xerxes [[HistoricalVillainUpgrade is portrayed as this]], becoming the evil GodEmperor of an invading empire trying to bring the "[[HistoricalHeroUpgrade freedom-loving Greeks]]" to [[KneelBeforeZod bow down to him]]. The Immortals are outright stated to have served the "dark will" of Persian Kings for centuries. He rules his subjects [[ATasteOfTheLash through the lash]] and [[AGodAmI his divine power]], and the fact that half of his warriors are monsters and dark sorcerors leaves no doubt about how evil his empire is.
198* ''Film/{{Troy}}'' portrays Agammenon as an ambitious and power hungry tyrant with an hegemony over most of Greece and seeks to annex the titular kingdom into his domain, eventually using Helen's eloping with Paris as an excuse to forcibly conquer Troy. This version of him is particularly a [[AdaptationalVillainy mustache-twirling kind of villain]], an exaggeration of his original version who despite being far from a saint, was nowhere near as evil.
199* ''Film/WarriorsOfVirtue'' has Komodo, an insane warlord in the mystical world of Tao that has been [[GaiasLament ruining its ecosystem]] in search for immortality. The sequel has Dogon, who [[TheUsurper usurped]] the realm's rightful queen and has been ruling Tao with iron fist.
200* ''Film/XMenApocalypse'': The titular villain ruled as a god-king over Ancient Egypt and aspires to rule over mankind as he did centuries ago.
201[[/folder]]
202
203[[folder:Gamebooks]]
204* The ''Literature/LoneWolf'' gamebook series features this trope extensively with the Darklords of Helgedad, an ''[[BigBadEnsemble entire faction]]'' of dark, demonic beings out to dominate the Magnamund in the name of their god [[GodOfEvil Naar]] and convert it into a DeathWorld. The greatest of them is the Archlord, who holds the absolute authority over the other Darklords and serves as Naar's champion. All Darklords are supernatural evils with each of them having their armies at beck and call and they can only be harmed by the titular hero's magic sword. Even other villains that aren't Darklords themselves qualify for this trope such as Autarch Sejanus, an immortal vampire lord that rules his domain with iron fist in the name of evil. Hell, his title ''autarch'' is already enough indicative.
205[[/folder]]
206
207[[folder:Live-Action TV]]
208* TheMaster from ''Series/BuffyTheVampireSlayer'' is considered the closest thing vampires have to a king, being older and more powerful than any vampire in existence. He is even more of this trope in the "Wishverse" universe, [[TheBadGuyWins where he took over Sunnydale and ruled it as his personal domain]].
209* ''Series/DoctorWho'':
210** TheMaster (at his most successful) and Davros whenever the Daleks actually listen to him. In [[Recap/DoctorWhoS35E1TheMagiciansApprentice ''The Magicians Apprentice'']] [[TheWormThatWalks Colony]] [[SnakePeople Sarff]] even refers to him as Dark Lord of Skaro.
211** The Dalek Emperor also plays this role. In "The Parting of the Ways" they even believe themselves to be a [[AGodAmI God]].
212** Rassilon, one of the [[FounderOfTheKingdom founders]] of Time Lord civilisation, seems to have become this in many of his portrayals. In "Zagreus" it is revealed he prevented other races from evolving so they could never prove a threat to the Time Lords. In "The End of Time" he is willing to destroy the Universe to ensure the Time Lord's survival.
213* ''Series/FromDuskTillDawn'':
214** Lord Amancio Malvado is a cross between this trope and DiabolicalMastermind. In one hand, he leads a Mexican cartel, but on the other hand, he is also a supernatural evil, top dog of the vampire hierarchy and leader of the aptly named Nine Lords of Night. Hell, his name "malvado" means "evil" in Spanish, making him an almost literal example of a "Lord Evil".
215** Season 3 introduces Amaru, the queen of the hell-like dimension of Xibalba and also a much greater evil than Malvado (who fled from her world along with his siblings because they were treated as slaves by her) and she wishes to take over the Earth with her demonic minions.
216* ''Series/GameOfThrones'' descontructs the trope much like its [[Literature/ASongOfIceAndFire literary counterpart]].
217** Roose Bolton after becoming the new Warden of the North is a [[PragmaticVillainy practical flavor]] of this trope, realizing that the North needs to be controlled with more than just fear and terror. With that said, he still belongs to a family with an ill-reputation for torture and flaying, which became even more negative with [[KlingonPromotion the way Roose attained his position]]. [[OverlordJr His son Ramsay]] becomes one too after [[spoiler:murdering Roose and taking his place]], but unfortunately he [[StupidEvil lacks his father's foresight and restraint]] and turns into a sadistic and brutal tyrant who is unable to secure genuine peace or actual allies, except with two noble houses and only because they have [[EnemyMine enemies in common]]. His [[WeHaveReserves lack of care]] for [[BadBoss his own men]] comes to bite him in the ass when [[spoiler:he wastes so many of his forces against [[TheHero Jon Snow]] in a needlessly cruel tactic that he is practically defenseless when [[TheCavalry the Knights of the Vale]] arrive to turn the battle against Ramsay]].
218** Tywin Lannister only resorts to KickTheDog and DisproportionateRetribution to ensure that his family name is respected and feared (unless the target happens to be Tyrion). He's also completely aware of his limitations, noting that his family is deeply mired in debt to the Iron Bank of Braavos and they need a firm marital alliance with the Tyrells to meet their obligations. He's downright reverential to the Iron Bank, calling it "a temple", so he's not going to ''consider'' bribing them or getting in their bad books; that's way more foresight than most overlords ever show.
219** The series features a played straight (or possibly reconstructed) example in the form of the [[MonsterLord Night King]], the one leading the White Walkers and a legendary figure thought to have been destroyed ages ago, just biding his time for Winter to arrive so he can unleash a night that never ends. He is more of a force of nature than a person and serves as GreaterScopeVillain, outweighing any corrupt nobleman or monarch in the setting, but he stays in the background most of the time.
