Line #15 Main/IneffectualSympatheticVillain


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5	[[quoteright:350:[[ComicBook/{{Batman}} https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/81bab893_9428_49aa_82b8_0fd80ceba91b.png]]]]
6	[[caption-width-right:350:Is there anything sadder than a ''ComicBook/{{Batman}}'' villain with PuppyDogEyes?]]
7
8	->''"I don't know whether we should pound him or buy him an ice cream cone."''
9	-->-- '''Michelangelo''' on Baxter Stockman, ''WesternAnimation/TeenageMutantNinjaTurtles2012''
10
11	A potential villain who is consistently a failure or never gets the respect that they think they deserve, and may even be angry that the heroes don't take them seriously.
12
13	They may not necessarily be [[StupidCrooks entirely inept]] or have a [[PokeThePoodle laughably mild idea of what counts as villainy]]. VillainDecay is usually too simple an explanation. This is sometimes a relative situation, and the hero's RoguesGallery just happens to include people more showy, better financed, or just plain scarier than him. These guys are why people are found RootingForTheEmpire. A defining feature of such a villain is their [[SuperGullible gullibility]]: they are more often than not pitted against a [[TheTrickster Trickster]] who easily bamboozles them and leads them on their defeat, while it is obvious to the viewers that they should know better than listening to and believe their intended victim. A considerable number of them also tend to be [[TheKlutz Klutzes]] who are [[HoistByHisOwnPetard likely to fall in their own traps]] [[PlethoraOfMistakes thanks to poor judgement]], [[SmugSnake underestimating their foes to a ludicrous extent]] and/or [[DidntThinkThisThrough failure to think ahead]] or [[FailedASpotCheck pay any attention to their surroundings]]. And it is a usual way to showcase their stupidity by making them screw up their own plans and [[TooDumbToLive even die or get injured due to such mistakes]] in more realistic and grittier works.
14
15	This does not mean that they don't bear animosity; that's a PunchClockVillain. They're probably jumping at the opportunity to outdo their rivals and the hero. But there is something about his perseverance or attitude about the whole thing that is [[JerkassWoobie just short of sympathetic]].
16
17	May also be a {{Determinator}} out of necessity or overlap with DracoInLeatherPants. If they get even ''more'' pathetic in regard to the hero, {{Unknown Rival}}ry looms. Just watch out, they may suddenly turn out to be a NotSoHarmlessVillain and succeed or come dangerously to succeeding with their goals in which case they will probably lose the sympathetic part and likely cross the MoralEventHorizon. After all, their appeal lies in how hopeless their attempts are.
18
19	VideoGame versions of this trope frequently overlap with the GoldfishPoopGang if they are just as pathetic in actual battle as they're treated by the story. They may maintain threat status if ConservationOfCompetence allows them to keep competent supporters.
20
21	The EvilCounterpart to FailureHero. Arguably a SubTrope of BoisterousWeakling. SuperTrope to TheFamilyForTheWholeFamily, which specifically requires the villain to be incompetent and their likely threat level sans said incompetence to be that of a KnightOfCerebus. A character who acts like a villain while genuinely not wanting to do anything truly evil (or simply not having the capacity to do so even IF they wanted to) is a HarmlessVillain.
22
23	On the SlidingScaleOfCharacterAppreciation, these guys fall under "villains we sympathize with".
24
25	Contrast CompleteMonster, where we instead have an utterly nasty, dangerous, and unsympathetic villain. Also contrast HateSink, who is made to be as detestable as possible and someone you want to see defeated.
26
27	Not to be confused with SympatheticVillainDespicableVillain, where the sympathy lies in the villain being capable of redemption.
