Line #32 Main/HarmlessVillain


1	%% Image and caption selected per Image Pickin' thread: https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/posts.php?discussion=1318278245023034500
2	%% Please do not change or remove either without starting a new thread.
3	%%
4	[[quoteright:350:[[WesternAnimation/ThePowerpuffGirls1998 https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/e1230b6b_b4ea_42bf_be27_eb0ef0d69ed4.png]]]]
5	[[caption-width-right:350:[[PokeThePoodle The]] [[AndThatsTerrible fiends!]][[note]][[UnwittingInstigatorOfDoom Ironically, this inadvertently caused one of the biggest threats on the show, in the episode]] "[[Recap/ThePowerpuffGirlsS1E3OctiEvilGeshundfight Geshundfight]]".[[/note]]]]
6
7	->''"And when she arrives, I shall squirt her... with '''CITRIC''' ACID!"''
8	-->-- '''Jokerella''', ''Webcomic/TheNonAdventuresOfWonderella'', [[http://nonadventures.com/2007/09/29/for-whom-the-cell-tolls/ "For Whom the CELL Tolls"]]
9
10	Villains are vile, ruthless, merciless, and bloodthirsty; any pretension of civility is just a smokescreen to hide a ''really'' twisted BigBad. Not exactly kid-friendly, is it? So what are kids shows and movies supposed to do, if the original source's baddy EatsBabies? Why, [[{{Disneyfication}} make them]] a [[TitleDrop harmless villain]], of course!
11
12	Their goals can be as grandiose as any other villain's, but the way they go about their plans makes one wonder [[AndThenWhat what they would do]] if they ever ''[[TeamRocketWins win]].'' Instead of putting the heroes through a DeathCourse, it will merely be an obstacle course strewn with riddles. Rather than threatening to use Anthrax in the heart of London, they will use sleeping gas to get away with a heist. If they capture the hero, expect only the most benign of {{Death Trap}}s (usually with a tub of Mr. Pibb instead of a SharkPool); and instead of [[ColdBloodedTorture outright torture]], they will use feathers to [[TickleTorture tickle the hero into submission]]. Or, they may ''say'' they are trying to do something truly evil, but they will fail, every time. And if that level of detail is too demanding for your kid detective story? Just make them smugglers. Smuggling what? Nobody knows. It is never specified. But smuggling is bad, [[DesignatedVillain that is why they are the villains]] and [[TakeOurWordForIt that is all you need to know]].
13
14	Specific {{evil pl\|an}}ots will usually include amazing MacGuffin devices that mildly inconvenience people and get the hero involved; often, these plots are of such a scale and intricacy that if someone CutLexLuthorACheck, they'd be so rich, they wouldn't need that giant Gold-only Orbital Magnet to steal the world's supply of gold.
15
16	[[EvilIsCool But, then again, where's the fun in that?]]
17
18	The only people "seriously endangered" by them are the {{Innocent Bystander}}s and DamselInDistress that they occasionally capture, and they end up no worse for wear than if they'd spent the afternoon in a Time Share seminar, which is usually ''far'' less entertaining at that, and the villain will probably even provide [[NoMisterBondIExpectYouToDine far better snacks, along with room and board]]!
19
20	The Harmless Villain might possess an impressive array of powers, but they'll end up using it with all the effectiveness of MisappliedPhlebotinum, or have glaring and [[AchillesHeel easily exploited weaknesses]] that bring them to their knees just in the nick of time.
21
22	Basically, they aren't saddled with a bag of {{Villain Ball}}s so much as they're expert jugglers, using them to entertain rather than as signs of stupidity [[SugarBowl (it is a kid's show, after all)]]. It's more or less as if they are enforcing on themselves the DesignatedVillain role. A few of them are even aware of this, and are pretty easy-going about it. These amiable villains will more often than not show that EvenEvilHasStandards when that VerySpecialEpisode rolls around. Out of all the villains, they're the likeliest to enjoy a good time with VillainsOutShopping, or even be {{Friendly Enem\|y}}ies with the hero!
23
24	A true Harmless Villain will never KickTheDog, much less [[MoralEventHorizon cross the depravity line]]. However, they ''will'' PokeThePoodle...a ''LOT''.
