| 1 | %% Image replaced per Image Pickin' thread: https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/posts.php?discussion=1522199150002477200 |
| 2 | %% Please do not change or remove without starting a new thread. |
| 3 | %% |
| 4 | [[quoteright:291:[[Webcomic/ExterminatusNow https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/rsz_120070608.png]]]] |
| 5 | [[caption-width-right:291:George the Tyrannical and Justin the Bloodthirsty were busy.]] |
| 6 | %% |
| 7 | %% Caption selected per above IP thread. Please do not replace or remove without discussion here: |
| 8 | %% https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/posts.php?discussion=1404492079030138900 |
| 9 | %% |
| 10 | |
| 11 | ->''"Yes, that's right, the most evil wizard of all time... Tom."'' |
| 12 | -->-- '''Podcast/RiffTrax''' on the {{Trope Namer|s}}, Tom "Voldemort" Riddle of ''Literature/HarryPotter'' infamy |
| 13 | |
| 14 | When a character who's evil [[SpecialPersonNormalName doesn't have a particularly evil-sounding name]]. While generally PlayedForLaughs, this can also be used to [[NightmareFuel chilling effect]] in combination with tropes such as FromNobodyToNightmare and/or ParanoiaFuel. Tom the Dark Lord sometimes goes hand in hand with EmbarrassingFirstName, but not always. Bonus points if it manages to be {{meaningful|Name}} or {{ironic|Name}}. Contrast with NamesToRunAwayFromReallyFast, which is about evil people with ObviouslyEvil names. Also contrast LouisCypher, which are names that indicate someone is a/the devil; these may ''include'' a normal first name (especially a variant of Lou/Lucy or Nick) but overall are not normal names because they're too much of a pun. |
| 15 | |
| 16 | Note that for an example to count, the mundanity of the name must be jarring to a degree. Whether it be with the setting (e.g: A fantastic setting where all the characters are wizards with names like Gortyna, Argus or Spyridon and featuring an EvilSorcerer simply called Fred) or with the nature of the villain (e.g: A terrifying SerialKiller covered in scars and deformities, who's overly tall and burly and reputed for killing hundreds...and his name is Jimmy). If an example is the latter, there's a good chance it will be brought up at some point in the story, often for comedy. [[Administrivia/PeopleSitOnChairs Otherwise, a normal human having a normal name, regardless how evil he is, isn't noteworthy]]. |
| 17 | |
| 18 | A common [[JustifiedTrope justification]] of this trope is that the villain used to be a regular human in the past. In this case they may end up picking a new name, as the TropeNamer did in ''Literature/HarryPotter''. See also, DemonOfHumanOrigin. |
| 19 | |
| 20 | A SubTrope of OminousMundanity. See also FluffyTheTerrible, which is about vicious animals and beasts with cutesy names. Compare SpecialPersonNormalName. Not to be confused with RonTheDeathEater, although that can lead to this in fan works, and also not to be confused with MikeNelsonDestroyerOfWorlds, although there's a possibility of overlap. |
| 21 | |
| 22 | [[noreallife]] |
| 23 | ---- |
| 24 | !!Examples: |
| 25 | |
| 26 | [[foldercontrol]] |
| 27 | |
| 28 | [[folder:Anime and Manga]] |
| 29 | * ''Manga/AttackOnTitan'''s Isayama seems to be rather fond of these as the villains of each arc continue have more and more mundane names. The living legend known to have killed slaughtered over a hundred Military Policemen, the man who taught Levi how to fight, and the leader of the Anti-Human Suppression Squad goes by Kenny. His boss, the ruler of humanity and the man responsible for their enslavement within the walls is named Rod. The mastermind behind the collapse of the walls, Annie, Bertholt, and Reiner's superior, and the man plotting extinction of everyone within the walls is called Zeke. The final enemy that kickstarts the Rumbling? [[spoiler:Eren.]] However, this is likely purposely done to humanize these characters, as their backgrounds show that they are not quite the monsters they appear to be. |
| 30 | * ''Manga/Bastard1988'' has a BigBad named Dark ''Schneider''. There's also a ''male'' Dark Priest who went by the name Abigail. |
| 31 | * ''Manga/{{Beastars}}'' has a sociopathic villain named "Melon", as in the fruit. He is introduced as an ivory trader in a world where animals are intelligent who lures his elephant victims in by working as a therapist before brutally murdering his victims, and he later takes over the lion yakuza and works to drive carnivores into a meat loving frenzy, which causes serious problems for a society where carnivores and herbivores can barely coexist at all. [[spoiler:His mother claims that she named him this because he is a hybrid and melons have traits of both fruits and vegetables, but he realized she was lying and really named him this because of her desire to eat him, so he killed her remorselessly before she could do so.]] |
| 32 | * ''Manga/{{Berserk}}'': One of the Godhand, the Demon Lords that pull at the strings of destiny, is named "Conrad". This stands out rather starkly against names like "Slan", "Ubik", and "Void". |
| 33 | * In ''Anime/CodeGeass'', the BigBad of the show was TheEmperor of Britannia. His name was never mentioned in the first season, but we had met plenty of his children, who had cool and exotic names, mostly derived from French, Latin, and German. Then the second season rolled around, and in the second episode, we finally found the Emperor's name: the very normal ''Charles.'' Curiously, this doubles as NamesToRunAwayFromReallyFast, since "Charles the Great" is another name for the Frankish emperor better known as Charlemagne. |
| 34 | * The recurring main antagonist of ''Anime/CuteyHoney'' is a woman with the rather mundane name of Sister Jill. Made even more apparent when other villains have more flashy names like Panther Zora or Black Claw. |
| 35 | * [[spoiler:Adam]], known by his more [[TheDreaded feared]] [[OnlyKnownByTheirNickname nickname]] "the Millennium Earl" in ''Manga/DGrayMan''. |
| 36 | * Many villains from ''Manga/DragonBall'' have funny {{Punny Name}}s, mostly after food. |
| 37 | ** Lampshaded by Lunch, when we learn about the Great Demon King named Piccolo (named after the small flute). We later learn that it's Namekian for "another world", so he was the "Great Demon King From Another World", which implies that he subconsciously was aware of his extraterrestrial origin even without realizing it. |
| 38 | ** The American fans know the villain who destroyed Planet Vegeta as Frieza. It's not this trope, unless you know that's just his name in the English dub. In the Japanese dub, he's mainly known as "Freeza" or "Freezer" (the latter also in German and French). It still sounds evil, but the meaning of his name is just laughable. |
| 39 | ** The strongest villain of the manga is Majin Buu, named after the phrase [[{{WesternAnimation/Cinderella}} Bibbidi-Bobbidi-Boo]]. (Bibidi and Babidi are two related characters, namely his former masters) |
| 40 | ** The first of the three main villains in ''Anime/DragonBallGT'' is named ''Baby''. He is not as pathetic as he sounds. |
| 41 | * In ''Manga/EdensZero'', the deceased Demon King and ruler of the Sakura Cosmos, feared across space as a powerful GravityMaster, and looks like a robotic skeletal EvilOverlord, was graced with the awe-inspiring name of...Ziggy. This might be a hint of his [[MeanCharacterNiceActor true nature]], given how Shiki always saw him as a kindly grandfather figure before his passing. |
| 42 | * The [[OneShotCharacter One-Shot]] [[MonsteroftheWeek Villain]] of ''Manga/ElfenLied'' is simply named "Tomoo". |
| 43 | * The BigBad of ''Manga/FullmetalAlchemist'' is simply named "Father". That name manages to feel threatening since Father is the main attribute of the christian God, and Father is trying to become a god. |
| 44 | * From ''Manga/JojosBizarreAdventureSteelBallRun'', President Valentine is a nice sinister name for a BigBad... but his first name? ''Funny.'' |
| 45 | * ''Manga/OnePiece'': |
| 46 | ** The most dangerous operative in history of [=CP9=], who leads the other agents in the front lines, is called Rob Lucci. Despite having a name less intimidating than his superior's in Enies Lobby (Spandam), he is [[DragonInChief the greatest threat in the arc and nearly defeats Luffy]]. |