28
29	[[noreallife]]
30	-----
31	!!Example subpages:
32
33	[[index]]
34	* IneffectualSympatheticVillain/AnimeAndManga
35	* IneffectualSympatheticVillain/ComicBooks
36	** IneffectualSympatheticVillain/{{The DCU}}
37	** IneffectualSympatheticVillain/{{Marvel Universe}}
38	* [[IneffectualSympatheticVillain/LiveActionFilms Films — Live-Action]]
39	* IneffectualSympatheticVillain/{{Literature}}
40	* IneffectualSympatheticVillain/LiveActionTV
41	* IneffectualSympatheticVillain/VideoGames
42	* IneffectualSympatheticVillain/{{Webcomics}}
43	* IneffectualSympatheticVillain/WesternAnimation
44	[[/index]]
45
46	!!Other examples:
47
48	[[foldercontrol]]
49
50	[[folder:Asian Animation]]
51	* In ''Animation/BoonieBears'', Logger Vick is more of an AntiHero than an actual villain, but his job as a logger is frequently ruined by the bear brothers who want to keep their forest safe. In addition, his boss Li constantly yells at him to keep chopping down trees, threatening to lower his wages if he doesn't. It's understandable that one would feel sorry for him.
52	* ''Animation/SquirrelAndHedgehog'':
53	** The South Korean mice in this propaganda-tastic [[UsefulNotes/NorthKorea North Korean]] series. The pair, consisting of domineering {{Jerkass}} [[FourEyesZeroSoul Mulmangcho]] and his meeker, one-eared companion Yelipalip, migrate from faction to faction amongst the villains and are consistently mistreated and abused. All of their efforts to prove their worth, do something evil and make it higher up in the ranks of whichever group they're currently attached to inevitably fail, miserably and pitifully, usually thanks to the heroes. More than once, the two are actually arrested and imprisoned by their own bosses and almost executed because they got the blame for what the [[DressingAsTheEnemy undercover good guys]], Geumsagi and Juldarami, did. So far, they have always managed to somehow get out of such situations alive. Although they ''clearly'' want to be evil and respected (Mulmangcho more so than Yelipalip), they fail so often and so pitifully it's difficult not to feel bad for them.
54	** It should also be noted that this was originally an evil ''trio'' of Ineffectual Sympathetic Villains, but the third guy, Mulsajo, whose distinguishing characteristic was that he wore a pink shirt, was even more ineffectual than his comrades and was blown up with a grenade midway through one of the earlier story arcs, leaving just his two buddies to carry the mantle of constantly failing.
55	[[/folder]]
56
57	[[folder:Fan Works]]
58	* Most of the [[DesignatedVillain so-called "villains"]] of ''Fanfic/ThePrayerWarriors'' count, but [[Literature/PercyJacksonAndTheOlympians Grover]] stands out in "The Evil Gods Part 1". He typically can't do more than threaten or taunt the "[[DesignatedHero heroes]]", and while it's implied that he played a role in Chiron's off-screen death after converting and returning to Camp Half-Blood to convert the others, in the resulting fight with Percy, he gets defeated and beheaded fairly quickly.
59	* The Metarex of ''Fanfic/SonicXDarkChaos'' become this trope thanks to flanderization and VillainDecay. This is notably averted with Eggman, who has taken [[TookALevelInBadass several levels in badass]].
60	* In ''Fanfic/NeitherABirdNorAPlaneItsDeku'', Kite Man is constantly name-dropped as a complete joke by Heroes and Villains alike. In Chapter 5, [[spoiler:the Ultra-Humanite]] sarcastically asks Izuku if he thought he was Kite Man. Later on, Shouto Todoroki initially believes that [[CowardlyLion Izuku]], who was busy [[NervousWreck sweating and quivering on-stage]], wouldn't last five seconds against Kite Man.
61	* The Mane Six from ''Fanfic/TheDarkSideOfTheMirrorverse'' are a bunch of nuisances who are also extremely messed up from their various psychological hang-ups. To list, they consist of:
62	** Applejack, an inept CardCarryingVillain whose worst crimes include stealing an apple from a store her family owned and accidentally causing the collapse of a condemned building, and who manages to bungle kicking a pebble. Her "crimes" are just a sad and pathetic cry for attention, and various characters lampshade that she barely qualifies as a villain at all.