25
26	Their minions are as often as not FacelessGoons and [[MinionWithAnFInEvil comically good]] {{Mauve Shirt}}s, both of which tend to do kooky and funny things when their boss isn't looking. These supposed villains often have a degree of KarmicProtection because of the small scale of their "evil", especially when there are [[SlidingScaleOfAntagonistVileness more serious villains]] around.
27
28	Compare with:
29
30	* BigBadWannabe: When a villain tries to be dangerous and may be to an extent, but the more harmful villains quickly [[EvilerThanThou snuff them and make them know their place]].
31	* IneffectualSympatheticVillain: When a villain has genuinely malicious intentions yet constantly fails to do anything nasty because of their incompetence or because the hero is so overwhelmingly superior to them[[note]]A good example of the differences between a Harmless and an IneffectualSympatheticVillain is this: An IneffectualSympatheticVillain will plan and try to shoot you [[TooDumbToLive but accidentally leave their weapon at home]]. This trope will plan and try to shoot you... [[PokeThePoodle with a water pistol]]. [[FelonyMisdemeanor And gloat about it.]][[/note]]).
32	* TheFamilyForTheWholeFamily: When an IneffectualSympatheticVillain would be a bona fide KnightOfCerebus were they not hobbled by incompetence or the narrative.
33	* PeekABogeyman: a villain or monster whose sole intention is to briefly scare people instead of harming them.
34	* PokeThePoodle (when villain does lame and ridiculous things trying to be evil), TeamRocketWins (when a normally ineffectual villain achieves a temporary victory) and {{Troll}} (when the most insulting thing the character does is [[PokeThePoodle annoy people until they become angry]]).
35	* VillainyFreeVillain: When the antagonist is a huge {{Jerkass}} but doesn't actually do anything especially criminal or evil beyond just being an unpleasant person who happens to oppose the heroes.
36	* VillainousUnderdog: The villain is the David to the hero's [[DavidVersusGoliath Goliath]], but the hero is still sympathetic.
37
38	Contrast with:
39
40	* AffablyEvil: The villain ''is'' a threat, but they just happen to be a really nice person.
41	* BigBad: A villain who is the biggest threat.
42	* CompleteMonster: Instead of (or [[LaughablyEvil despite]]) [[PokeThePoodle being a total goofball]], the villain commits [[MoralEventHorizon terrible acts]] that leaves everybody ([[EvenEvilHasStandards possibly even other villains, if they're evil enough]]) shocked and appalled. They are never harmless and therefore can't fall under this trope.
43	* HateSink: When someone is just a bad person meant to be loathed by the audience. Due to how terrible a harmless villain is at doing bad, they rarely, if ever, qualify for this trope.
44	* InvincibleVillain: The polar opposite of this trope in terms of threat level. While a Harmless Villain would simply poke you with a stick, an Invincible Villain would [[CurbStompBattle obliterate you without even lifting a finger]].
45	* KnightOfCerebus: The introduction of a genuinely dangerous villain to a show marks a general ToneShift in a more serious direction.
46	* MoralEventHorizon: The villain does the worst things imaginable.
47	* NotSoHarmlessVillain: When a villain who was previously Harmless or Ineffectually Sympathetic levels up or morally decays and becomes genuinely dangerous; or when the villain was never actually harmless to begin with but the audience [[BaitTheDog was misled]] about them.
48	* VileVillainSaccharineShow: A genuinely nasty and dangerous villain appears in a work whose tone would lead you to expect this trope.
49
50	----
51	!!Example subpages:
52
53	[[index]]
54	* HarmlessVillain/AnimeAndManga
55	* HarmlessVillain/ComicBooks
56	* HarmlessVillain/LiveActionTV
57	* HarmlessVillain/VideoGames
58	* HarmlessVillain/{{Webcomics}}
59	* HarmlessVillain/WesternAnimation
60	[[/index]]
61
62	!!Other examples:
63
64	[[foldercontrol]]
65
66	[[folder:Fan Works]]
67	* ''FanFic/EvilBelle'' features Sweetie Belle trying to become a dreaded villain-for some reason-, only to end up being this trope.
68	* ''FanFic/TheUltimateHope'' is basically an exercise in turning Junko Enoshima into one, as every single attempt to cause despair just ends up making her victims' situation even ''better''. At the end, nobody except Mukuro even believes she was ''ever'' a villain.