220** King Maegor Targaryen was big, violent, and always wore armor. Much like his descendant Aerys, he too drove the entire realm against him because of his unfettered cruelty, especially in putting down the Faith Militant's resistance.
221* Kaiser Hades in ''Series/GenseishinJustiriser'' is your typical {{Toku}} dark lord, a demonic warlord who commands an army of monsters and {{kaiju}} bent on domination of the galaxy.
222* ''Series/HerculesTheLegendaryJourneys'' and ''Series/XenaWarriorPrincess'': Depressingly common place in both shows with the same setting, with the latter's opening stating that warlords were Xena's enemies:
223** The Sovereign is Hercules' EvilTwin from the [[MirrorUniverse Strange World]] that grew up to be a warlord rather than a hero like his prime counterpart.
224** Bacchus, the god of debauchery, wine and hedonism is [[AdaptationalVillainy reimagined]] as an evil and demonic fallen being served by vampire minions and also plotted to take over the world. He has been a recurring foe to both Hercules and Xena.
225** [[{{Dracula}} Vlad of Dacia]] in "Darkness Visible" was a one-shot villain, though he qualifies for this trope in so many ways: immortal and inhuman? Check. Dresses in all black? Check. Lives in a haunted castle in the middle of a cursed frozen land? Double check.
226* ''Series/KamenRiderZiO'' has this as the core of its plot. This is due to the fact that TheHero of the show, Sougo Tokiwa, wants to become the greatest king ever known, resulting in him becoming the demon king known as Oma Zi-O fifty years later, the Overlord of Time. The story now becomes about if Sougo can actually avert this [[FutureMeScaresMe future]] while still becoming [[TheGoodKing "the kindest and most beloved Overlord in history."]]
227* ''Series/{{Krypton}}'': The Voice of Rao is the theocratic dictator of the title planet, keeping them under an oppressive yoke that forbids them from exploring the stars and putting the society in MedievalStasis. He qualifies as a LightIsNotGood example of this trope, since he dresses in [[GoldAndWhiteAreDivine bright gold and presents himself as a divine being]], though he is certainly creepy and evil. He gets even worse when he is possessed by {{ComicBook/Brainiac}}, the series' actual BigBad. [[spoiler:By the end of Season 1, he has been over thrown by General Zod, who [[TyrantTakesTheHelm now rules Kandor like a military dictator instead of a theocratic one]]]].
228* ''Series/LegendOfTheSeeker'': Darken Rahl is probably the straightest example in modern day television. A brutal, sociopathic genocidal EvilSorcerer who controls the D'Haran empire and was prophesied to be defeated by the next ChosenOne of his world.
229* ''Series/{{Lexx}}'' features this duo:
230** [[GodEmperor His Divine Shadow]] ruled over a [[TheTheocracy theocracy]] of 20,000 worlds with an iron fist for millenia. All for the purpose of [[spoiler:using humans to defeat themselves by reducing them to willing slaves and livestock]]. He has infinite resources, plenty of soldiers, {{immortal assassin}}s and one [[OurVampiresAreDifferent vampire]] [[TheDragon executioner]] to do his bidding.
231** The [[CardCarryingVillain Isembard Prince]] rules over the Fire planet, which is some kind of [[{{Hell}} afterlife for the sinful dead]] from both Dark and Light Universes, making him essentially a SatanicArchetype. Like the Divine Shadow, he is also immortal, though his origins are a complete mystery even to the Prince himself. All he knows is that he is evil, he likes to destroy good things and exists only to make others suffer forever.
232* ''Series/PennyDreadful'' has the Master, a mysterious vampire considered the most powerful and evil of them all who has hundreds of familiars and vampires at his beck and call and serves as GreaterScopeVillain for most of the series. He is revealed to be none other than [[spoiler:{{Dracula}} himself disguised as Dr. Alexander Sweet]].
233* ''Franchise/PowerRangers'':
234** Lord Zedd of ''Series/MightyMorphinPowerRangers'' is introduced as this. Even after his [[JadedWashout slide into has-been territory]], it was still a very real, very frightening moment when he appeared in the Command Center after capturing Kimberly and forcing the Rangers to pilot his evil zords. His subsequent hand-to-hand fight with Tommy later confirmed his status in this category.
235** Lord Zedd is topped by Dark Specter, from ''Series/PowerRangersInSpace''. Dark Specter looks like a building sized devil and has command over all the evil factions introduced in the franchise at that point, including Lord Zedd's group. His forces are so vast, that he could realistically conquer the entire universe with them, were it not for a combination between a [[TheStarscream treacherous general]] and the mentor performing a HeroicSacrifice.
236** Emperor Gruum of the Troobian Empire from ''Series/PowerRangersSPD''. He commands a massive army of MechaMooks, looks like a skeletal demon and is known to destroy entire planets.
237** ''[[Series/PowerRangersMegaforce Power Rangers (Super) Megaforce]]'' has Emperor Mavro, who commands a large spacefaring empire known as the Armada and, though his son Vrak, several other factions, such as the Warstar Insectoids and the Toxic Mutants. Not much is known about Mavro, since he doesn't appear that much and when he does, [[OrcusOnHisThrone he mostly sits on his throne]].
238* ''Franchise/SuperSentai'' has tons of these.
239** The first installment in the series, ''Series/HimitsuSentaiGoranger'', has the Black Cross Fuhrer. Despite nominally being more of a terrorist leader, his [[SorcerousOverlord mystical powers]], [[CultOfPersonality fanatical cult-following]] and horde of [[MonsterOfTheWeek monsters]] with [[CoolMask colorful masks]] make him more than fit the billing.
240** Besides the [[NamesToRunAwayFromReallyFast ominous name]], Fuhrer Taboo of ''Series/DaiSentaiGoggleFive'' rules over an AncientConspiracy of evil scientists, uses "[[ScienceIsBad dark science]]" to create monsters and (what else) has his sights on [[TakeOverTheWorld ruling the world]].