63	** Rarity is a {{Cloudcuckoolander}} who is the only legitimate criminal among them, mainly because she keeps vandalizing things in an attempt to make them "better" thanks to her parents drilling countless arbitrary and inconsistent rules into her head as she grew up to the point it drove her crazy.
64	** Pinkie is a pushy {{Jerkass}} MoralGuardian who tries to convince people not to have fun with countless pamphlets and rants, and occasionally replaces foods with healthier substitutes.
65	** Twilight is an AttentionWhore with countless paranoia issues, and while she probably has the worst reputation out of all of them, it's because she's an AbsentMindedProfessor who is very careless and easily distractable, resulting in her inventions causing massive destruction, and her brother having turned traitor, resulting in her being shunned for his crimes. [[spoiler:She manages to upgrade herself into a WoobieDestroyerOfWorlds when an invention gone wrong turns her into [[SuperpoweredEvilSide Nightmare Spotlight.]]]]
66	** Fluttershy is a [[BrutalHonesty Brutally Honest]] {{Jerkass}} whose worst crimes are being [[LazyBum lazy]] and having a case of BystanderSyndrome.
67	** Rainbow is a self-hating wreck so traumatized by her abuse at Spitfire's hands that she believes she deserves whatever punishment she receives and occasionally hallucinates people berating her because she is just that utterly convinced she deserves it. She can barely even be considered a villain at all, being a good person who is usually friendly and polite with others.
68	* ''Fanfic/HuntersOfJustice'': While conducting an investigation in Gotham, Ren, Nora, Red Robin, and Spoiler "foil" a robbery by Micheal Mayo (aka. The Condiment King). During which, Micheal breaks down sobbing about how he lost his job, his wife left him after having an affair, and she took the kids with her. The whole scene is so pathetic that even the bystanders feel sorry for him. The cops don't even bother arresting him; instead, they just send him home.
69	* ''[[https://archiveofourown.org/works/33584764/chapters/83453668 C-Listers]]'' subverts this trope. The protagonists are all C-list supervillains who are generally portrayed as awkward, socially inept dorks and TrueCompanions, [[NotSoHarmlessVillain but it's frequently shown that they're all far from ineffectual]]. Even the ones who most fit the archetype, [[LovableCoward Killer Moth]] and [[ShrinkingViolet Polka-Dot Man]], are unrepentant criminals who are willing to kill at the end of the day.
70	* ''FanFic/TheUltimateHope'' turns [[HopeCrusher Junko Enoshima of all people]] into one, as Lady Luck seems ''dead set'' on spiting her by making literally everything she does for the sake of despair instead inspire hope. The result is Junko spending the entire fic sobbing in her rooms while watching all her classmates become great friends, have lots of fun together, and credit her for all of it. [[spoiler: In the end, she wins the Nobel Peace Prize for accidentally ushering in a golden age of peace and prosperity. She's so broken that she's StoppedCaring and is okay with it since she gets a trophy.]]
71	* ''Fanfic/TheBoysRealJustice'': The story inverts this trope. Usually, the villains of [=DC=] fail against the heroes they are fighting. When facing the [=DC=] villains, the Seven [[FailureHero are depicted as incompetent losers who are way in over their heads]].
72
73	[[/folder]]
74
75	[[folder:Films — Animation]]
76	* [[ComicBook/TheJoker Joker]] from ''WesternAnimation/TheLEGOBatmanMovie'', like many of his other incarnations, commits many of his crimes (like blowing up Gotham and sending the debris into [[CallBack the Abyss of Nothingness]]) just to get Batman's attention and impress him. Here though, none of Joker's plans have ever worked to the point of Gotham's citizens not really taking him seriously anymore. Batman even tells him that he has ''no'' investment in their antagonistic relationship, claiming that he has more emotional investment against Bane and ''Superman'' than he does Joker.