69	* ''WebVideo/YuGiOhTheAbridgedSeries'':
70	** Marik tries to be evil, but his evil plans usually involve things like [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0jnCcejkpjg stealing the Pharaoh's leather pants]], asking to borrow Yugi's Millennium Puzzle and not returning it for three weeks, and [[PokeThePoodle pushing him off a boat. Into the sea.]] And on top of that, he is ''very'' easily distracted.
71	** During his first appearances in the Marik's Evil Council Videos, Dartz manages to be even more pathetic. Then, he suddenly becomes an {{Expy}} of [[WesternAnimation/PerfectHairForever Coiffio]] whose [[TheUnintelligible unfortunate accent]] causes both his henchmen and the audience to not be sure of whether his plans are the standard card game shenanigans or [[{{Squick}} something much worse]].
72	* ''[[https://www.fanfiction.net/s/14034033/1/ For Love of Experimental Time Travel]]'': Due to Harry controlling his soul, Voldemort is in truth almost completely harmless. Every time he shows up, he might burn down a building or deal some healable injury to someone, but he never kills or permanently maims anyone. Harry actually notes how hard it is to make him seem like a threat despite this.
73	* In ''Fanfic/TheCalvinverse'' Doctor Frank Brainstorm takes this role. His inventions barely work and the heroes usually defeat him with ease. He also is completely embarrassed by his first name and [[DoNotCallMePaul demands to be called Dr. Brainstorm]], which the heroes never do. He doesn't even really want to be evil, but it was pushed on him by his mother. The one time he actually managed to injure one of the heroes, he was immediately apologetic and actually ''assisted with his recovery''. He often works with the heroes against greater threats, and is honestly much more competent then. Summed up in this exchange:
74	-->''[Brainstorm has just crashed his rocket into the house, leaving a massive hole in the floor. He climbs out of it.]''\
75	'''Andy:''' Oh, it's only you.\
76	'''Dr. Brainstorm:''' ''Only'' me? Come on! I'm more threatening than I look!\
77	'''Sherman:''' Pal, the hole you just came out of is deadlier than you.\
78	'''Dr. Brainstorm:''' Ha! I'll have you know- ''[trips over a discarded plank]''\
79	'''Socrates:''' The piece of wood you just ''tripped over'' is more threatening than you.
80	[[/folder]]
81
82	[[folder:Films -- Animation]]
83	* ''WesternAnimation/MeetTheRobinsons'' has Bowler Hat Guy, who isn't capable of actually committing much harm. [[spoiler:The robotic bowler hat, Doris, is [[TheDogWasTheMastermind manipulating him]] for her own EvilPlan. And it turns out that he has a FreudianExcuse for his hatred of Lewis, the protagonist--he was Lewis' roommate back at the orphanage, and once lost a baseball game which was very important to him because Lewis' invention building kept him up all night.]]
84	* ''WesternAnimation/ToyStory2'' has greedy toy collector Al [=McWhiggen=] [[ObliviouslyEvil who actually poses no real threat to the toys]] (especially Woody, whose care is in his best interest, if just for the money he would nab by selling him).
85	* Both Gru and Vector in ''WesternAnimation/DespicableMe1'' don't really do anything overly dastardly, at least in the animated film's universe (in RealLife, the consequences of stealing the Moon would be much more horrific). Yes, Gru freezes a few people, but the freezing is implied to be harmless. And Vector is content with stealing monuments and just sitting back playing his Wii. In fact, had Vector not stolen the Pyramid at the beginning, that boy would have died. (Though Vector later kidnaps the girls and threatens them to extort Gru so he’s more of a {{Not so harmless villain}} and even some of Gru’s acts in the film such as adoption fraud would be considered serious crimes in {{real life}}.
86	* The title character in ''WesternAnimation/{{Megamind}}'' appears to be this. Despite having 87 life sentences, it is implied that he never really causes physical harm to anyone, seeing as he chooses unoccupied areas for his base of operations (such as an abandoned observatory) and repeatedly abducts reporter Roxanne Ritchie but leaves her unharmed every time and all his threats are pure bluster that both him and Roxanne know will never go beyond that. Even after he 'wins' and takes over the city, he merely causes property damage. He even tells the citizens to proceed as usual. It's even shown that the only reason he had a rivalry with Metro Man in the first place, is because the latter deliberately pretended Megamind was a threat to him by barely trying to oppose him using his powers. To reinforce this point, he's outright horrified at the evil of the film's true villain, Tighten, and when the latter starts his rampage the news state that Metrocity had never seen destruction on the scale of Tighten's before.