241** Emperor Zeba from ''Series/HikariSentaiMaskman'' unabashedly plays a number of Evil Overlord tropes straight. He [[TyrantTakesTheHelm seized his kingdom in a coup against the rightful rulers]], rules from an EvilTowerOfOminousness, has dozens of MonsterOfTheWeek at his disposal, {{Bad Boss}}es his subordinates at every opportunity and wants to TakeOverTheWorld. The only thing unusual about him is that, instead of the [[DarkIsEvil traditional overlord garb]], Zeba opts for [[LightIsNotGood bright colors]] and BlingOfWar.
242** Emperor Ackdos Gill from ''Series/KaizokuSentaiGokaiger'' is a GalacticConqueror who already rules most of the universe, has dozens of powerful aliens at his command - some with [[PlanetDestroyer planet busting]] powers - and a particularly massive StandardSciFiFleet on top of all that.
243** Don Armage from ''Series/UchuSentaiKyuranger'' is a GalacticConqueror in the vein of Ackdos, with the twist being he's actually [[TheBadGuyWins succeeded]] in conquering the entire universe by the time the series starts. Beneath him are the Karos, who effectively serve as the sub-Overlords of each of the star systems under the Don's rule.
244* The ''Series/{{Scrubs}}'' episode "My Princess" parodies this, where Dr. Cox tells his 4-year-old son Jack a fairy tale starring his colleagues from Sacred Heart Hospital in the various archetypes. The irritable Dean of Medicine Dr. Kelso becomes the Dark Lord [[SdrawkcabName Oslek]], an AffablyEvil overlord of the land. He has a cowed, hunchbacked assistant (Ted) and punishes all those who enter his forbidden forest.
245* The Goa'uld of ''Series/StargateSG1'' are an ''[[AlwaysChaoticEvil entire race]]'' of this with an accompanying [[AGodAmI god complex]]. However, only the highest ranking ones (the so-called 'System Lords') have enough territory and forces to back the claim up, with the rest of the lesser Goa'uld serving one or another of the System Lords and usually [[TheStarscream plotting their downfall]]. They collectively control most of the Milky Way Galaxy at the start of the series, but are deeply fractioned and [[EvilVersusEvil fighting each other]] more often than outside threats.
246* ''Series/StarTrekTheOriginalSeries'': Khan Noonien Singh once ruled a quarter of Earth back in the day. He was even called "The best of Tyrants" in some circles.
247* An example from ''Series/StarTrekDeepSpaceNine'' would be the Founders, a cabal of scientists who use genetically-engineered troops and designer viruses to keep their subjects in line. The Founders, renowned for their xenophobia, were later unmasked as hermits who reside on a featureless, arid border planet. Since the Founders were persecuted throughout history, they made it a rule never to venture from home (unless on a reconnaissance or sabotage mission). When the Cardassians and Romulans managed to locate their planet and destroy it, it turned out that they had vacated without leaving any trace.
248* ''Series/TheTwilightZone1959'': "[[Recap/TheTwilightZone1959S2E29TheObsoleteMan The Obsolete Man]]" has the Chancellor, and [[DragonAscendant later his replacement]].
249* ''Franchise/UltraSeries''
250** [[EldritchAbomination Gatanazoa]] from ''Series/UltramanTiga''. Its title is even "The Master of Darkness".
251** The Emperor, BigBad of ''Series/UltramanMebius'', has this in spades. All his powers are based on shadow and he's the longtime archenemy of the [[BigGood Ultra Father]].
252** Ultraman Belial of ''Film/MegaMonsterBattleUltraGalaxyLegends'' is typically described as an Ultraman of Shadow. In later movies, he's also shown as the leader of a universe-conquering empire as well.
253* ''Series/VRTroopers'' has Grimlord, "Master of the Virtual Reality!"
254[[/folder]]
255
256[[folder:Music]]
257* The subject of "Tyrant" by Music/JudasPriest.
258* Music/WithinTemptation's song "A Gothic Christmas" has Rudolph changing his name to "Ragnagord" and becoming the evil overlord of caribou.
259* [[Music/{{Gwar}} GWAR]] is an entire ''band'' of evil overlords; along with their enemies, Cardinal Syn and the Master.
260* King Akron in ''[[Music/RhapsodyOfFire The Emerald Sword Saga]]'' is referred outright as a "Dark Lord", governs from a dark and sinister domain and leads an army of demons to conquer Angalord.
261* Zargothrax the Chaos Wizard from the parody PowerMetal RockOpera ''Music/{{Gloryhammer}}'' leads an army of Unicorns in album 1, and army of [[ScienceFantasy evil alien deathknights]] in albums 2 (Space 1992) and 3 (Legends of Beyond the Galactic Terrorvortex).
262[[/folder]]
263
264[[folder:Tabletop Games]]
265* The Darkmaster in every campaign of ''TabletopGame/AgainstTheDarkmaster'', as fitting for a game based on HighFantasy, is usually some flavor of Evil Overlord. Just like Sauron from ''Lord of the Rings'' or other Evil Overlords from High Fantasy, the Darkmaster, whatever form He or She takes, cannot be overcome by force of arms or powerful magic, but frequently via a Coveted Artifact that often exacts a heavy price for its use.
266* Being a classic HighFantasy setting, ''TabletopGame/TheChroniclesOfAeres'' has its share of evil overlords, including the Sauron-esque Witch Lord Olhogim, who has twice tried to conquer Aeres with his armies of orcs and goblins, and the Skeksis-like Vulgraks of Astreas.
267* ''TabletopGame/DungeonsAndDragons'' has had multiple examples over its history:
268** ''TabletopGame/ForgottenRealms'': Bane, the god of tyranny, is the clearest example, and his church works with mortal overlords here and there, including [[SorcerousOverlord Manshoon]] with his Black Network. The conqueror Yamun Khahan, a pastiche of UsefulNotes/GenghisKhan (rumours about him are quoted almost verbatim, and the other names are used as is). He is more of a subversion, however: a ravenous warlord bent on conquering the known world through endless war, yet turning westward was a change of course forced on him in the [[AssholeVictim Thayvian]] campaign's dead end, and he was a BenevolentBoss [[VillainWithGoodPublicity adored]] by his people (not unlike the real-world Khan).