77	* Kaa, from Disney's ''WesternAnimation/{{The Jungle Book\|1967}}''. Unlike in [[Literature/TheJungleBook the book]], where he's a benevolent badass OldMaster.
78
79	* While he started off as a badass, by the end of ''WesternAnimation/KungFuPanda1'', [[BigBad Tai Lung]] had become this due to a combination of FreudianExcuse, SympathyForTheDevil, revealing his StartOfDarkness and WellDoneSonGuy status, and an EtTuBrute from his past. This may have something to do with the HumiliationConga and KickThemWhileTheyAreDown which some viewers see in the final battle--it certainly can't be denied that what had once been a chillingly effective villain seemed rather pathetic and easily defeated, Po's [[BeYourself understanding of the Dragon Scroll]] notwithstanding. After his ArrogantKungFuGuy resume is firmly established and he has shamelessly brutalized the entire rest of the cast, others see this as simple karmic retribution. Pride goeth before the fall, after all, and a HumiliationConga was really no less than Tai Lung deserved at that point.
80	* "Bowler Hat Guy" in ''WesternAnimation/MeetTheRobinsons''. He becomes dramatically more sympathetic as the movie progresses, [[spoiler:and by the end of it he isn't even the villain]].
81	* ''WesternAnimation/{{Megamind}}''. You start to root for him since, despite his ''numerous'' failures against InvincibleHero Metro Man, he never gives up. He always bounces back from his latest plot being foiled, ready to go at it again.
82	* ''WesternAnimation/PeterPan'':
83	** Captain Hook. Unlike other Disney villains, he has an understandable reason to want to destroy his nemesis (who seems to continually make his life miserable for no reason). He's constantly humiliated throughout the movie, seems disrespected by everyone in Never Land (besides Mr. Smee), and isn't feared in the slightest despite being clearly murderous. And there's the fact that the narrative oddly takes a sadistic liking making him the butt of many comical injuries.
84	** The captain's ineffectiveness continues in the sequel, ''WesternAnimation/ReturnToNeverLand''. They tried to make him more cunning and unappealing (his crew, this time, seems to respect him, even), but yet, somehow winds up as ''more'' of a bumbling, unsuccessful fool than the original. His own ship even gets destroyed.
85	** How about Mr. Smee, a rotund nincompoop First-Mate of Hook with a jovial voice, but eager to abet the most heinous deeds on the excuse of JustFollowingOrders.
86	** Really though, you could count Captain Hook and his crew as a whole. They're not exactly angels, yes, but they do have their reasons, and constantly get the short end of the stick, only getting close to victory ''somewhat'' and having it brutally taken away. Seems as though FailureIsTheOnlyOption.
87	* Edgar, the villain of ''WesternAnimation/TheAristocats'', is even less threatening as a villain than Hook is. Not only is he constantly humiliated throughout the film when trying to get rid of the cats, but he is ultimately dealt with easily.
88	* ''WesternAnimation/SpiderManAcrossTheSpiderVerse:'' The Spot is traditionally one of Spider-Man's C-List villains across media, often being a very minor and inconsequential nuisance at best, which holds true here as well... [[{{Deconstruction}} at first]]. [[spoiler:However, since nobody takes him seriously, he is able to fly below everyone's radar and discover and hone the true, devastating potential of his powers and becomes a trans-dimensional being that threatens the entire multiverse.]] This also serves as his BerserkButton as well because [[spoiler: Miles inadvertently ruined his life due to his actions in the first movie as he was one of the unlucky scientists to be caught in the aftermath, and being treated as nothing but a joke despite it drives him over the deep end to exact revenge on Miles and he eventually develops the aforementioned ability to do just that.]]
89	--> '''The Spot:''' [[spoiler: You'll finally have a villain worth fighting for, and I WON'T JUST BE A JOKE TO YOU!!!]]