87	[[/folder]]
88
89	[[folder:Films -- Live-Action]]
90	* ''Film/TheBigLebowski'' has the Nihilists as one of the villains that The Dude has to face. Despite having a ferret that could bite the Dude's ''manhood'' off and one of them carrying a sword, it's clear they are simply pretentious blowhards. The worse thing that they ever done was commit arson to the Dude's car. It's even shown near the ending that Walter manages to incapacitate one of them, bites the guy holding the sword's ear off and the last one doesn't even bother trying to attack the Dude and just makes weird karate moves while bragging that he's going to 'f*** him in the ass' and Walter takes him down with ease.
91	* ''Film/ChildrensPartyAtThePalace'' has several villains that have harmless and lukewarm plans; just sabotaging the Queen’s party by distracting the corgis, [[TamperingWithFoodAndDrink putting a potion in the cake]] (which doesn’t hurt whoever eats from it; just [[OneDoseFitsAll transforms the children]] [[ForcedTransformation into mice]]), and stealing the Queen’s [[MacGuffin handbag]]. Only exception is the Grand High Witch, who mentioned about [[EatsBabies cooking and boiling children]].
92	* Slimer from ''Film/{{Ghostbusters\|1984}}''. He's little more than a nuisance who ''wants'' to have a good time, which for him means munching as much of the hotel's buffet as he can, but his antics interfere with the human world.
93	* Connor from ''Film/TheNewGuy''. Most of his scenes have him constantly giving insults that don't make sense. When his friends point this out, he always tells them to "shut up". Doesn't help that in one scene, he is knocked unconsious by Dizzy, who looks phsyically weaker then him.
94	* Despite being the BigBad of ''Film/{{Spaceballs}}'', [[PresidentEvil President Skroob]] is incompetent and not dangerous in the least. Even [[TheDragon Dark Helmet]] mocks him behind his back.
95	* The two main Shark Gang characters in ''Film/OurFriendPower5'' do little more than bumble around on Earth and fail to kill the Turtles. Even when the Turtles and Yesular are defenseless and asleep, they just steal Yesular's wand and leave, allowing the heroes to strike back and defeat them.
96	* Fiona from ''Film/ThePrincessSwitch'' {{Sequel}} movies ''The Princess Switch: Switched Again'' is a fake princess (and IdenticalStranger to the movie's protagonist Stacy DeNovo and Lady Margaret Delacourt, Duchess of Montenaro) who relies on IAmVeryBritish and HoneyTrap behaviors in order to commit burglary. By the time of the events of ''The Princess Switch 3: Romancing the Star'' happen, she has done a HeelFaceTurn by the end of the movie. As it were, she was never a CompleteMonster and [[EvenEvilHasStandards she actually had lines she wouldn't cross and considered certain things to be crossing moral lines that were just too dangerous for her]]. In her previous movie, all she really was in terms of a threat was PokeThePoodle levels of villainy (which, given this franchise's universe, says something about it).
97	* In ''Film/ZombieBloodBath'', the zombies seem to be relatively harmless so long as you don't just stand there and let them kill you. In one scene, they had to get pass an army of zombies on a staircase, and they did this by...just gently shoving them aside. The zombies groaned and flailed their arms, but didn't seem to pay much attention to them.
98
99	[[/folder]]
100
101	[[folder:Literature]]
102	* In the ''Literature/{{Discworld}}'' novel ''Literature/TheLastHero'', Evil Harry Dread has such a strong sense of professional ethics that he always chooses his guards for stupidity and designs his dungeons for easy escape. Of course, following the same professional ethics, he betrays Cohen and the Silver Horde at the first opportunity, but they're not too fussed about it. [[CardCarryingVillain It's just what he does.]]