269** ''TabletopGame/{{Greyhawk}}'': Vecna was an nigh-almighty lich who actually [[DeityOfHumanOrigin ascended to godhood]], and Iuz is a tyrannical demigod who rules over a [[TheSocialDarwinist Social Darwinist]] [[TheEmpire empire]].
270** ''TabletopGame/{{Ravenloft}}'' is built upon this trope: Darklords are the cursed and evil rulers of the Land of Mists, each one of them governing over one particular region. They are powerful forces of darkness with great influence, coming in many diverse forms and shapes (some are proactive leaders of mighty armies and others are subtle schemers who act behind the scenes) and there are ''dozens of them'' for the [[PlayerCharacter PCs]] to fight against ([[Characters/RavenloftDarklords seriously, just check their character page and see how long the list is]]). Here is the twist: every single darklord is plagued by a curse that varies from individual to individual to frustrate their greatest desires, as this was intentionally designed by [[GreaterScopeVillain the Dark Powers]] to punish them, making these Evil Overlords all tormented and damned beings that live in [[IronicHell a hell of their own making]].
271* ''TabletopGame/{{Exalted}}'':
272** The Deathlords, leaders of the Abyssal Exalted and servants of the [[EldritchAbomination Neverborn]], are terrible and powerful tyrants of the dead who are not out to conquer the world so much as to [[OmnicidalManiac kill everything that lives and destroy everything that's not alive, consigning all of existence to Oblivion]]. The closest fit to the traditional archetype of this trope is the First and Forsaken Lion, the mightiest of the Deathlords, who is permanently sealed inside his armor and broods within a mighty citadel as he amasses a vast army of monsters and the dead.
273** The Infernal Exalted ''must'' play this trope to the fullest, since it's their way of working off [[VillainousBreakdown Torment]]. This also has a DarkIsNotEvil aspect, as Acts of Villainy aren't actually inherently evil (the one drafted by [[EvilMatriarch Kimbery]], for example, asks that you give your opponents CruelMercy... but doesn't actually have provisions for making it so that living is a FateWorseThanDeath).
274* ''TabletopGame/MagicTheGathering'': Yawgmoth was a mortal physician of immortal sadism and evil, who brought about the fall of his own civilization and spent some time ruining others before becoming the eternal god and king of the biomechanical hell-dimension of Phyrexia. He spent thousands of years plotting to return to his homeworld, subjugate it, and reshape it to match his twisted vision, and even after his death the impact and scars of his attempted conquest weight Dominaria to the modern day.
275* ''TabletopGame/{{Rifts}}'' is rife with these kind of villains, like the Spurgloth of {{Atlantis}}, the tyrannical pharaoh [[NephariousPharaoh Ramah Set]] of the Phoenix Empire and any Vampire Intelligence of the Vampire Kingdoms, but the most prominent example is Karl Prosak of the Coalition States, which used to be a republic with him as PresidentEvil before he decided to just crown himself as emperor. He straights up admires Adolf Hitler and [[ANaziByAnyOtherName bases much of his government style on him]], though [[PragmaticVillainy without repeating his mistakes]].
276%%* ''TabletopGame/Warhammer40000'': Commonplace, with every Chaos Lord, Dark Eldar Archon and Ork warboss, and half or more of the Imperium's governors.
277* ''TabletopGame/{{Warhammer}}'': Malekith, Witch-King of Naggaroth, initially wanted to become king of Ulthuan and the High Elves before failing, being horrifically burned and retreating to the New World where he would establish the Dark Elves and Naggaroth. In the modern day, Malekith is a megalomaniacal tyrant constantly clad in black enameled armor that he can't survive without, ruling over a society of slavers, sadists and sorcerers where his word is unquestioned law, and dreams of returning to Ulthuan, crushing the High Elves under his feet and becoming the unquestioned ruler of all the elves.
278[[/folder]]
279
280%%[[folder:Toys]]
281%%* ''Toys/{{Bionicle}}'': [[MagnificentBastard Makuta Teridax]], [[spoiler:especially when he [[TheBadGuyWins takes over]] [[PhysicalGod the universe]].]]
282%%[[/folder]]
283
284[[folder:Web Animation]]
285* Discord from the ''WesternAnimation/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagic'' parody ''WebAnimation/PonyDotMov'' destroys Ponyville and proclaims himself their god.
286* [[spoiler:Salem]] from Volume 4 of ''WebAnimation/{{RWBY}}'' is [[spoiler:the true mastermind behind the Grimm (and all other evil acts)]]. Very little is known about them, besides being [[spoiler:the [[ManBehindTheMan biggest threat around]], and her "pets" serve as the foot-soldiers for her operations]]. Qrow hinted that [[spoiler:Salem]] is connected to an ancient evil, one that helped build Remnant itself.
287** Volume 6 finally dropped some information: [[spoiler: namely that Salem was once human, but was cursed with CompleteImmortality after royally pissing off the Gods via tricking one into reviving her dead lover, Ozma (aka Ozpin's former incarnation). When she used that same immortality to unite humanity against them, all this accomplished was the Gods purging the world of humanity, and in a bid to finally end her life, she jumped into the pools of Grimm.... but that didn't work. Ozpin was eventually revived to try and unite humanity according to the Gods' wishes, but this put him at odds with Salem, kick-starting their nigh-eternal battle.]]
288* ''WebAnimation/{{Dreamscape}}'': The Master of the Dammed is the EvilOverlord of [[DarkWorld the Unworld]].
289** Averted with the Overlord of Evil, despite his name. He has a few Mooks under his belt and a god complex, but he has no empire to speak of.
290[[/folder]]
291
292[[folder:Webcomics]]
293* [[spoiler:Sparklelord]] in ''Webcomic/TheAdventuresOfDrMcNinja''. Also, Ronald [=McDonald=]. Yes, the hamburger selling clown. It's more awesome than it sounds.