90	[[/folder]]
91
92	[[folder:Roleplay]]
93	* In ''Roleplay/TheGamersAlliance'', Fred Nacht (aka Nightstalker Fred) tries to do his job of being a menacing villain but always ends up bumping into [[ThePaladin Nesa]] who foils his plans and humiliates him (often without Fred even realizing who his mysterious tormenter is).
94	* ''Roleplay/SurvivalOfTheFittest'':
95	** Kami Steele from SpinOff ''The Program'' is one. Her first appearance had her pointing a gun GangstaStyle at a girl with the intent to kill her but ran away after being ''yelled at'' by said girl, who had started to poke holes in her plans. She has since started a body count but still has her moments of incompetence. At one point, she attempts to give herself a CharacterNameAlias... in front of people who already know she's Kami.
96	** One could also make a case for Version 4's Jimmy Brennan, up until he [[spoiler:beat Philip Ward to death with a branch]]. Prior to that, though, he definitely qualified due to his [[SmallNameBigEgo attitude]]. One early thread has him brag about all the ass he's already kicked, despite having panicked and [[BringMyBrownPants wet himself]] the thread immediately before.
97	[[/folder]]
98
99	[[folder:Pro Wrestling]]
100	* Wrestling/{{Virgil}}, the Million Dollar Man a.k.a. Wrestling/TedDibiase's dragon was presented this way during his Wrestling/{{WWE}} wrestling career. For years Ted Dibiase treated Virgil like a servant, yet Virgil would do whatever Heel action he was told. That is until a storyline was created where Virgil [[{{MistreatmentInducedBetrayal}} turned against]] Ted Dibiase and [[HeelFaceTurn became a Face]].
101	* Ariana was this in LLF during 2004, where she was so ineffectual that even when they were on the verge of winning a match she screwed so much up that her TagTeam partner Princesa Sugey snapped and assaulted her, then Polly Star, who was recovering from a prior match, decided to join in. Ariana was so sympathetic that rather than try to win the match one of her {{tecnic\|o}}a opponents tried to protect her and adding to the whole thing was the referee ruling the disqualification in favor of the tecnicas, so they won anyway.
102	* Particularly worth mentioning is [[Wrestling/MikeBucci Simon Dean]], the heel version of fitness freak Richard Simmons in WWE in [[TurnOfTheMillennium the mid-2000s]]. He ''never'' won a match against a non-jobber. (Of course, Dean wasn't really evil so much as he was very, ''very'' annoying, which is enough to make you a heel in WWE.)
103	* Wrestling/AJStyles during the [[Wrestling/KurtAngle Angle Alliance]] Wrestling/{{Christian C\|age}}oalition feud in [[Wrestling/ImpactWrestling TNA]], him essentially serving as the fall guy of both groups.
104	* Wrestling/MontelVontaviousPorter on Smackdown after he lost the United States Championship and continued to lose every match he had afterwards, to the point Theodore Long refused to pay him the bonuses that were in his contract and took away MVP's NFL-style inflatable tunnel entrance. Fans began to cheer for him out of sympathy.
105	* Hydra in Wrestling/{{Chikara}}, mostly due to the fact he was only 130 lbs, making it really easy to sympathize with him against almost everyone he was matched up with.
106	* Wrestling/{{Layla}} El during the Wrestling/{{Laycool}} period. While they were both rotten people, Layla was also [[LaughablyEvil goofy]], small, and tended to take the losing pin or submission hold when the team lost. And Layla also seemed to genuinely care about Michelle [=McCool=], who was growing increasingly tired of her.
107	* Jakob Hammermeier, to give Chikara another entry on this page, in that he has an abusive BadBoss in Tim Donst. When Donst is not around, however, this trope is not in play either.