103	* In ''Literature/TheDresdenFiles'' short story ''Day Off'', Harry is confronted by "Darth Wannabee" and his gang of amateur dark wizards. He's angry because Harry removed a curse he'd laid on a woman who'd annoyed him. Normally, this would be black magic, an incredibly serious matter and something the White Council punishes with death; their treatment of warlocks is one of the things Harry agrees with the council on, even if he thinks that they are doing ridiculously little to stop people from becoming them. But the "curse" was so weak Harry thought it had been a result of ''bad feng shui''. They run away after, on telling Harry to defend himself, he pulls out his gun. Later, they chucked a smoke bomb through his window, which at least shows they had the sense not to confront him again.
104	* "The Holiness of Azéderac", by Creator/ClarkAshtonSmith: The title character might be a demon-worshiping sorcerer, but he mostly just uses his dark arts to charm his way into [[BetterLivingThroughEvil a cozy life as a bishop]] and summon the occasional otherworldly horror in the basement. Even when a monk tries to expose him, Azéderac gets him TrappedInThePast rather than kill him.
105	* The ''Literature/RainbowMagic'' series has the goblins, who are clumsy, dumb, and very easily tricked. Jack Frost himself also qualifies most of the time.
106	* Played with in Literature/TheSupervillainySaga by Creator/CTPhipps. Gary Karkofsky a.k.a Merciless: The Supervillain without [=MercyTM=] is considered this by both superheroes and supervillains. This is averted just about every time Gary elects to use his powers and they are shown to be highly lethal as well flexible under his imaginative usage. It gets to the point that people assume he's using ObfuscatingStupidity by the sixth book.
107	[[/folder]]
108
109	[[folder:Music]]
110	* The Music/WeirdAlYankovic song ''Young, Dumb and Ugly'' is about a group of low-end delinquents boasting about their trivial acts of hooliganism (Not returning shopping carts, not returning library books on time, toilet papering someone's lawn, etc).
111	[[/folder]]
112
113	[[folder:Professional Wrestling]]
114	* Wrestling/{{CHIKARA}}'s Los Ice Creams, who are long-time [[{{Heel}} [=Rudos=]]], but of the deliberately silly variety. Whereas in straight-faced [[GarbageWrestler hardcore]] promotions, wrestlers might use thumbtacks as weapons, Ice Cream Jr. and El Hijo del Ice Cream will use [[ImprobableWeaponUser sprinkles]], though they [[HoistByHisOwnPetard/ProfessionalWrestling too have felt the pain at times.]]
115	[[/folder]]
116
117	[[folder:Radio]]
118	* [[{{Satan}} The devil]] in ''Sataan: Die Serie''. He tries to start the apocalypse, but the humans just won't let him.
119	* Count Jim Moriarty of ''Radio/TheGoonShow'' is a subversion. He gradually devolved into a more and more pathetic villain, but what kept him from becoming a harmless one was a) that he was usually partnered with the slightly more competent Hercules Grytpype-Thynne and, most importantly b) he acted as antagonist to the likes of [[TooDumbToLive Ned Seagoon, Eccles and Bluebottle]].
120	[[/folder]]
121
122	[[folder:Tabletop Games]]
123	* ''TabletopGame/{{Scion}}'' has a nonhumorous example in Ouranos, one of the avatars of the Titan of Wind. As described in Greek myth, he was castrated by his son Cronos... and in the process lost absolutely ''all'' of his ambition and passion. These days he sits around in his palace of clouds, drinking and sleeping, because he ''just doesn't care''. This makes him a perfect hostage for determined Scions, because he won't even lift a finger in his own defense - if you can get past the guards the other avatars have put around him, he won't stop you from carrying him away.
124	* ''[[TabletopGame/HeroSystem Golden Age Champions]]'' (the 4th edition version) had The Doberman, a goofy dog-themed villain. He was originally an incompetent tomb robber, trapped in an Egyptian tomb, who just happened to fire off a prayer to Anubis before suffocating. Anubis decided to set him up as one of these to give heroes someone to practice their skills on. (Don't feel too sorry for The Doberman, though -- he gets to live forever thanks to Anubis sending him back every time one of his plans ends in NoOneCouldSurviveThat.)
125	[[/folder]]
126
127	[[folder:Theatre]]
128	* Creator/GilbertAndSullivan enjoyed this:
129	** Theatre/ThePiratesOfPenzance won't attack forces weaker than they are, and make a point of never harming orphans.
130	** Ko-Ko, the Lord High Executioner in ''Theatre/TheMikado'', has never killed anyone, although he's thinking of starting on small animals soon in order to acclimate himself to the unpleasant nature of his duties.