294* The Director of Darkness from ''Webcomic/ApricotCookies'' is this, controlling the Dark Dimension and the legions of monsters inside, although he tends to ''act'' less like an overlord and more like an office executive.
295* [[http://www.thebeastlegion.com/issue-01-page-21-enter-dragos/ Lord Dragos]] from ''Webcomic/TheBeastLegion'' is the perfect example of tyrannical Evil despot who rules the land with an iron fist.
296* ''Webcomic/DarkWings'' has Veslin, the mysterious leader of TheEmpire. Believed to be an evil [[OurDragonsAreDifferent dragon]], but she might be anything, even a [[OmniscientCouncilOfVagueness whole group of people]]. All we really know is that there's ''something'' powerful and intelligent driving the Veslians.
297* Lord Tedd in ''Webcomic/ElGoonishShive'', but his [[http://www.egscomics.com/?date=2004-05-17 self-proclaimed]] "[[SubordinateExcuse voluntary servant]]" (it's not entirely clear what position she holds, but it's important) thinks he's a good guy under "[[ToxicFriendInfluence corrupting influence]]".
298* Stanley the Plaid/Stanley the Tool of ''{{Webcomic/Erfworld}}'' is described as an Evil Overlord by [[http://www.giantitp.com/comics/erf0031.html Parson]] because of his use of [[AlwaysChaoticEvil generic evil creatures]] and because he has united everybody else into an alliance against him. Stanley is [[http://www.giantitp.com/comics/erf0032.html highly offended]] by this, believing himself to be [[MissionFromGod divinely favored]]. A divine artifact backs him up on this point. Or not, since croakamancer Wanda Firebaugh has one too, and apparently so does Charlie of Charlescomm.
299%%* The Editor of ''Webcomic/EvilOverlordsUnited''.
300* Baron Klaus Wulfenbach of ''Webcomic/GirlGenius'' is something of a subversion. For one thing, he doesn't want to be Overlord -- he's there mainly to stop less reasonable {{mad scientist}}s who ran rampant laying waste to everything. For another, [[BenevolentDictator he's not actually an evil ruler]] -- the main rules of his empire boil down to 'don't start fights' and 'turn over all SealedEvilInACan for proper disposal'. However, he's ruthless in dealing with anyone (or anything) that threatens the stability of his domain, and he's willing to employ at least one homicidal psychopath (Bangladesh [=DuPree=]). Although his willingness to use [=DuPree=] is entirely based on the fact that she can be relied on to do the least pleasant jobs Klaus requires without hesitation, and keeping her around means that she's one less problem he has to deal with.
301** It says something about his empire that their motto is "Don't Make Me Come Over There". Part threat, part BadassBoast, if you break his rules, he will come over there, and he will make you regret it.
302** It also says something that less than three years after [[spoiler:he freezes himself and Mechanicsburg in time]] his rule is viewed almost universally as a lost Golden Age.
303** What makes Klaus this trope instead of TheEmperor is that he refuses to use "Emperor" as his title, and sticks to "Baron" since that was his title when he disappeared before the [[GreatOFfscreenWar Other War]]. The [[AristocratsAreEvil Fifty Families]] ''hate him'' for this, since [[ScrewTheRulesImDoingWhatsRight he's basically spitting in the face of their values and traditions]] by ruling over them as a Baron (one of, if not ''the'' lowest ranking of nobility titles) instead of as an Emperor. [[LampshadeHanging It is pointed out how]], if Klaus had deigned to use "Emperor" as his actual title, the Fifty Families would have bowed to him without question.
304* The Seven from ''Webcomic/KillSixBillionDemons'' are a BigBadEnsemble of [[DimensionLord universe-owning]] [[GodOfHumanOrigin man-turned-deities]] who collectively claim the entire Multiverse as theirs through the Pact of the Seven-Part World. Amongst their collective titles are such ones as 'The Seven Black Emperors', 'The Lords of Infinity', and 'Gods of the Seven-Part World', and their individual ones include ones such as 'Scourge of Worlds', 'Imperatrix of the Gates of Fire' and 'The God-Eater'. They are ''not'' nice people.
305* ''Webcomic/TheOrderOfTheStick'' has fun with this.
306** Xykon is in many ways a parody of the Evil Overlord stereotype, though he's as genuinely evil as any other. It might be better to say that Xykon ''started out'' as a parody Evil Overlord, but it gradually became apparent that goofy as he can be, when you get down to it he's the real deal and every bit as dangerous as you'd expect an Evil Overlord to be.
307** General Tarquin is one of the [[TheManBehindTheMan Men behind the Dragon]] to the Empress of Blood. He's found his chances of survival are improved by acting as a mercenary commander for other Evil Overlord wannabes rather than sitting on the throne himself, but he still runs the show along with his [[SinisterMinister snakefolk cleric friend]] [[spoiler:and, it turns out, the other four members of his old adventuring party]]. He's also ([[FauxAffablyEvil convincingly]]) so AffablyEvil that it is approaching DracoInLeatherPants levels of sympathy among a portion of the fandom. Others, it seems, like him less with every strip.
308%%* Parodied in ''Webcomic/OverlordofRavenfell''.
309* ''Webcomic/SluggyFreelance'':
310** Lord Horribus, at least during the "That Which Redeems" arc. Oddly enough, Horribus is really only second-in-command of the demon armies. The actual Demon King spends the entire [[DemonicInvaders Demonic Invasion]] on the toilet.
311** In the "Holiday Wars" storyline, [[spoiler:Bun-bun]] realizes he can become overlord of the holidays and TakeOverTheWorld by becoming the AnthropomorphicPersonification of all the holidays. (Being the embodiment of Halloween gives the right "dark" flavour among what would otherwise be mostly cheerful portfolios.)
312* ''Webcomic/{{Terra}}'': Northazul Kalar, Sovereign of the Asurian Empire. Leader of a powerful empire with his own personal army in addition to the official one, dressed all in black armor [[FurAndLoathing with fur trim]], is known to have ordered at least one [[ThePurge political purge]], et cetera.
313* ''Webcomic/ZebraGirl'': Tool, who rules Sam' home dimension with a maniacal iron fist.