| 47 | ** One of Emperor Kaido's three top henchmen, the Lead Performers, a man so destructive his nickname is "The Drought" for how he destroys whole lands, and who had the highest bounty in the series at that point at ''one billion berries''. His name? Jack. Granted, it's part of a ThemeNaming with his fellow Calamities, Queen and King, all of whom are named after card values (just like Kaido's ally Joker, aka Donquixote Doflamingo), but this wasn't obvious at the time of Jack's introduction. |
| 48 | ** Big Mom, one of the Four Emperors of the Sea, a queen whose hands are drenched in blood, including the killing of her own family when they fail her, a gigantic powerhouse with an insatiable appetite who was killing Giants at the age of ''five''. Her name: Charlotte Linlin (Linlin Charlotte in western order). |
| 49 | ** Whitebeard, the WorldsStrongestMan and pirate who was second only to Gol D. Roger, was named Edward Newgate. |
| 50 | * In ''Manga/OutlawStar'' we have secondary antagonists, outlaw leaders feared galaxy-wide, ''Ron and Harry [=MacDougal=]''. While [[Literature/HarryPotter retroactively hilarious]], the names do fit with the series' SpaceWestern setting. |
| 51 | * One of the deadliest villains in ''Manga/RanmaOneHalf'', a sadistic young man capable of transforming into a monster whose component parts include a yeti and an ox, had the unfortunate name of Pantyhose Taro. Getting that name changed is his primary motivation (his village's traditions prevent him from just doing it himself). While he feels that anything would be better, he fancies the name "Awesome Taro". |
| 52 | * This one seems to take the cake - in the third season of ''Anime/YuGiOhGX'', [[spoiler:it's revealed that the main protagonist - Jaden Yuki - is the Supreme King. While this may have some meaning to Hebrew fans of the Yu-Gi-Oh! anime franchise, as "Jaden" is Hebrew for "God has heard," it doesn't make this any less hilarious.]] |
| 53 | [[/folder]] |
| 54 | |
| 55 | [[folder:Comic Books]] |
| 56 | * ''ComicBook/TheAvengers:'' The true name of Characters/KangTheConqueror (and all his varied identities), the most dangerous time traveler in the Marvel universe? Nathaniel Richards. "Nate" to his friends, if he had any. Sometimes he also goes by the equally unassuming alias of "Victor Timely". |
| 57 | * According to Characters/{{Superman|TheCharacter}} in a comic set in the ''WesternAnimation/BatmanBeyond'' universe, "Zod" is a common Kryptonian name, likening it to "Bob". Bruce Wayne retorted villains are villains, no matter what their names are. |
| 58 | * The VillainProtagonist of ''ComicBook/EvilErnie''. Full name Ernest Fairchild, he was originally an abused boy with psychic powers who was later resurrected as an undead AxCrazy serial killer by ComicBook/LadyDeath. |
| 59 | * Given its penchant for [[GallowsHumor blacker than black humor]], it's not surprising that ''ComicBook/JudgeDredd'' has a lot of these: A ZombieApocalypse triggering undead necromancer named "Soppi Walters" (though he prefers "Sabbat the Necromagus"); a psychotic SerialKiller named "Philip Janet Maybe", and an undead demonic HangingJudge who calls himself Judge Death but is in fact named Sidney. |
| 60 | * In the Norwegian comic ''The Knights of Dor'', the main villain and latest reincarnation of the setting's SorcerousOverlord GreaterScopeVillain, a dragon from the underworld, is named Incense Overall, a fairly mundane name in-universe. In this case, the mundaneness is weaponized, as it lets him pose as an average professor of history long enough to steal a dangerous artifact from one of the heroes. |
| 61 | * Franchise/MarvelUniverse: |
| 62 | ** The real name of the [[Characters/MarvelComicsRedSkull Red Skull]], archnemesis of ComicBook/CaptainAmerica, is Johann Schmidt, the German equivalent to "John Smith". Zig-zagged with his equally psychopathic daughter Sinthea, whose name has an unconventional spelling, but is pronounced like the much more common "Cynthia", which may be why she often goes by [[NamesToRunAwayFromReallyFast "Sin"]] instead. |
| 63 | * In the ''[[ComicBook/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicIDW My Little Pony Friendship is Magic]]'' comic's 6th issue, the leader of the Nightmare forces identifies himself as Shadowfright. This doesn't stop his subordinate from calling him by what's apparently his real name: [[spoiler:Larry]]. |
| 64 | * In ''ComicBook/SonicTheHedgehogArchieComics'' evil warlock Naugus turns out to be going by his last name. His first name is Walter, which wouldn't be too bad if not for the fact that the heroes and other villains also found out that his sister affectionately calls him ''Wally''. Now everyone refers to him as Wally just because they know it pisses him off. |
| 65 | * In the original ''ComicBook/VForVendetta'' comics, Adam Susan, leader of the fascist regime, definitely counts. |
| 66 | * ''ComicBook/{{WITCH}}'' has a few examples: Cedric, [[spoiler: Thomas Vandom]], Mark Zibosky, Jonathan Ludmoore, Edward Folkner, Tecla Ibsen, and Takeda (first name unknown). [[JustifiedTrope Justified]] for most of them, as they're humans from Earth and not trying to conquer the world ([[spoiler: Thomas Vandom]] and Mark Zibosky don't even know about magic, respectively being [[spoiler: Will's father who is trying to make a quick buck]] and an extortionist [[MuggingTheMonster who got on the Guardians' bad side]]), but Cedric is a {{Shapeshifting}} [[SnakePeople snake man]], and Ludmoore comes from another world. The cartoon also adds Miranda, a {{Shapeshifting}} giant spider and Cedric's BastardUnderstudy. |
| 67 | |
| 68 | [[/folder]] |
| 69 | |
| 70 | [[folder:Fan Works]] |
| 71 | * ''Fanfic/AbsoluteTrust'' reveals that Combustion Mans' actual name is "Lee". Alec finds this absolutely hilarious due to how common of a name Lee is in the Avatar World. |
| 72 | -->'''Alec:''' That would be like someone from my world going "Hi everybody! I'm the Assassin, ''Bob''!" |
| 73 | * ''FanFic/ABriefHistoryOfEquestria'': The Mongrellian Horde was founded by a UsefulNotes/GenghisKhan {{Expy}} named [[FluffyTheTerrible Fluffy]]. |
| 74 | * ''Fanfic/ChildOfTheStorm'': |
| 75 | ** The original example, Tom Riddle, is present. |
| 76 | ** The fic has Magneto, who for all that he's [[ReformedButNotTamed (mostly) reformed]], still casts a ''very'' long shadow over good guys and bad guys alike. His real name, which he usually uses, is Erik. |
| 77 | ** Harry invokes this against the omnicidal [[spoiler: Elder Wyrm]], by asking for his name, getting something suitably ominous, and dubbing him 'Dave' instead. |
| 78 | * ''Fanfic/IgnitedSpark'': "[[YouAreNumberSix Nine]]" doesn't sound like a very intimidating for the leader of a rising villain organization bent on destroying society. He makes up for it by being utterly terrfying. |
| 79 | * ''WebAnimation/ReturnToKrocodileIsle'': K. Rool's [[GivenNameReveal given name is revealed]] to be [[spoiler:Keith, an unexpectedly ordinary name for a tyrannical crocodile king.]] |
| 80 | * ''WebVideo/YuGiOhTheAbridgedSeries'': Marik's [[AxCrazy psychopathic]] [[JekyllAndHyde evil personality]] is named "Melvin." Yami Bakura is "[[GenderBlenderName Florence]]". |
| 81 | * ''FanFic/TheQueenWhoFellToEarth'': A magical terrorist takes on the name Carlos the Gerbil. |
| 82 | * ''Fanfic/TheRiseOfDarthVulcan'': {{Lampshade|Hanging}}d. The titular Darth Vulcan is actually named Ted, but figured that he wouldn't be taken seriously if he introduced himself as "the Dread Sorcerer Ted", hence the alias. |
| 83 | * In the ''Franchise/StarWars''[=/=]''Franchise/MassEffect''[[spoiler:[=/=]''VideoGame/{{Borderlands}}''[=/=]''Franchise/{{Halo}}'']] crossover ''Fanfic/{{Origins}}'', the villain (for [[HeelFaceTurn some of the story]] anyway) is a super-powered Siren. Her acolytes fall under AerithAndBob (mainly the "Aerith" part). Other Sirens are named from [[VideoGame/{{Borderlands}} canon]]: Maya, Lilith, Angel. Her name is...Sarah. She doesn't take this well when her underlings laugh at the SpecialPersonNormalName, though later on it's revealed that "Sarah" is simply the closest convenient translation of [[spoiler:Eridian]] language for her given title, the [[spoiler:"Selfless Servant of the Mantle"]]. |