108	* Despite spending at least half of her career as part of the hostile occupying PowerStable Oedo tai and being as willing to commit fouls as most other members, Kris Wolf serves as such in World Wonder Ring STARDOM simply because she's so happy and energetic that she doesn't come off as being very malicious and she remains in good spirits facing many setbacks. Being pretty tiny helps too. Even the other goofy members such as Kyoko Kimura, for one contrast, tend to have worrying tempers, sadistic streaks, devious plots, and ''success'' in their endeavors, which means they don't get showered in as many cheers or streamers.
109	* Dangerous Curves Ahead are a heel TagTeam [[HateSink mostly because]] of Kaci Lennox. Derby Doll Layne Rosario ''thinks'' of herself as a big domineering brute, but she's not, and she's proved she's not for so long that fans tend to cheer out of nostalgia or sympathy and boo when Lennox screeches at her for screwing up.
110	[[/folder]]
111
112	[[folder:Podcasts]]
113	* Siri and Cano, a pair of Team Astro grunts from ''Podcast/PokemonAdventuresInTheMillennium''. They take time to do an entire Team Rocket-style speech when they first appear, their Pokemon don't respect them enough to listen to their orders, and they're so bad at sneaking around that the player characters immediately take pity on them.
114	[[/folder]]
115
116	[[folder:Puppet Shows]]
117	* Voldemort in ''WebVideo/PotterPuppetPals''. Taken to ridiculous extremes when Harry has Hagrid beating up every character that bothers him. Voldemort tries to kill Harry, and Harry just leaves without even bothering to have him knocked out.
118	-->'''Voldemort:''' Ah! Harry! I've been WAITING for you! Avada Keda--\
119	'''Harry:''' No time to chat, Voldemort! Gotta go! ''[runs off]''\
120	'''Voldemort:''' ''[audibly choking up]'' But... but, ah... oh, every time I try to kill Harry- ''[sob]''
121	[[/folder]]
122
123	[[folder:Theatre]]
124	* Dr. Einstein of ''Theatre/ArsenicAndOldLace''. At the very least, he's helped [[AxCrazy Jonathan]] escape from jail and evade the police. He probably has something to do with the latter's ability to be a contender in the play's BodyCountCompetition as well. However, he's clearly motivated by fear and spends a lot of time drunk. This may be the reason for [[spoiler: his [[KarmaHoudini escape at the end]]]].
125	* In ''Theatre/{{Ruddigore}}'', when the protagonist Robin becomes Sir Ruthven Murgatroyd, he finds that he can't commit evil deeds if his life depended on it, which is exactly the predicament he's in.
126	[[/folder]]
127
128	[[folder:Web Animation]]
129	* ''WebAnimation/BurntFaceMan's'' entire Rogues Gallery, whose nefarious schemes include harassing him over MSN and stealing his submarine (he doesn't have one, the plot was randomised). Taps Man splashes his opponents with water. "Hot, and cold. Hot, and cold, and a combination of them, which I call 'HOLD'." Despite that, Taps Man [[spoiler:managed to kill Burnt Face Man's rival, Slightly Bruised Man, with a spray of scalding water, followed by tepid water with lead piping and a faulty boiler.]]
130	* In ''WebAnimation/GravityFallsDeepWoods'', Jeff (leader of the gnomes) becomes one after losing the gnomes' support. While he never was the biggest threat in ''WesternAnimation/GravityFalls'', he still was of the NotSoHarmlessVillain kind. Here, he becomes so ineffectual [[spoiler:that Pacifica is able to defeat him and his four buddies all by herself]]. The heroes actually spend the second part of ''Quest for the Northwest'' [[spoiler:helping him regain his lost leadership out of pity]].
131	* ''WebAnimation/HomestarRunner'': Strong Bad, most of the time. On the rare occasion the mischief he gets up to is more serious than [[PokeThePoodle Poodle Poking]], he's likely to fail pretty miserably at it. It's just as well, though, as the local approach to law enforcement is [[http://www.homestarrunner.com/jailcartoon.html just as pathetic]].