314[[/folder]]
315
316[[folder:Web Original]]
317* In ''Roleplay/TheGamersAlliance'', various evil overlords have appeared in the three ages, for example Arawn Losstarot and Distreyd Thanadar XII.
318%%* ''Literature/DimensionHeroes'': The aptly-named Dark Overlords.
319* ''Literature/WhateleyUniverse'': The supervillain Gizmatic, the King of Karedonia. Which he conquered and then enlarged.
320* ''WebVideo/AgamemnonTiberiusVacuum'': The titular Inarguable Eternal Leader of the glorious and superior Planet 3.
321* ''WebOriginal/ProtectorsOfThePlotContinuum'': The Sunflower Emperor in the [[MirrorUniverse Mirror Multiverse]]. The Mysterious Somebody had a similar role in the prime multiverse, as the PPC's former ruler.
322* ''WebVideo/WormtoothNation'': Baron O'Brien is set up to look like one, but it's later subverted: he's just trying to hold the dying city together. Not that he's a nice guy, but he's far from evil. This makes since, since he was based on the character of Oberon from ''Theatre/AMidsummerNightsDream''.
323* WebVideo/TheNostalgiaChick gets called a dictator by her SexBot, gives Disney villains helpful advice and enjoys playing in God's domain just a bit too much.
324* In ''WebVideo/TheNostalgiaCritic'', The Other Guy is dressed as Palpatine in one review, and tells Critic that he's the dark shadowy overlord that controls him, "just like in real life".
325* ''WebVideo/DiamandaHagan'': Diamanda actually ''admits'' to being this, having minions [[BadBoss who she regularly orders to execute themselves]].
326* ''Roleplay/WeAreAllPokemonTrainers'': Umbra was an Evil Overlord in his [[VideoGame/PokemonConquest Ransei]] days. Since then, [[OldShame he's grown to regret that phase of his life]].
327* ''WebAnimation/OverlySarcasticProductions'': Evil emperors are discussed in [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FCBIXgYCds4 the video]] on TheEmpire, where Red outlines their most common varieties and how they tend to affect the characters of their empires and the role they play in the story.
328** The major variants of villainous rulers include the more hands-off types, like [[Literature/TheLordOfTheRings Sauron]] and [[Franchise/StarWars Palpatine]], who leave their minions to run the show while they pursue their own agendas and whose supernatural control over their empires is equally likely to free their thralls as to cause the whole thing to collapse under its own weight once the emperor dies; the indolent [[TheCaligula Caligulas]] more interested in pursuing their passing whims than governing and who are often little more than figureheads, whose defeat won't likely impact the empire much at all; the maniacal tyrants a la [[Literature/ASongOfIceAndFire Joffrey]], who rule through fear and kill people left and right for any and no reason, but who luckily almost inevitably have rebellions brewing against them that the heroes can join forces with; and the treacherous usurpers like [[WesternAnimation/TheLionKing1994 Scar]] and [[VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaTwilightPrincess Zant]], who stole the throne from the rightful ruler and are likely awful monarchs themselves but who conveniently tend to come with legitimate heirs hanging around somewhere in order to sidestep the question of what happens to the Empire after the Emperor dies.
329** Evil ''empresses'' tend to come in one of two specific types -- the (sometimes literal) ice queen, cold and unfeeling and generally either a harsh but fair ruler or a heartless tyrant, and the fiery-tempered seductress in skimpy clothing, who will be gleefully sadistic, probably associated with slavery in some form and likely to try to force a hero into being her consort. Either type is also likely to be DaddysLittleVillain.
330* Freetrick Freebolg, Ultimate Fiend of Literature/TheKingdomsOfEvil, is ''supposed'' to be one, but is [[AntiAntichrist rather reluctant]], having been raised by one of his kingdoms greatest enemies, the Rationalist Union. He considers the whole schtick pants-on-head stupid. His first act as Dark Overlord of [[{{Mordor}} Skrea?]] To immediately abdicate, only to be informed that, as GodEmperor of Evil, he's stuck with the job for life, however long that may be. He spends the rest of the story trying to teach his court to not be StupidEvil, and his efforts are met with either apalled silence or outright accusations of insanity. He is apparently the Prophesied King who will destroy the meanings of both Good ''and'' Evil, leaving all nations to rework their systems of morality. The problem is getting there so he can go home and finish college.
331[[/folder]]
332
333[[folder:Western Animation]]
334* ''WesternAnimation/AdventureTime'':
335** Earl of Lemongrab appears to be a parody of this trope. He's definitely a tyrannical overlord, but he isn't actually evil. Rather, he's really really stupid, [[{{Jerkass}} mean]], and [[NoSocialSkills obnoxious]]. While his intentions are good and he harbors no malice towards anyone, he ''does'' succeed in sending everyone in the kingdom to the dungeon for their whole lives. He comes across as a stupid teenager who was given a position of power that he ''really'' should never have had in the first place.
336** [[Characters/AdventureTimeIceKing Ice King]] is another example of the show playing with this trope. He has pretty much every trait of your standard Evil Wizard Overlord: spiky headgear, rules over his own kingdom, is [[AndNowYouMustMarryMe obsessed with kidnapping princesses]], and has [[AnIcePerson powers]] [[EvilIsDeathlyCold usually associated with evil]]... so of course his actual personality is as far from the trope as you can get. [[BrainwashedAndCrazy Evil]] [[LossOfIdentity is]] [[WhatHaveIBecome pushing]] [[BackstoryHorror it]], [[JerkassWoobie for starters]], and even before his FreudianExcuse was revealed he was mostly a [[IneffectualSympatheticVillain pathetic, crazy old man]] and often [[DesignatedVillain didn't even start the fights]] that the heroes would have with him. After a few seasons of CharacterDevelopment he isn't even really a villain anymore, almost being the TokenEvilTeammate to the heroes.