| 84 | * In ''WesternAnimation/TheFairlyOddParents'' fanfiction, ''FanFic/NeverHadAFriendLikeMe'', the heroes get to face [[spoiler:Bob the boil and EldritchAbomination]] |
| 85 | * In ''FanFic/AppliedCulturalAnthropology'', Diary Tom briefly considers teaching people to fear Dark Lord Tom. |
| 86 | * In ''Fanfic/TheBridge'' it's zig-zagged. Godzilla Junior is TheDreaded to his enemies whom often refer to him as just "Godzilla". But to his allies and himself, the King of the Monsters and terror to his enemies is just "Junior". [[spoiler: Thankfully he turns out to just be a HorrifyingHero.]] |
| 87 | * ''Fanfic/PokemonResetBloodlines'' has the infamous criminal 20 Gyarados Bill, who gained his infamy for razing coastal cities to the ground with said serpents and killing ''a lot'' of people with them. |
| 88 | * ''FanFic/BringMeToLife'': In chapter 9, Buffy lampshades how silly Skip's name is for a villain: |
| 89 | -->'''Buffy''': Out of all the cool villain names out there, one of them drew the short straw and got ''Skip''? |
| 90 | * ''WebAnimation/{{RWBY}}'' fanfic ''Fanfic/ValesUnderground'': While MeaningfulName is in play as the writer admits, these two examples are pretty unremarkable at first glance. |
| 91 | ** The story changes Cinder Fall's name to make "Cinder" an alias. In this story, Cinder is a ruthless and sadistic mob boss who is feared throughout Vale. Her name alone is enough to strike fear into people's hearts. Well, her [[RedBaron alias]] at least. She has taken great precautions to make sure no one knows what her real name is to cover her tracks. Her real name? [[spoiler:Kenna Carter.]] She isn't ashamed of the name, but she knows it's dangerous for her to make it known. |
| 92 | ** Salem also counts. "Salem" is an alias and she is human in this story. Her real name is [[spoiler:Emily Carter]]. [[spoiler: She was Cinder's mother and predecessor as a mob boss. She was ruthless and taught Cinder everything she needed to know to be a mobster. When she recognized that Cinder was a sadistic child, she decided to test it by letting her kill her own father. She also molested her daughter, something that still angers Cinder.]] |
| 93 | * PlayedForLaughs in the ''Series/{{Farscape}}'' fan fiction ''[[https://www.fanfiction.net/s/8584/1/The-Naming-of-Moya-s-Child The Naming of Moya's Child]]'' when, while the crew brainstorms names for Moya’s gunship-Leviathan hybrid child, Crichton's sarcastic suggestion of naming it “Bob” is chosen by Pilot and Moya, and the rest of the crew proclaim the name to be incredible in spite of Crichton’s futile protests on naming the gunship that could have unimaginable consequences on the rest of the galaxy Bob. |
| 94 | * In ''Fanfic/InfinityTrainKnightOfTheOrangeLily'', [[Anime/YuGiOhVRAINS Specter]] has an unstable SplitPersonality (later to revealed that it's a lightning bolt that accidentally struck Specter down and fused with him) that casts electricity called "Easter". Originally said personality was going to call themselves "Earth-as-Specter" before [[Wrestling/LondonAndKendrick Paul London]] suggests the easier "Easter" since it contains the first letters for the first name and that they are currently in the 400 Rabbits Car, and Easter is associated with rabbits. |
| 95 | * ''Fanfic/BeyondTheOuterGatesLiesAHighSchoolLibrary'' the "heroes" who call themselves [[UsefulNotes/JoanOfArc Jeanne d'Arc]] and [[Myth/ClassicalMythology Heracles]] are actually name Evelyn White and Dean Bakersfield, respectively. |
| 96 | * The BigBad of ''[[https://archiveofourown.org/works/46883770/chapters/118098412 You will always have a part of me nobody else is ever gonna see]]'' is a British Stand-user and ex-Dio follower named Jeffrey "Jeff" Kline . Jolyne and other characters lampshade how lame "Jeff" is for a villain name. |
| 97 | * ''Fanfic/VoltesVVersusVoltronTheGodaikinWars'': |
| 98 | --> Trained to be pure and selfless, the mages are not immune to corruption: a renegade mage known as Paul the Imjad, planed to conquer the entire universe, aided by his unsavory minions. Tracing down the whereabouts of the ancient microfilm, to our planet Earth (the 3rd dimension Earth) Paul the Imjad stayed cautious, for according to the said ancient microfilm, the universe is guarded by the Godaikins: Gigantic Super cybernauts with varied destinies. The Imjad thought of thwarting this reality. Mobilizing his cronies, Imjad learned about a Godaikin who had a dark past. The Godaikin is Go-lion, (Voltron) a self proclaimed Defender of the Universe. With his twisted powers and philosophies, the Imjad was able to influence the medieval judgments of the entire Castle of Lions. He even influenced the Voltron Force and the House of Alfor by using pseudo prophecies that seemed to support the ancient prophecy that claims Voltron for being the defender of the Universe. The Imjad suggested to the Galaxy Alliance to help him retrieve the Encyclopedia Universale from the 3rd dimension Earth, and destroy it! |
| 99 | [[/folder]] |
| 100 | |
| 101 | [[folder:Films -- Animation]] |
| 102 | * In ''WesternAnimation/{{Hoodwinked}}'', the main villain berates his {{Mook|s}} for having the un-evil-sounding name of Keith. [[HypocriticalHumor Keep in mind that this is the villain]], [[spoiler:a bunny named Boingo]], saying this to Keith. |
| 103 | -->'''[[spoiler:Boingo]]:''' Dolph, tie up the brat; Liesel, hold the book; Vincent, get the truck; and Keith... darn it, change your name! Please. That's not scary and I'm embarrassed to say it. Boris, try that. Keith, ya know? "[[SarcasmMode Oooh, Watch out for Keith]]!" |
| 104 | * Some Franchise/DisneyAnimatedCanon villains have names like this. Yeah, some of them have names like [[WesternAnimation/SnowWhiteAndTheSevenDwarfs Grimhilde]], [[WesternAnimation/SleepingBeauty Maleficent]], and [[WesternAnimation/TheLionKing1994 Scar]], but others have names like [[WesternAnimation/{{Pocahontas}} Ratcliffe]] ([[HistoricalDomainCharacter who was actually a real guy]]), [[WesternAnimation/{{Tarzan}} Clayton]], and [[WesternAnimation/{{Zootopia}} Kevin, Raymond, and Doug]]. Other villains have names that sound "foreign" in the Anglosphere but are unremarkable in the countries where the films take place, like Claude Frollo from ''WesternAnimation/{{The Hunchback of Notre Dame|Disney}}'', Jafar from ''WesternAnimation/{{Aladdin}}'', Gaston from ''WesternAnimation/BeautyAndTheBeast'', and [[spoiler:Hans]] from ''WesternAnimation/{{Frozen|2013}}''. |
| 105 | * This is also common among Creator/{{Pixar}} baddies, including: |
| 106 | ** Sid Phillips from ''WesternAnimation/ToyStory1'' (makes sense, as he's an ordinary preteen boy in a setting where HumansAreCthulhu). |
| 107 | ** ''WesternAnimation/MonstersInc1'' plays with this trope. The characters are monsters hiding under children's bed and in their closet, but behind this, they are all [[PunchClockVillain Punch-Clock Villains]] who live in a monster society just like humans, and all of them have human names. The actual villain is named Randall Boggs. |
| 108 | ** Darla from ''WesternAnimation/FindingNemo'' is another HumansAreCthulhu example. |
| 109 | ** Syndrome's real name from ''WesternAnimation/TheIncredibles'' is [[spoiler:Buddy Pine]]. |
| 110 | ** [[spoiler:Charles Muntz]] from ''WesternAnimation/{{Up}}''. |
| 111 | ** [[spoiler:Lots-o-Huggin' Bear, or Lotso for short]], from ''WesternAnimation/ToyStory3''. |
| 112 | ** [[spoiler:Ernesto De La Cruz]] from ''WesternAnimation/{{Coco}}''. |
| 113 | * The main antagonist of ''WesternAnimation/TheKingsBeard'' is a spurned nobleman called Jasper, trying to usurp the throne of his brother [[TheGoodKing Cuthbert]]. Not Lord Jasper or Prince Jasper or anything of the sort — always just… Jasper. |
| 114 | * The BigBad of ''WesternAnimation/PenguinsOfMadagascar'' is a terrifying MadScientist octopus, with the not-so-terrifying name "Dave". However, he does much of his work under the alias Dr. Octavius Brine, which sounds nice and supervillain-ish. |
| 115 | * The BigBad of ''WesternAnimation/HelpImAFish'' looks like [[Characters/BatmanTheJoker The Joker]], is voiced by Creator/AlanRickman, and if it's at all possible is even scarier and more psychotic than that sounds. His name? Joe. |