131	** When the ''Theatre/{{Ruddigore}}'' protagonist is suddenly hit with a {{curse}} obliging him to commit one serious crime every day or die in agony, the best he can do in the first week is to shoot a fox. When he is tasked to commit the genuinely evil act of carrying off a maiden, the [[OldMaid aging maiden]] fends him off with little trouble.
132	[[/folder]]
133
134	[[folder:Web Animation]]
135	* ''WebAnimation/BurntFaceMan'' series has got Taps Man, who erodes metal over a period of time, Have A Nice Day Man, who wishes everyone a great day, and Detergent Man, who washes clothes deliberately on the wrong settings. There are many others.
136	* Bruce (the Thumper) from ''WebAnimation/PimpLando'' is mostly this, though he does become legitimately threatening at the end of the sixth episode, "Pimp 2K."
137	* Victor Vivisector from Website/CollegeHumor's "Furry Force" videos. He's a near-demonic looking supervillain with a skull-like face, laser guns, and an army of robots equipped with chainsaws. What is his evil, diabolical plan? To cut down all of America's national forests and replace them with parking lots. He's foiled twice by a bunch of kids from the Furry Force, and is so grossed out that [[http://dogpatchpress.files.wordpress.com/2014/04/victor.gif he gives up the first time]], and bashes himself to death the second.
138	** Come the [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zEmh5a_wSyw third episode]], he creates the counterparts to the Furry Force, [[ThePsychoRangers The Scaly Squad]]. Problem is, the squad also grossed him out, hoping the two would mutually destroy each other. One visit from the Terminator-esque future version of Leo later (complete with seeing his future), he burns down his lair, with himself inside. His final words? [[FaceDeathWithDignity "I welcome death."]]
139	* ''WebAnimation/DSBTInsaniT'': The only thing Boo can do is turn people invisible. As Dave points out, that is hardly a threat.
140	* ''WebAnimation/TheMostEpicStoryEverToldInAllOfHumanHistory'': Ridiculously Epic Fail combines [[BigBad Ridiculously Epic's]] intent with [[BumblingSidekick Epic Fail's]] competence, making him a character who completely fails at his attempts to do evil.
141	%% The Slobby Kids from Hobby Kids TV.
142	* The evil AI Omega from ''WebAnimation/RedVsBlue'' can qualify for this, depending on who he's possessing at the time. In the body of Tex or any other sufficiently trained soldier, he's a genuinely terrifying threat. In the bodies of the Blood Gulch crew, and most especially Doc, he's little more than a nuisance.
143	* ''WebAnimation/DrBees'' has the Comforter, the perfect possible foe for Dr. Bees. His evil strategy? He invented a machine called the Comfortizer that makes you... feel really comfortable. He uses this machine to waltz into a bank, zap the security guards, and while they're enjoying a soothing nap... he leaves the bank to find more people to comfort. Even the police remark that he hasn't actually committed any crimes, but still treat him like a true supervillain and send Dr. Bees to capture him. Keep in mind, Dr. Bees [[BeeBeeGun released a swarm of bees]] in the bank immediately before meeting with the police.
144	* In ''WebAnimation/CheatCommandos'', Blue Laser's first appearance had them declaring intent to "blow up the ocean", but after that, their plans take a dive, being entirely dedicated to screwing with the Cheat Commandos. The Commandos actually let Blue Laser's commander come over for video games.
145	* ''WebAnimation/EpithetErased'': Nobody has all that much to fear from Giovanni Potage and his minions. Most of their crimes are basically just general teenage acting-out that tops out at pranks and graffiti, with the museum heist being mostly a success at all because of the involvement of other people, and Giovanni himself is so bad at being evil that ''he'' is ''Molly's'' MoralityPet rather than the other way around. In ''Literature/EpithetErasedPrisonOfPlastic'', he explains that his idea of being "a villain" means looking cool, being memorable, [[VillainSong getting the best song]], and ultimately losing, because that way everyone has a good time. [[spoiler:At the end of ''Prison of Plastic'', he ''does'' commit a pretty serious crime, namely kidnapping...but while technically illegal, [[TheKindnapper getting Molly away from the abusive conditions she's been living under]] is hard to view as anything other than a humanitarian act.]]