337* ''WesternAnimation/AngelsFriends'': Cassidy and Kubral are two warlords that are the tyrannical leaders of Diabolic Army, and the ones who started the Eternal War, which kickstarted the events of the show and the conflict between Angels and Devils 300 years ago. The war was stopped by VETO, a trade intended to keep peace between two sides of war. Cassidy and Kubral were against it, so they decided to kidnap Angelie, Raf's mother who has the powers of an Eternal, to prevent her from ending wars. They are also responsible for turning [[GodSaveUsFromTheQueen Reina]] into BigBad.
338%%* Queen Dark took over the world in ''WesternAnimation/ArgaiTheProphecy''.
339* Maximus I.Q. of ''WesternAnimation/AtomicBetty'', who actually calls himself "Supreme Evil Overlord of the Galaxy". He also combines it very firmly with CatsAreMean. Appropriately, he's a parody of [[ComicStrip/FlashGordon Ming the Merciless]] from the Comic Strips folder above.
340* ''WesternAnimation/AvatarTheLastAirbender'' / ''WesternAnimation/TheLegendOfKorra''
341** [[BigBad Fire Lord Ozai]]. Ozai's grandfather, Sozin, started the trend of Fire Lords being Evil Overlords. Then [[spoiler:Zuko broke it when he interrupted Azula's coronation before she could continue the trend. Cue AwesomeMomentOfCrowning.]]
342** The sequel series has Earth Queen Hou-Ting, the tyrannical ruler of the Earth Kingdom. Book 4 has Kuvira, who creates her own Earth Empire and plans on conquering the Earth Kingdom by force.
343*** Deconstructed, at least partially, in the case of [[Characters/TheLegendOfKorraKuvira Kuvira]], the Earth Kingdom fell into disorder and anarchy due to a political assassination, and the only way to restore order was through the use of military force. Several heroic characters support Kuvira's mission, and she succeeds in pacifying the chaotic Earth Kingdom, the problem is that she doesn't stop there ...
344%%* ''WesternAnimation/BeastWars'' Megatron becomes one in ''WesternAnimation/BeastMachines''.
345* The ''Franchise/Ben10'' franchise has good ol' [[Characters/Ben10Vilgax Vilgax]], the series' first BigBad. As the show has more of a RoguesGallery approach than all evil coming from one guy, he's got plenty of competition:
346** Milleous, a.k.a. "Lord Emperor Milleous, Light of the Incursion Empire, Destroyer of Galaxies, Keeper of the Conquest Ray, all beings tremble--" (That's the farthest anyone's ever gotten when trying to say the title.) At first, the Incursions were played for comedy, but have recently come in force to become the series' new BigBad.
347** His daughter counts too. Attea [[SheIsAllGrownUp is all grown up]], TookALevelInBadass, was (provisionally) forgiven for her original betrayal, and is TheHeavy. So, we add to the list "General Attea, Princess, Scion and Teen Supreme of the deathless Incursion Empire, Highest Commander of the celebrated Calaveras Legion..." and so on.
348** Adwaita rules the magical realm of Ledgerdomain with an iron fist. IKnowYourTrueName is in effect, so the Alpha Rune with the true name of magic itself makes him practically a god. Recurring villainess Charmcaster sought to free her world from him, actually departed on friendly terms with the heroes, and went back. [[spoiler:Next time we see Ledgerdomain, it's still under the control of an ironfisted dictator -- namely, ''Charmcaster.'' The next round with her sees a few ''thousand'' people die... like the heroes. They get better, as she realizes sacrificing a world to revive her beloved father was going too far, but she was last seen still in complete control over Ledgerdomain.]]
349** One of ''Ben's transformations'' is this. Turns out any small part of an Ectonurite contains his consciousness -- including the Omnitrix sample. Ghostfreak breaks free of the Omnitrix, restores himself, and proves to have been the evil overlord of his ''own'' world who sought to be the evil overlord of ''everything.'' He even manages to take over Vilgax's homeworld... for one episode, anyway, but damn if that wasn't impressive.
350** Ghostfreak recently tried teaming up with the former EvilOverlord of his own solar system. However, the vampire-like Lord Transyl was last seen imprisoned floating in space with a nice view of the sun, so it's safe to assume he won't become a regular part of the rogues' gallery.
351%%* The BigBad of ''WesternAnimation/{{Blackstar}}'' is called the Overlord.
352* The Dark Lord [[FluffyTheTerrible Chuckles the Silly Piggy]] from ''WesternAnimation/DaveTheBarbarian'', though he's much less menacing than most as you would expect from his name.
353* Pariah Dark from ''WesternAnimation/DannyPhantom'' who, despite appearing in one hour-long special, managed to take over one world and one entire dimension.
354* ''WesternAnimation/DungeonsAndDragons1983'': Venger the Force of Evil is a cruel despot who wishes to rule over the Realm and constantly harasses the {{kid hero}}es in order to obtain their magical weapons.
355* ''WesternAnimation/TheFairlyOddParents'': Both [[EvilTeacher Crocker]] and [[AxCrazy Vicky]] have become evil overlords thanks to magic.
356* ''WesternAnimation/HighlanderTheAnimatedSeries'': Kortan is an evil Immortal that took over what is left of the world after it had been [[AfterTheEnd destroyed by a asteroid]], ruling it with an iron fist from his walled fortress. Due to all Immortals taking an oath to not duel each other, they are unable to stop Kortan and its up to [[TheHero Quentin MacLeod]] who was born after the oath took place and not bound by it, to defeat him.
357* Lucius Heinous VII on ''WesternAnimation/JimmyTwoShoes'' is a parody of this. Despite being an {{expy}} of Satan and having an iron grip over Miseryville, [[HarmlessVillain he is astoundingly incompetent and rather pathetic too]].
358* ''WesternAnimation/JusticeLeague'' had a couple of examples besides [[ComicBook/{{Darkseid}} big bad Darkseid]]:
359** Mongul, the cruel dictator of War World that used his power to amuse himself with no concern for his impoverished people, distracting them [[BreadAndCircuses with arena fights.]]
360** Despero of Kalanor, who lead a crusade to enslave the galaxy and raised an army powerful enough to threaten the Green Lantern Corps.