| 116 | * Virtually all of the villainous characters in the ''Franchise/DespicableMe'' movies: |
| 117 | ** Felonious Gru, the VillainProtagonist of the main films. His first name ''does'' sound like something a villain would have, but you wouldn't know that he even ''had'' a first name since he's [[LastNameBasis only ever referred to as "Gru"]]. However, he actually subverts (if not ''inverts'') this trope as Gru performs a HeelFaceTurn over the course of the first film. |
| 118 | ** There are also his minions who, [[HarmlessVillain though the "evil" part is questionable]], all have normal sounding names such as Kevin, Stuart, Bob, Dave, etc. |
| 119 | ** Vector, the actual BigBad from the first film whose real name is Victor Perkins. |
| 120 | ** El Macho in the [[WesternAnimation/DespicableMe2 second one]], whose real name is Edwardo Perez. |
| 121 | ** Balthazar Bratt from the [[WesternAnimation/DespicableMe3 third]]. Neither are particularly common but they're still average sounding names for a supervillain. |
| 122 | ** From ''WesternAnimation/{{Minions}}'', Scarlett Overkill actually averts this with a legitimate evil-sounding name. |
| 123 | * In ''WesternAnimation/MyLittlePonyTheMovie2017'', we eventually find out Tempest Shadow's birth name. The intimidating unicorn who spread terror as the leader of the Storm King's army was born [[spoiler: ''Fizzlepop Berrytwist'']]. |
| 124 | [[/folder]] |
| 125 | |
| 126 | [[folder:Films -- Live-Action]] |
| 127 | * ''Film/AbsolutelyAnything'': The Supreme Council of Intergalactic Beings travels the universe, destroying any species that fails to pass their convulted and morally ambiguous SecretTestOfCharacter. The four aliens sitting on the council are named Kylie, Sharon, Maureen, and Janet. This is subverted later in the movie, though, when it turns out that a mischevious underling tampered with their translation device, and the leader of the council says that his actual title is the Death-Dealing Darkness-Bringer. |
| 128 | * It comes up all of once, but the eponymous Riddick from ''Franchise/TheChroniclesOfRiddick'' is named Richard. |
| 129 | * ''Film/ComePlay'': The monster of the movie calls itself Larry. While it claims to be misunderstood, it considers stalking and scaring a young boy in his own home acceptable. |
| 130 | * Francis from ''Film/{{Deadpool|2016}}''. He's so ashamed of the name he changed it to Ajax and calling him Francis is [[BerserkButton one of Wade's preferred methods of annoying him.]] |
| 131 | * In ''Film/TheMatrix'', the Agents all have extremely common names like Brown and Smith, suiting their role as TheMenInBlack. The good guys, on the other hand, have FauxSymbolism handles like Neo, Trinity, Morpheus, etc. |
| 132 | * Freddy Krueger from the ''Franchise/ANightmareOnElmStreet'' franchise. Although the name is quite [[NamesToRunAwayFromReallyFast harsh-sounding]], it's still a name that sounds too normal for a demon who can enter and kill people in their dreams. Given that he [[DemonOfHumanOrigin used to be an ordinary human being]], it's rather justified. |
| 133 | * The ''Franchise/FridayThe13th'' films ([[EarlyInstallmentWeirdness mostly]]) feature an undead killer named Jason Voorhees (though like Freddy above, he used to be human... [[OddballInTheSeries probably]]). |
| 134 | * The ''Franchise/{{Halloween}}'' series had Michael Myers, who has a human body but acts nothing like one. This one became even more of an example after the comedian Creator/MikeMyers became famous in the '90s. |
| 135 | * ''Film/KungPowEnterTheFist'', where the evil kung fu master changes his name from '[[NamesToRunAwayFromReallyFast Master Pain]]' to 'Betty'. |
| 136 | * In ''Film/RobinHoodPrinceOfThieves'', the Sherriff of Nottingham is NamedByTheAdaptation as "George". |
| 137 | * ''Film/RobinHoodMenInTights'', parodying the above, gives the Sheriff of Rottingham an EmbarrassingFirstName. |
| 138 | -->'''Abbot''': Mervin? Your name is Mervin? |
| 139 | * [[CatsAreMean Mr. Tinkles]] in ''Film/CatsAndDogs''. |
| 140 | * ''Film/FrightNight1985'' features a terrifying vampire named Jerry. |
| 141 | * In ''Film/VForVendetta'', the [[BigBad Big Bad's]] surname was changed from "Susan" to "Sutler" to, among other reasons, avert this. |
| 142 | * ''Franchise/StarWars'': |
| 143 | ** The Sith have some very ObviouslyEvil names like Maul, Sidious, Tyrannus, and Vader. They take these names upon becoming Sith, and their original names aren't always quite as frightening. Darth Sidious and Darth Vader were originally named Sheev and Anakin respectively, which are relatively ordinary names for the ''Star Wars'' universe. |
| 144 | * The warlord that Max runs afoul of in ''Film/MadMaxFuryRoad'' is called Immortan ''Joe'' and his real name is Joseph Moore (which is as about as common a name as you can get). Doesn't stop him from being one of the most brutal and nastiest villains in the franchise (and that is saying something). |
| 145 | * ''Franchise/PiratesOfTheCaribbean'': The dreaded, immortal, lovelorn, tentacle-faced, murderous lord of the ocean's dead is named Davy Jones. In real-life mythology, the name's etymology is unknown- it may be a corruption of "the Devil Jonah", or derived from a Welsh sea god called Dewi. In-universe, it just happens to be his name. For another example, Davy's sadistic bo'sun is named Jimmy Legs. |
| 146 | * ''Film/SwordsmanAndEnchantress'': In the prequel, ''Swordsman At Large'', the protagonists are terrorized by a fearsome bandit warlord called... the "Happy King". |
| 147 | * In ''Film/TheCabinInTheWoods'', a number of terrifying monsters could be used to kill the teens, depending on which artifact in the basement they used, and the control team even had a ''betting pool'' on which one it would be. Among the entries who had typical horror movie monster names, one was simply named Kevin, perhaps to include an element of NothingIsScarier. When pressed about Kevin at a con, Creator/JossWhedon had to improvise a description, and described him as a "[[TheyLookJustLikeEveryoneElse sweet, harmless-looking guy]] who could exsanguinate you in seconds." Some have taken this as a reference to ''Film/WeNeedToTalkAboutKevin''. |
| 148 | * ''Franchise/StarTrek:'' |
| 149 | ** In ''Film/StarTrekIntoDarkness'', several attacks on Starfleet facilities are launched by a [[RogueAgent rogue]] [[NoSuchAgency Section 31]] officer by the name of John Harrison, including an attempted DecapitationStrike against Starfleet's leadership. Captain Kirk is ordered to track him down and kill him. [[spoiler: TheReveal midway into the film is that "John Harrison" is actually an alias for [[AVillainNamedKhan Khan Noonien Singh]], and that Kirk's boss, Admiral Marcus, is trying to play them both against each other as part of a plot to start a war with the Klingon Empire.]] |
| 150 | ** ''Film/StarTrekBeyond'' plays with the trope, with [[spoiler: Krall's original name being revealed as Balthazar Edison. While Balthazar is an ''unusual'' name, it's not unheard of in the western world, being the name of one of the Three Wise Men]]. |
| 151 | * ''Film/TheDarkTower2017'': Despite being haunted by visions of his utterly evil nature, Jake can't help but laugh when told that the [[BigBad Man in Black's]] name is the rather ordinary "Walter". |
| 152 | * Jonathan Doe in ''Film/{{Se7en}}'' is a psychotic ThemeSerialKiller. Also an InvokedTrope, since it's pretty clearly a fake name adopted by said killer, who deliberately erased his entire background to become an enigma. |
| 153 | * The Strangers of ''Film/DarkCity'' all go by names involving Mr. and a simple everyday word, e.g. Mr. Hand, Mr. Quick, Mr. Book. It comes from them attempting to pick ordinary, mundane "human" names, but misunderstanding exactly what that meant. |
| 154 | * ''Film/TheLostCity'': The sociopathic villain's name is Abigail, and TheDragon, a bald, mustached brute, is named Julian. In both cases, this gets lampshaded. |
| 155 | * ''Film/MontyPythonAndTheHolyGrail'' has an ominous enchanter in a ram's skull helmet, who is introduced [[StuffBlowingUp raining explosions down from a mountain]]. When asked his name, he replies "There are [[SomeCallMeTim some who call me... 'Tim'.]]" |