146	[[/folder]]
147
148	[[folder:Webcomics]]
149	* Bank and Vault of ''Webcomic/WakeOfTheClash'' are two mismatched cartoon villains with a gang of faceless bank robbers. Both are loud and ineffective at their jobs, celebrating their minor victories to comedic effect, before being swiftly dealt with by a few passing heroes. The Hourglass may also fall under this trope, as he is practically harmless, though he is much more adept at making a sneaky getaway, and appears to keep far more threatening company.
150	* The page quote comes from ''Webcomic/TheNonAdventuresOfWonderella''. The rather juvenile Jokerella threatens to spray Wonderella with a squirtgun full of acid... citric acid ([[ExpospeakGag orange juice]]).
151	[[/folder]]
152
153	[[folder:Web Original]]
154	* The Goths at SuperheroSchool Whateley Academy in the ''Literature/WhateleyUniverse''. Despite serious attempts at summoning monsters and other evil acts, what they mainly manage to do is get their leader dumped into a FateWorseThanDeath and re-uniting Carmilla with her father (who ''is'' a monster). They also attack Phase... and get a CurbStompBattle because they have no idea what they're facing.
155	* ''Website/SCPFoundation'':
156	** Among the various horrors the Foundation houses is [[http://www.scp-wiki.net/scp-1370/ SCP-1370]], an artificial lifeform [[OmnicidalManiac hostile to everything else]]. Luckily for everything else, 1370 is poorly designed to the point of losing a fight with a potted plant. Not even a paranormal potted plant, just a regular philodendron.
157	** [[http://www.scp-wiki.net/scp-2006 SCP-2006]] is a potentially omnipotent shapeshifter, whose goal is to scare people for fun. Fortunately, the Foundation has it convinced that the most terrifying thing in the world are [[NightmareRetardant men in rubber suits from old '50s horror films]] (its favorite form is Ro-Man of ''Film/RobotMonster'' fame). Because of that, it's almost completely harmless, and its scaring strategies consist of jumping out and saying "Boo!" Of course, if it were to ever realize how ineffective this is, it could quickly ascend to a NotSoHarmlessVillain.
158	* The palace eunuchs in ''Fanfic/FarceOfTheThreeKingdoms.'' They do manage to off He Jin, but only because he was TooDumbToLive.
159	[[/folder]]
160
161	[[folder:Web Videos]]
162	* Lee Phillips of ''WebVideo/KateModern'' attempts to take revenge on Gavin and Tariq by...forcing them to play a treasure hunt game to retrieve their stolen software. He still manages to be a serious threat because there are other, decidedly less harmless villains who are also after the software.
163	* The leader of the Gangster Squad in ''WebVideo/TheSwagLifeOfJustinYargenschmargol'' doesn't have much of an agenda other than just making sure he's the swagiest dude around.
164	* Dr. Poque from ''WebVideo/Mega64'' is arguably this, while he did kidnap and lock Rocko, Derek, and Sean in his basement, he's to much of a ButtMonkey to be a real threat. Episode six of Version 2 amps this up to {{Woobie}} status.
165	* Dr. Horrible is pretty much harmless for the first two acts of ''WebVideo/DrHorriblesSingAlongBlog''. Then, SmugSuper Captain Hammer steals his would-be girlfriend and taunts him mercilessly about it. This drives Dr. Horrible to [[NotSoHarmlessVillain get dangerous]], with tragic results.
166	* Although having a villainous outer appearance, Music/DoctorSteel's goals are really very positive and even kid-friendly. He just wants to make the world a better place (for himself).
167	* ''WebVideo/AtopTheFourthWall'':
168	** Dr. Linksano starts out as this, especially since he was first used for a Breather Arc between the Mechakara and Lord Vyce storylines. He does show more competence later though, but mainly after his HeelFaceTurn to became a double agent for Linkara.
169	** In a parody of the badly written villains of the comic, his Fourth Year Anniversary had Phelous (wearing a suit and mask) randomly come out of nowhere as his "mysterious" new enemy "Mysterior", who kept rambling about how he was mysterious and how Linkara had to solve the "Mystery". Both he, and a later replacement (exactly the same only with a different coloured mask and a slightly different name) were immediately shrugged off by Linkara.
170	[[/folder]]

Context Main / HarmlessVillain