361** [[TimeMaster Chronos]], after escaping to the future and using advanced technology to turn Gotham into his own fiefdom.
362** [[EvilCounterpart The Justice Lords]], who instituted a authoritarian, repressive PoliceState in their home dimension after killing [[PresidentEvil President Lex Luthor]]. Under their heel free speech was dead, elections happened only with the Lords approval and [[FelonyMisdemeanor even the minor infraction could lead to citizens being arrested]].
363* [[TheDragon Shego]] from ''WesternAnimation/KimPossible'' during ''[[TheMovie A Sitch in Time]]''. She even got the cool name The Supreme One.
364* ''Franchise/MastersOfTheUniverse'':
365** Skeletor is one of the most well known examples of this trope in animation, being the master of evil in the planet Eternia that seeks to conquer it by gaining control of Castle Grayskull and learning its secrets. His original incarnation as IneffectualSympatheticVillain whose schemes were almost always bound to fail. The original comic, the live-action movie and 2002 cartoon make him [[AdaptationalBadass way more competent]].
366** Hordak from ''WesternAnimation/SheRaPrincessOfPower'' is Skeletor's master and while prone to comic antics just like Skeletor, he is way more ''dangerous'' than him considering Hordak rules the planet Etheria with iron fist, while Skeletor keeps trying and failing to conquer his homeworld. In almost every incarnation he appears, Hordak is considered EvilerThanThou to Skeletor as he is regarded as TheDreaded and the one much bigger threat overall. It should be noted Hordak himself is the DragonInChief to the [[GreaterScopeVillain Horde Prime]], the supreme leader of the Evil Horde that never interferes in the story.
367* Skullmaster from ''WesternAnimation/MightyMax'' is an immortal warlord that rules over a subterranean realm which he overthrew its rightful ruler and seeks to remake the world in his image. He is essentially an Skeletor {{expy}} if he was competent and successful.
368* In "The Crystal Empire" from ''WesternAnimation/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagic, '' [[Characters/FriendshipIsMagicKingSombra King Sombra]] shares many features with Discord: A millenium prior, he was sealed away by Celestia and Luna for being [[ZeroPercentApprovalRating a monstrous tyrant]] who [[SorcerousOverlord maintained his position through the use of immensely powerful]] BlackMagic. However, the evil overlord aspects are even more emphasized in his case, thanks to his [[EvilTowerOfOminousness huge, trap-laden castle]] settled in the center of a domain that (at least while under his influence) is more [[{{Mordor}} outright hellish]] than [[RealityIsOutToLunch insane]], and his portrayal as [[AdvancingWallOfDoom a huge, cascading force]] [[MadeOfEvil of pure malevolence]] in the events of the episode. In spite of Discord being an [[GodOfEvil evil]] AnthropomorphicPersonification [[OrderVersusChaos of chaos]] -- Sombra, by contrast, is a normal pony who simply managed to gain and misuse great power -- whose reign eclipsed Sombra's in scope thanks to his rule over all of Equestria, Discord's character is far less nebulous (or [[BewareTheSillyOnes serious]]).
369%%* Megabyte of ''WesternAnimation/{{ReBoot}}''.
370* [[Characters/SamuraiJackAku Aku]] from ''WesternAnimation/SamuraiJack''. The guy is the one-and-only ruler of the BadFuture Jack is stuck in and is literally MadeOfEvil.
371-->'''[[MrExposition Aku]]:''' I tore open a portal in time, and flung him into the future -- where my evil is ''law''! Now, the fool seeks to return to the past, and ''undo the future that is Aku''!
372* ''WesternAnimation/SpiderManUnlimited'' has the High Evolutionary, the authoritarian lord of the Counter-Earth who has enslaved humanity beneath the boots of his Bestial minions. He also looks the part with his spikes and long cape.
373%%* Master Cyclonis from ''WesternAnimation/StormHawks''.
374* ''WesternAnimation/SuperRobotMonkeyTeamHyperforceGo'': Skeleton King is an undead space tyrant bent on destroying worlds with the intent of unsealing [[EldritchAbomination Dark Ones]] and has an army called "Formless" to make it happen. Skeleton King plots to destroy the universe starting with the planet Shuggazoom and his enemies, the Hyperforce.
375* ''WesternAnimation/TeenTitans2003'': Trigon the Terrible is the ruler of a Hell-like who sought to conquer everything that exists qualifies.
376* Mumm-Ra in ''WesternAnimation/ThunderCats1985'' and ''WesternAnimation/ThunderCats2011'' is an demonic mummy that inhabits a sinister pyramid and is said to be the source of all evil in the Third Earth. As such he cannot ever be destroyed due to his body being restored AsLongAsThereIsEvil. While he doesn't command armies, he has a few pawns in the Mutants of Plun-Darr and the other villains of the week that agree to work with him.
377* ''WesternAnimation/VBirds'' has King He:Lin, the tyrannical ruler of Planet V who exiled the title characters to Earth as punishment for refusing to partake in his energy-harvesting Dance Farms.
378* Lord Darkar of ''WesternAnimation/WinxClub'' has a castle, plenty of minions, and is very powerful, though he never controls anything beyond his fortress.
379%%* Prince Phobos of ''WesternAnimation/{{WITCH}}''.
380%%* ''WesternAnimation/XiaolinShowdown'' has ''several''. First there was Wuya. She was soon followed by Chase Young, Mala Mala Jong, the Sapphire Dragon, Hannibal Roy Bean, Robo-Jack, Panda Bubba, Gigi the killer (French) plant...
381[[/folder]]
382----
383->'''Statler:''' You know what I would do if ''I'' were an Evil Overlord?\
384'''Waldorf:''' Oh? What's that?\
385'''Statler:''' Quit. They always try to rule over everything. Would ''you'' want to rule this world?\
386'''Waldorf:''' Nah. It's more fun to make fun of it!\
387'''[[JustForFun/StatlerAndWaldorf Both]]:''' Doh-ho-ho-ho-ho-hoh!

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