| 156 | * The demon from the ''Film/ParanormalActivity'' series is called "Toby" by Robbie and Kristi, though justified given that they're children[[note]]Kristi is a child in the third installment, where she first comes in contact with the demon[[/note]] being manipulated by it. However, the demon's real name is unknown (assuming it even ''has'' a name). |
| 157 | * The BigBad of ''Film/{{Morbius|2022}}'', a SuperheroHorror about vampires, is actually named Lucien, which is a pretty good name for a vampire. However his AffectionateNickname, which everybody uses throughout the entire film except for a few scenes, is Milo. |
| 158 | * ''Franchise/{{Saw}}'': Jigsaw, the series' EvilGenius SerialKiller who later becomes a borderline DarkMessiah, is an unassuming old man named John. Ditto for his notorious successor who racked a much larger body count than him; he goes by the plain name of Mark. |
| 159 | [[/folder]] |
| 160 | |
| 161 | [[folder:Folklore]] |
| 162 | * In Myth/NauticalFolklore, there is an entity who is said to harvest the souls of sailors who drowned in the middle of the sea, his name? DavyJones. |
| 163 | * In Christian mythos, there are Fallen Angels with names like: Belphagor, Azazel, Kokabiel, Behemoth, Lucifer, Leviathan, and Phoenix. And then there's Amy. |
| 164 | [[/folder]] |
| 165 | |
| 166 | [[folder:Literature]] |
| 167 | |
| 168 | * ''Franchise/BuffyTheVampireSlayer'': In ''Portal Through Time'', despite his name inspiring incredulous ridicule from Victor, vampire {{Mook}} Hiram Gigglesworth is a tough fighter who kills and drains quite a few people in just three days of being undead. |
| 169 | * ''Literature/HarryPotter'': |
| 170 | ** The {{Trope Namer|s}} is Voldemort, whose real name is Tom Marvolo Riddle (of which "I am Lord Voldemort" is an anagram). He hates his real name, partly because it's common (something his ego can't tolerate -- even as a child he reacted negatively to the fact that he shared the name Tom with other people) and partly because it's his Muggle father's name. Dumbledore naturally makes a point of always calling him Tom to his face, while Harry calls him Riddle in their final confrontation. |
| 171 | ** Many of the Death Eaters have very pedestrian-sounding names, like Peter Pettigrew (although everyone calls him "Wormtail"), Barty Crouch Jr. (though his legal name is technically "Bartemius"), Evan Rosier, Wilkes, Avery. |
| 172 | * The trio of trolls in ''Literature/TheHobbit'' are named Bert, Bill, and Tom. |
| 173 | * From ''Literature/{{Discworld}}'': |
| 174 | ** Dr. John Hix, Unseen University's head of [[InsistentTerminology totally-not-necromancy]], whose real name is actually [[XtremeKoolLetterZ Hicks]]. However, he's not really a threat, as his [[TokenEvilTeammate acts of evil]] fall squarely into PokeThePoodle territory [[RunningGag by university statute]]. |
| 175 | ** ''Literature/TheLastHero'' has Harry Dread, the last of the true {{Evil Overlord}}s. |
| 176 | * Randall Flagg from ''Literature/TheStand'' and ''Franchise/TheDarkTower'' books by Stephen King. Even better, that's not even his real name. His real name is Walter Padick, and has been known as Walter o' Dim in the past. Considering that he is an EvilSorcerer who boasts terrifying powers, this comes off as OminousMundanity. |
| 177 | * ''Literature/TheSagaOfDarrenShan'': |
| 178 | ** The book has the evil [[spoiler: Lord of the Vampaneze]], revealed at the end of book 9 to be [[spoiler: Steve Leonard]]. Justified in that [[spoiler: book 1, where Steve first appears, was written and published before the rest of the series was planned, and also in that he is usually referred to as Steve Leopard, which is slightly more badass]]. |
| 179 | ** Desmond Tiny, often called Mr Tiny. Although it's mentioned he prefers "(Mr) Des Tiny" |
| 180 | * ''The Empire of the East'' contains a partial example: the [[BigBad Emperor]] of All [[TheEmpire the East]] is a rather ordinary-looking man named John. It's a partial example because his surname is the rather ominous-sounding "Ominor." |
| 181 | * In ''Literature/GoodOmens'': |
| 182 | ** The eleven-year-old [[TheAntiChrist Anti-Christ]] is named [[MeaningfulName Adam]]. Although that is mostly because he managed to slip under the radar due to a little mixup -- the kid whom the forces of Heaven and Hell ''thought'' was the Anti-Christ ended up named "Warlock" thanks to some very persuasive satanic nuns. The nun who named Adam was forced to invoke this trope, since she was really trying to give him either a 'satanic' name or an American name (long story), but she was only giving suggestions to the father. After the father vetoed her original ideas, she then suggested Adam. |
| 183 | * In Creator/EEDocSmith's ''[[Literature/{{Lensman}} Triplanetary]]'', the human characters are menaced by an [[AbusivePrecursors Abusive Precursor]] who introduces himself as "Roger". That's not his real name (it's Gharlane), but still it's oddly funny to have the crew of the ''Boise'' stumble across him on a random planet and go "OhCrap, it's Roger!". |
| 184 | * ''Literature/{{Animorphs}}'': |
| 185 | ** The second [[PuppeteerParasite Yeerk]] who controls Jake's brother, and who turns out to be a dangerous BigBadWannabe in the final novels, is [[NoNameGiven only ever referred to]] as "Tom," the name of his host. |
| 186 | ** Even more in line with this is [[TortureTechnician Taylor]], who actually prefers using her host's name (a sign that she and the real Taylor have an [[DoubleConsciousness unusual]] relationship). Her title, at least when we first meet her, is Sub-Visser Fifty-one. |
| 187 | * In ''Muddle Earth'' the villain, described as being the most evil man there ever was, is called Dr. Cuddles. He's also [[spoiler: a pink teddy bear]], which explains the name. |
| 188 | * ''Literature/GilsAllFrightDiner'' has Tammy, the seventeen-year-old planning to unleash the Old Gods on the universe. She insists that her minion (she only has one) refer to her as "Mistress Lillith." |
| 189 | * In the ''[[Literature/TheTwilightSaga Twilight]] Illustrated Guide'': |
| 190 | ** Alistair's back story involves his father [[DealWithTheDevil making a deal]] with the demon Asteroth. Ashteroth, however, was actually a vampire, not a demon, and his real name was George. He just likes to mess with people, apparently. |
| 191 | ** A lot of the villains have relatively normal names, like [[ScarilyCompetentTracker James]], the villain of the first novel, and his girlfriend Victoria, from the third. The overall {{Big Bad}}s are a group called the Volturi, made up of vampires [[AerithAndBob from various times and places]], who include members like [[ColdBloodedTorture Jane]] and [[MindControl Chelsea]]. |
| 192 | * In ''Lovely Assistant'' by Geoph Essex, there's the [[TheDragon sinister man]] who Jenny calls the "Ice Cream Psycho" (for [[BuffySpeak internal monologue]] [[BadHumorTruck reasons]]). Turns out his name is...Lawrence. There's also the leader of the racist skinheads who Jenny encounters in the park: Barry. Jenny [[LampshadeHanging mercilessly teases him]] about it once she gains the upper hand. |
| 193 | * One of the gang leaders in ''Literature/{{Goldfinger}}'' has the name "Billy Ring". He's also got quite a nightmarish appearance. James Bond notes that "he had never seen anyone who was less of a 'Billy'." |
| 194 | * ''Literature/TheAdventuresOfTomRynosseros'': The villainous characters, like [[ChurchMilitant Bolo May]] and [[MadScientist Dewi Dammo]], tend to have fairly innocuous names. |
| 195 | * ''Literature/SeptimusHeap'' has this several times. |
| 196 | ** In the first book, The Hunter, a ScarilyCompetentTracker who hunts fugitives and [[{{Determinator}} doesn't stop]] [[SuperPersistentPredator till they're dead]], is named Gerald. He considers this an EmbarrassingFirstName and doesn't like people knowing about it. |
| 197 | ** The BigBad of ''Darke'' is named [[spoiler: Merrin Meredith]]. |
| 198 | * The ''Literature/EndersGame'' series features a running subplot involving the protagonist's frighteningly intelligent, utterly sociopathic older brother, who eventually manages to [[TakeOverTheWorld become the honest-to-God Ruler of the World]] through a series of expert political gambits that see him appointed leader of Earth's unified world government. His name? Uh… "Peter Wiggin". Yes, an evil world dictator named "Peter Wiggin". |