132	* ''WebAnimation/MinecraftEndventures'': Endreai, the incompetent general of the Endermaster's army. He and his group are beaten up by the heroes constantly. He also has trouble teleporting only some parts of his body.
133	* While O'Malley from ''WebAnimation/RedVsBlue'' occasionally has moments of true villainy, far more often, he is completely, thoroughly, and utterly ineffectual throughout the ''[[WebAnimation/RedVsBlueTheBloodGulchChronicles Blood Gulch Chronicles]]''. How much of this is him and how much is actually due to him being in the head of [[spoiler:Doc, the pacifist medic]] is up for debate, but the fact still remains that his evilness generally consists of wacky plots to destroy the universe and illegally downloading music, and his robot army fails miserably because...well, let's just say that when he requested a robot army to take over a base in a day, he didn't expect that it would literally have to take exactly 24 hours for the robots to do it!
134	* ''WebAnimation/{{RWBY}}'': Junior, the mobster nightclub owner. In his first encounter with [[ActionGirl Yang]] before the events of Volume 1, she crushes his balls, and then [[CurbStompBattle trashes him, his goons, and his club]]. In Volume 2, he's remarkably civil to her and helps answer her questions about Roman. He's not a good guy by any means, but he's a bit too pathetic to be called a real villain.
135	* ''WebAnimation/RWBYChibi'': Roman Torchwick. While in canon he's a dangerous ([[LaughablyEvil but funny]]) opponent, in ''Chibi'' 99% of his schemes [[EpicFail backfire violently]]. It gets so bad he couldn't even enjoy taking a bite of fro-yo before losing it. [[DramaticIrony He didn't stay for his]] ThrowTheDogABone, where that accident defeated Ruby Rose.
136	-->'''Roman:''' Just once I wish things go my way...
137	* ''WebAnimation/TheMostEpicStoryEverToldInAllOfHumanHistory'': Ridiculously Epic Fail, who crosses the EpicFail qualities of the heroic SideKick [[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin Epic Fail]] with the evil intentions of the BigBad Ridiculously Epic. This leads to a villain who is horrible at [[PokeThePoodle his attempts to be evil]].
138	[[/folder]]
139
140	[[folder:Web Original]]
141	* Website/SCPFoundation:
142	** [[http://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/scp-1370 SCP-1370]]. An OmnicidalManiac in personality, in ''ability'' it's completely harmless. To give an example of how harmless it is, it once tried to fight a potted plant and ''lost''. Even its attempts to give itself intimidating names are utter failures since it chooses names like "Prime Minister Sinister", "[=ShivaTron=], Despoiler of all Mirth", and "[[DoomyDoomsOfDoom Doom]]-Master Thirteen-Seventy, [[DepartmentOfRedundancyDepartment Master of all Doom]]". Researchers managed to convince it to give itself titles such as [[AtrociousAlias "Patheticon the Garglemost" or "Pesterbot"]], seemingly unaware of the given nature of these names.
143	** There's also [[http://www.scp-wiki.net/scp-705 SCP-705]], a small mound of Play-Doh that autonomously creates tiny armies of soldiers with a very hostile and territorial mindset. Despite this, it's still ''only'' Play-Doh and as such is incapable of harming anything and is only considered a minor nuisance by the Foundation. There was one time when they were left alone in the site's break room.
144	--->In less than an hour, SCP-705 had taken control of the Mr. Coffee machine, declaring independence and control over the region. The assault was routed when Dr. Rights brushed them away from the burner, [[CurbStompBattle resulting in massive casualties and a complete rout]]. Interviews with SCP-705 remark on this day with great fear and resentment.
145	* Surprisingly absent in ''Literature/{{Worm}}'' despite the focus on villains due to the protagonist [[spoiler:being one... sort of]]. Most villains mentioned more than just in the background are extremely effective. The closest this trope gets is [[RenaissanceMan Uber]] and [[GadgeteerGenius Leet]], a pair of video game nerds who make internet videos out of their heists. They're mostly useless and obvious underdogs in a city filled with far more menacing gangs but are just despicable enough to destroy any sympathy they might garner.