| 199 | * Zig-zagged with ''Literature/TheWanderingInn''[='=]s Necromancer. His current name is the suitably eldritch-sounding Az'kerash, but it is quickly revealed that his true name before he started his reign of terror was the very normal Perril Chandler… but then again, his (few) friends already shortened Perril as "[[MeaningfulName Peril]]". |
| 200 | * The BigBad of ''Literature/TheUnexploredSummonBloodSign'' is usually called the White Queen, but she prefers the name Mary Ann. [[spoiler:This is because it was given to her by her (former) love Kyousuke]]. It doubles as a MeaningfulName, being the name of the White Rabbit's servant in ''Literature/AlicesAdventuresInWonderland'', which he called Alice when he mistook her for said servant. |
| 201 | * ''Literature/TheDarkLordOfDerkholm'''s name is, in fact, Derk. |
| 202 | * ''Literature/TheSupervillainySaga'' is riddled with this as not only is the CrouchingMoronHiddenBadass protagonist named Gary but the [[Characters/SupermanLexLuthor Lex Luthor]] analog and the most feared supervillain in the world is a literal example of this trope, being named Tom Terror. Notably, he's quite annoyed not to be called ''Doctor'' Terror. |
| 203 | * In the short story ''Literature/AmericanGoth'', Sarah Vowell chooses the {{Goth}} name 'Becky' because it is the scariest name she can think of. |
| 204 | * ''Kill the Farm Boy'', being a spoof, features the Dark Lord Toby (actually a pretty nice guy) and the Dread Necromancer Steve. |
| 205 | * For someone who is an {{Expy}} of UsefulNotes/AdolfHitler, Jake Featherston, the BigBad of Creator/HarryTurtledove's ''Literature/Timeline191'' canon as eventual dictator of a Fascist Confederacy, does not have a very intimidating name. Some analysts have suggested that this is part of what makes his character so insidious. And it certainly didn't stop the Union from finding ways to refer to him disparagingly. For example, calling him "[[Wrestling/JakeRoberts Jake the Snake]]". |
| 206 | * ''Literature/EstherDiamond'': Lampshaded in the first book, although it is an alias and the villains real name is more distinctive and intimidating. |
| 207 | -->'''Whoopsy Daisy:''' We're calling the villain Phil?\ |
| 208 | '''Esther:''' Yes.\ |
| 209 | '''Whoopsy Daisy:''' ''Phil''?\ |
| 210 | '''Esther:''' I'm afraid so.\ |
| 211 | '''Whoopsy Daisy:''' It seems somehow anticlimactic. |
| 212 | * Two of the nastiest villains in the ''Literature/MercyThompson'' series include the AxCrazy vampire Cory Littleton and the necromancer William Frost. |
| 213 | * ''Literature/SwanSong'': Macklin's right-hand man inside the bunker, and in the chaos and recourse wars that follow, is called "Teddybear" Warner. |
| 214 | * Main character Alina is surprised to find out that [[NamesToRunAwayFromReallyFast the Darkling]], the BigBad of ''Literature/TheGrishaTrilogy'', has the real name [[spoiler:Aleksander]], which is a very common name in Ravka, the FantasyCounterpartCulture of Russia in which the books are set. |
| 215 | * ''Literature/{{Sunshine}}'': The BigBad, a master vampire who's a despicable HumanoidAbomination even by vampire standards, turns out to be named Beauregard. Rae is justifiably terrified of him, but still snarks that it sounds more like the name of a sheepdog. |
| 216 | * ''Literature/TheLockedTomb'': TheEmperor of the [[TheEmpire Nine Houses]], also known as God, Necrolord Prime, the King Undying, the Kindly Prince of Death, the Resurrector, et cetera, is revealed in ''Literature/HarrowTheNinth'' to be named John, to the great chagrin of one of His subjects. His last name is Gaius, which makes up for it a little. |
| 217 | * ''Literature/TheDunwichHorror'' is one of Creator/HPLovecraft's best known horror stories. It concerns the backwoods town of Dunwich, and the Whateley family, who is creepy even by that town's standards. The main antagonist of the story, a weird goatish HumanoidAbomination who is YoungerThanHeLooks, and attempts to unleash an elder evil upon the world, is named Wilbur. |
| 218 | * {{Discussed}} in ''Literature/TheSquiresTales.'' Luneta and Rhience are being guided by a mysterious voice that only Luneta can hear. She briefly worries that it might be an evil spirit leading her into a trap, but Rhience doubts it, since the voice told her to call him "Snowflake." |
| 219 | -->"Can you imagine it? Satan and his demons gathered in council--Marduk, Mephisto, and the wicked Snowflake?" |
| 220 | * ''Literature/TheChroniclesOfThomasCovenant'': It's never commented upon, but in the fantasy world of the Land, where characters called Saltheart Foamfollower and Lord Mhoram exist, a central figure in the backstory is High Lord Kevin. This is likely a suggestion that Kevin was, like Thomas Covenant himself, from Earth. |
| 221 | [[/folder]] |
| 222 | |
| 223 | [[folder:Live-Action TV]] |
| 224 | * A minor villain from the third season of ''{{Series/Lexx}}'' had the name Fifi. It's worth mentioning that this villain is male. |
| 225 | * From the Franchise/{{Buffyverse}}: |
| 226 | ** Angel and Spike, whose real names are respectively Liam and William. |
| 227 | ** Angel's sire forgot her real name a long time ago, but unlike Angel or Spike, the alias she currently uses isn't particularly intimidating: ''Darla''. |
| 228 | ** Adam, the BigBad of ''Series/BuffyTheVampireSlayer'''s fourth season, also counts. Though it's a bit more intimidating [[AdamAndOrEve if you know]] [[FrankensteinsMonster the context]]. |
| 229 | ** There's also demon antagonist "Skip" in ''Series/{{Angel}}''. |
| 230 | * ''Series/BreakingBad'': The VillainProtagonist Heisenberg is a cold-blooded drug cook who has no problems murdering business partners and rivals alike when he feels it's necessary. Heisenberg's real name? Walter. {{Justified|Trope}} as the series portrays the rise from a dorky chemistry teacher to a menacing drug lord. |
| 231 | * ''Series/{{Chernobyl}}'': The three roofs of the Chernobyl power plant are nicknamed Nina, Katya, and Masha. Masha in particular is one of the most dangerous places in the world and so radioactive they can't even use robots to clean it. And, though the series doesn't explicitly mention it, there's Elena- i.e. the destroyed reactor itself, which is too radioactive to even ''look at''. |
| 232 | * John Sheppard of ''Series/StargateAtlantis'' [[InvokedTrope played]] this trope with the Wraith whether they wanted it or not, which gave us such villains (or in one case, an AntiVillain) as Steve, [[BigBad Michael]], Bob, [[NobleDemon Todd]] and Kenny. The Wraith never bothered to reveal their true names to the humans[[note]]It turns out that Wraith don't have names in the same way humans do; as a race of telepaths, their "names" are simply whatever word best describes what their mind feels like to other Wraith.[[/note]], so the monickers stuck. |
| 233 | * ''Series/BattlestarGalactica2003'': Near the end of the series, it's revealed that Number One, the Cylon who orchestrated the attempted total genocide of the Twelve Colonies of Man and later wiped out half his own species when they turned on him, is actually named "John". He tells the person who calls him this that he does not care for that name. Earlier, he had used the fake name "Cavil" while impersonating a priest. |
| 234 | * ''Series/TwinPeaks'': |
| 235 | ** BOB, also known as "Killer BOB", the demonic BigBad who regularly accesses the material plane to cause human suffering. |
| 236 | ** Another entity known as "MIKE" used to be Bob's partner-in-crime, but he's since repented and now seeks to stop BOB. |
| 237 | ** The GreaterScopeVillain is an impossibly ancient demon that feasts on human suffering and may be the key to TheEndOfTheWorldAsWeKnowIt. Her name is Judy. |
| 238 | * ''Series/TheGoodies''. In "The Lost Island of Munga" the Goodies meet a DiabolicalMastermind of previous acquaintance. |
| 239 | -->"Who am I? I ''[DramaticPause]'' am the Napoleon of Wickness. The Most Naughty Man in the World! {{Master of Disguise}}s (Sussex University). Arch Rascal, Prince of Mischief. You many know me as... ''[henchman plays OminousPipeOrgan]'' Nasty Person!" |
| 240 | * Meg, Tom, and [[spoiler:Ruby]] in ''Series/{{Supernatural}}'' are the only demons shown that don't have demonic-sounding names. In Meg's case, at least, it's not her real name (her original host was named Meg). |
| 241 | * In ''Series/DoctorWho'', the leader of the Zygon extremists, alien shapeshifters who wish to reveal themselves openly to the humans, is named Bonnie. Most of the extremists are from the Zygon generation born after they settled on Earth, explaining her ordinary human name. |
| 242 | * Kilgrave from ''Series/JessicaJones2015'' has [[spoiler:Kevin Thompson]] as his real name. |
| 243 | * On ''Series/WynonnaEarp'', the leader of the [[OurDemonsAreDifferent revenants]] is a guy named ''Bobo''. |
| 244 | * In ''Series/TheGoodPlace'': |
| 245 | ** All of the millennia-old celestial beings have ordinary human names like Trevor, Glen, Vicky, and Todd. Some of these might be nicknames for weirder names, though. The High Judge who rules over all disputes between the Good Place and the Bad Place is named Gen--short for ''Hydrogen'' because it was the only thing that existed when she was born. |
| 246 | ** [[spoiler: The Head of The Bad Place, effectively the show's representation of Satan,]] is named...Shawn. |
| 247 | * ''Series/TheFlash2014'': |
| 248 | ** Some of the metahumans have rather mundane names, like Tony, Becky, or Mark, to make them seem more personal to the audience. |
| 249 | ** It's eventually revealed that Savitar's real name is [[spoiler:Barry]] because he's a potential future version of [[spoiler:Barry Allen]]. |
| 250 | ** The BigBad of Season Four, a criminal mastermind and terrorist, is named Clifford [=DeVoe=]. In-universe, he shares even his surname with over a thousand people in the nearby area. |
| 251 | * ''Series/CriminalMinds'' does this with some episode names: "Jones", "Lucky", "Mosley Lane", etc., since one of the scary things about the murderers the team hunts is that TheyLookJustLikeEveryoneElse. |
| 252 | * The villain in the ''Series/ColdCase'' episode "The Road" claims his name is [[MrSmith John Smith]]. The fandom generally agrees he's the single most evil person ever seen on the show. |
| 253 | * In the TV adaptation of ''Series/TheManInTheHighCastle'', in which [[AlternateHistory the Axis powers won World War II and conquered America]], the most senior Nazi in New York is Obergruppenführer, later Oberstgruppenführer, and later still Reichsmarshall of North America, John Smith. |
| 254 | * In ''Series/BurnNotice'' most of the villains have fairly common names: [[NoNameGiven Management]], [[PsychoForHire Larry]], [[VisionaryVillain James]], [[MadBomber Simon]], [[ManipulativeBastard Anson]]. Even the two major organizations they oppose have generic names: The Organization and The Family. |
| 255 | * In ''Series/TheSparticleMystery'', the BigBad of the second season is a mobster teenager who controls a small army of thugs and has declared himself King of England ... and his name is Fizzy. |
| 256 | * In ''{{Series/Highlander}}'' there’s Kronos, one of the HorsemenOfTheApocalypse and a mass murderer over his thousands of years, who was going by Melvin at the time he was found by Methos. |
| 257 | * To contrast with such exotic-sounding names as Nandor, Laszlo and Nadja, one of the antagonists of the second season of ''Series/WhatWeDoInTheShadows2019'' is Jim the Vampire. (Yes, that's verbatim what's on his business card.) |
| 258 | * In ''Series/StrangerThings'' Season 4, the BigBad Vecna turns out to be an example of this. [[spoiler:His name was originally Henry Creel, codename One. On finding this out, our heroes start lampshading this, calling him "Vecna slash Henry slash One."]] |
| 259 | * In ''Series/SheHulkAttorneyAtLaw'' to get back to Earth [[HardDrinkingPartyGirl Madisynn]] makes a deal with a goat demon named Jake. Although the event occurs offscreen and she was extremely drunk both when it was happening and when she was recounting it, so she might have got the name wrong. |
| 260 | [[/folder]] |
| 261 | |
| 262 | [[folder:Music]] |
| 263 | * In Music/RareAmericans' song "Hullabaloo", the CorruptCorporateExecutive runs his drugged, demoralised workforce like a cult and is actually an EldritchAbomination who [[ImAHumanitarian eats his employees]]. His name is Uncle Graham. |
| 264 | [[/folder]] |
| 265 | |
| 266 | [[folder:Podcasts]] |
| 267 | * ''Podcast/TheMagnusArchives'' runs on this trope with avatars that channel eldritch entities of fear, with the power to trap victims in their worst nightmares, having names such as Peter or Jane. They have such mundane names that there are two unrelated evil Michaels. [[WasOnceAMan But it does make sense why...]] |
| 268 | [[/folder]] |
| 269 | |
| 270 | [[folder:Professional Wrestling]] |
| 271 | * "This is the king of old school Steve Corino, [[IAmTheNoun the most evil professional wrestling on the current scene]], the leader of the most dominant group in the entire professional wrestling world [[FunWithAcronyms SCUM]], and you [[CelebrityEndorsement are listening to caged heat]]. And if you don't listen to caged heat, I will come to your house and I will knock your teeth down your throat!" |
| 272 | * Wrestling/LloydCthulowitz is a monster created by a MadScientist and based on a horrific literary EldritchAbomination, and his first name is ''Lloyd''. |
| 273 | [[/folder]] |
| 274 | |
| 275 | [[folder:Radio]] |
| 276 | * ''Radio/BleakExpectations:'' The BigBad is Mr. Gently Kissy Nice-Nice Benevolent (his mother's maiden name was "''Mal''evolent.") |
| 277 | * In ''Radio/DialMForPizza'', a sinister fortune teller introduces himself to two hapless travellers: |
| 278 | -->'''Fortune teller:''' Me? Why, they call me "Doctor Terror".\ |
| 279 | '''Baz:''' How strange!\ |
| 280 | '''Fortune teller:''' Especially as my real name is Ernie Thompson. |
| 281 | * ''Radio/ElvenQuest:'' The supremely evil Lord Darkness's real name is in fact [[spoiler:Billy]]. As a kid, he was known as "[[spoiler:Little Billy Wobbles]]". |
| 282 | * ''Radio/TheFrantics'': Mr. Canoe Head's arch nemesis is the Evil Galactic Warlord...Larry! |
| 283 | [[/folder]] |
| 284 | |
| 285 | [[folder:Standup Comedy]] |
| 286 | * One routine by Creator/RowanAtkinson set in Hell features this. |
| 287 | --> Yes, I am the Devil. You may call me Toby. |
| 288 | [[/folder]] |
| 289 | |
| 290 | [[folder:Tabletop Games]] |
| 291 | * [[https://web.archive.org/web/20030708122629/http://www.peregrine-net.com/PGS_PGN_PRODUCTS/Bob_Lord-of-Evil.html Bob, Lord of Evil]] |
| 292 | * ''TabletopGame/MutantChronicles'': The Prophet of the Dark and Harbinger of Destruction... is named Billy. |
| 293 | * Nicol Bolas from ''TabletopGame/MagicTheGathering'', which can be seen as a form of 'Nicholas'. He's an incredibly old, powerful, and evil Elder Dragon. |
| 294 | * ''TabletopGame/{{Warhammer}}'' has the legendary Chaos Champion known as Harald Hammerstorm, or "Harry the Hammer" to his friends. |
| 295 | [[/folder]] |
| 296 | |
| 297 | [[folder:Theme Parks]] |
| 298 | * Ride/UniversalStudios' ''[[Theatre/UniversalsHorrorMakeUpShow Horror Make-Up Show]]'' features an evil mechanical werewolf simply named Eddie. |
| 299 | [[/folder]] |
| 300 | |
| 301 | [[folder:Video Games]] |
| 302 | * The BigBad of ''VideoGame/AndysAppleFarm'' is an EldritchAbomination who [[spoiler:trapped a family inside a video game]] and is tormenting them for his amusement, and is responsible for all the horror in the game. He calls himself [[spoiler:Peter]]. Though this is justified as it is to blend in with the other game characters like Andy. |
| 303 | * ''VideoGame/AssassinsCreedOrigins'': The Crocodile is one of the nastiest members of the Order of the Ancients, willing to hurt children in order to intimidate their parents and their real name is revealed to be [[spoiler:Berenike, which is an ancient form of "[[SamusIsAGirl Veronica]]"]]. |
| 304 | * ''VideoGame/AstralChain'': The FinalBoss is an EldritchAbomination that [[spoiler: is a fusion of [[BigBad Yoseph]], Akira, and Akira’s clones whose goal is to [[TheAssimilator absorb every life form in the universe]] to become the most powerful being in existence.]] Its name? [[spoiler: Noah.]] |