146	[[/folder]]
147
148	[[folder:Web Videos]]
149	* ''WebVideo/DrHorriblesSingAlongBlog'':
150	** Dr. Horrible, portrayed as a decent fellow with evil ambitions and a crush on a girl from his laundromat, while also being bullied around by JerkJock superhero Captain Hammer. He even qualifies as a WellIntentionedExtremist; he thinks UtopiaJustifiesTheMeans and a benevolent dictatorship would do that. Kind of like [[WesternAnimation/PinkyAndTheBrain the Brain]].
151	** Interestingly, at the very beginning, he gets a letter from a would-be superhero calling himself Johnny Snow. Horrible immediately makes it seem as if Snow is an Ineffectual Sympathetic ''Hero''. Then we read the prequel comics and see how Johnny Snow single-handedly stopped the entire Evil League of Evil[[note]]...well, "stops" is kind of the wrong word here. The League was planning to pour poison in the watermain ForTheEvulz, and Johnny Snow stopped them by [[AnIcePerson freezing the water]], leaving millions without water. The ELE [[YourApprovalFillsMeWithShame approved]] and went on to do more evil, with Johnny crying that he's a good guy.[[/note]] while Captain Hammer was out of town. It turns out that he's also a GadgeteerGenius. That "ice beam" which is so "Johnny Snow" that Horrible mentions in his song was actually used by Snow. Dr. Horrible's main problem with Johnny Snow is that Snow wants to set himself up as a nemesis when the doctor has much more personal reasons for reserving this for Captain Hammer.
152	* In ''WebVideo/TheCultOfScratchwood''… basically all the Daleks. Their ultimate goal is to destroy the planet, but in the meantime, they are an extremely likable bunch of misfit CloudCuckooLander FishOutOfWater[=s=] who pose no threat to anyone whatsoever.
153	* Lee Phillips from ''WebVideo/KateModern'', during his brief time as a villain. He is perfectly serious in his plot to [[WhosLaughingNow revenge himself]] on Gavin and Tariq but is overshadowed by the arrival of far more threatening antagonists such as Kate's Watcher and Terrence.
154	* While she worms her way out of trouble much more successfully than the Critic and could dominate the world if she got her mind fixed, WebVideo/TheNostalgiaChick is still just a shut-in alcoholic who'll never make anything of her life.
155	* On a less mass-homicidal note, WebVideo/TheNostalgiaCritic. He's pretty much just a damaged little boy with a gun and temper tantrums at his disposal.
156	* ''WebVideo/SMPEarth'': Tommy was perhaps one of the most hostile, yet also one of the weakest players on the server, constantly antagonizing everyone around him and getting absolutely trounced on the regular. His faction, Business Bay, followed a similar pattern of behavior. Tommy was also fifteen years old, so him trying to bully around the adults of the server ended up being endearingly ineffective. Out-of-universe, Techno actually praised him for this behavior, saying that a server like this ''needed'' a villain to keep things interesting, and he was very glad Tommy took that role upon himself.
157	%%* ''WebVideo/TheSpoonyExperiment'': Dr. Insano...[[BewareTheSillyOnes some times.]]
158	* Mario from ''WebVideo/SuperMarioLogan'', although not necessarily a villain, has failed in his numerous attempts to get rid of Jeffy, getting constantly annoyed and DrivenToSuicide by him and his handicapped behavior. In "Jeffy's Bad Word!" some fans genuinely felt sorry for him due to all the Mario torture porn he suffered from the video, especially the second half of the video starting from after he [[WhamShot spanked Jeffy]] due to the latter saying the F-word (no, not ''that'' F-word).
159	[[/folder]]

Context Main / IneffectualSympatheticVillain