| 305 | * ''VideoGame/BladeStrangers'' gives us the all-terrifying wrath of a ravenous HumanoidAbomination bent on devouring everything in TheMultiverse named... ''Lina''. Yep, that's her name. And in the form of a [[KillerRabbit cute, teenage girl]] to boot. |
| 306 | * In the ''Videogame/{{Borderlands}}'' series, the most notorious villain of the series is none other than a CEO known only as Handsome Jack, [[OnlyOneName full name "Jack"]]. He has become so notorious in the series that [[OhMyGods characters actually use his name in place of God]] with phrases like "Oh My Jack" and "As Jack is my witness". Made even worse as his real name is said to be "John". |
| 307 | * ''Videogame/BravelySecond'''s main antagonist is [[NamesToRunAwayFromReallyFast Kaiser Oblivion]], which is obviously a pseudonym. His real name is [[spoiler: Denys (rhymes with "Danny")]]. |
| 308 | * ''VideoGame/{{Brigandine}}: Legend of Runersia'': The Holy Gustava Empire is a black-color schemed empire that showed itself as a formidable force even without a Brigandine, and [[EqualOpportunityEvil filled with knights of misfits rejected from other regions.]] You wish to know the name of its Emperor? Well, they call him... Tim? |
| 309 | * The primary and eternal antagonist of the ''Franchise/{{Castlevania}}'' games, the Prince of Darkness, the Lord of the Night, Count Dracula's true name is Vlad Tepes, but he was born [[spoiler: Mathias, and once he is reincarnated, [[HeelFaceReincarnation Soma]]]]. The ''VideoGame/CastlevaniaLordsOfShadow'' timeline gives him the even more normal name [[spoiler: Gabriel]]. Similarly in a heroic version, Dracula's son Alucard's real name is Adrian, and in ''Lords of Shadow'', [[spoiler: Trevor]]. |
| 310 | * TheDragon in ''VideoGame/{{Catherine}}'' is an ancient entity that seduces, discards, and kills men. She does not truly exist on the earthly plane, and no two people see her the same way. Her name is [[spoiler:Catherine]]. |
| 311 | * The FinalBoss of ''VideoGame/CurseOfTheDeadGods''; if you've been reading through the Codex entries, you might catch a hint that [[spoiler:you're hardly the first explorer to enter the temple]], but after fighting through a bunch of Aztec-style enemies with these hard-to-pronounce names and then seeing this menacing figure at the end and seeing his name is [[spoiler:Clovis Pardieux, the Champion of Death]] is kind of funny especially if you were totally clueless. |
| 312 | * ''Christmas Massacre'' has the VillainProtagonist of a man going on a killing spree around Christmas named Larry. |
| 313 | * ''VideoGame/DeusEx'' has as its main enemy.... a guy called Bob. Technically his full name is Robert Page, but he insists that people call him Bob. |
| 314 | * ''VideoGame/DokaponKingdom'' has Overlord Rico, but he fits right in with the ridiculous nature of the world. |
| 315 | * The pirate chief in ''Dungeon Raiders'' is called the "Giant Parrot Who Goes 'Qweek'!" Lampshaded when the main character commented "Yup, it's a stupid name, but don't let that fool you. He's very dangerous!" And again when he added that once he rescued his friends "After that, we'll see. But we could get together and decide to change the stupid names of the bosses." |
| 316 | * ''VideoGame/DustyRagingFist'' has the AncientEvil, a demon who assumes a regular form named... Elijah. As in, Elijah the Ancient Lord of Darkness. |
| 317 | * From ''VideoGame/EarthwormJim'', there's Bob the Killer Goldfish. Despite being as weak as an ordinary goldfish, he still fits the title since his authority over an army of brutes and a nearly impenetrable fortress makes him fearsome. |
| 318 | * ''VideoGame/FableI'': |
| 319 | ** The player character is OnlyKnownByTheirNickname... which, if he has a StartOfDarkness and doesn't purchase a new title, will remain "Chicken Chaser" long after he becomes the most infamous and [[TheDreaded feared]] villain on the continent. |
| 320 | ** The BigBad is Jack of Blades, often referred to simply as "Jack". The ''Lost Chapters'' expansion reveals him to be the surviving member of a trio of {{Eldritch Abomination}}s with ThemeNaming, the other two being the Knight and Queen of Blades. |
| 321 | * ''VideoGame/FaithTheUnholyTrinity'' deals with the matter of a Satanic cult, led by a man by the name of...Gary. He's the next-closest thing to a BigBad after Satan himself. [[spoiler:Although he's not actually a man, but an incarnated demon and his real name is the much more fitting Astaroth, one of the 72 demons of the ''Literature/ArsGoetia''.]] |
| 322 | * ''VideoGame/Fallout76'': Earle Williams the Wendigo Colossus. Justified because he WasOnceAMan. |
| 323 | * ''VideoGame/FatalFury'': The most fearsome crime lord in Southtown is named... Geese Howard. Yes, named after a ''fowl''. [[SNKBoss And he'll still kick the crap of anyone that crosses him]]. |
| 324 | * The most significant villain in ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyX'' is named Seymour. It's a MeaningfulName as it is rendered in Japanese as ''Shīmoa'', which contains ''shī'', meaning "death", but still a rather mundane one. |
| 325 | * A lot of Bosses in the ''VideoGame/FinalFight'' series have pretty average names, such as Abigail in the first game, Freddie and Philippe in the second, Dave, Wong and Drake in the third, and Hugo in ''Revenge''. |
| 326 | * ''VideoGame/GoldenSun'': |
| 327 | ** The recurring evil mastermind of the series is named Alex. It's justified in that he comes from Imil, where relatively plain Western names are the standard. More outlandish villains have more outlandish names, making Alex a distinct contrast. |
| 328 | ** Subverted in ''Dark Dawn'' when [[spoiler: Alex uses the alias "Arcanus". Not only does it match the Tarot ThemeNaming of his new allies, it also upstages them, fitting Alex's [[ItsAllAboutMe self-important personality]] and new powers. And returns to being played straight when he finally reveals his identity, to the shock of all present. Except for [[CoolOldGuy Kraden]], [[TheSmartGuy who had figured it out already]]]]. |
| 329 | * ''VideoGame/HonkaiImpact3rd'': While this is averted with the first "proper" BigBad, [[EvilRunningGood Otto]] [[NamesToRunAwayFromReallyFast Apocalypse]], it is played straight with the leader of [[NebulousEvilOrganisation World Serpent]], [[spoiler:[[FallenHero Kevin Kaslana]]. Kaslana isn't that bad, but Kevin... That's a pretty mundane name for the WorldsBestWarrior, especially compared to his descendant, Siegfried, who shares a name with the dragon-slaying hero of the ''Literature/{{Nibelungenlied}}'']]. |
| 330 | * ''VideoGame/{{Infernax}}'', while he has the demons use names mostly from the [[Literature/ArsGoetia Ars Goetia]], which do look intimidating, has the cutlist leader, whose name is [[spoiler:Robert]], and who is to a large extent responsible for the demonic invasion. |
| 331 | * The boss of the Holy MacGuffin Quest in ''Videogame/KingdomOfLoathing'' is the mighty Ed the Undying. When [[LampshadeHanging asked about this]] he says that he was never big on fancy titles. |
| 332 | * ''Franchise/{{Kirby}}'': |
| 333 | ** In ''[[VideoGame/KirbySuperStar Super Star]]'', the final boss who [[spoiler:betrays Kirby and aims to take over Pop Star]] is named [[spoiler:Mark]]. While this fits in that [[spoiler: he was just another harmless puffball until he [[ManipulativeBastard manipulated his way to ultimate power]],]] it's still a bit hard to take seriously, so the localization [[DubNameChange changed it]] to [[spoiler: Marx]]. This has been carried to ''VideoGame/KirbyMassAttack'' pinball mini-game, which the official name translation for him is [[spoiler: Marx]] even in Japanese version. |
| 334 | ** All three of the major villains in ''VideoGame/KirbyPlanetRobobot'' have harmless-sounding names: [[AffablyEvil Susie]] and [[CorruptCorporateExecutive Max Haltmann,]] and [[spoiler: [[LightIsNotGood Star]] [[AIIsACrapshoot Dream]]]]. [[DarkerAndEdgier They are easily among the darkest villains in the series.]] |
| 335 | * In ''VideoGame/LegendOfMana'', two of the {{Big Bad}}s have very menacing-sounding names: the Dragon arc has [[spoiler:Drakonis]], while the villain of the Jumi arc is only known as [[spoiler:the Lord of Jewels]]. However, the name of the BigBad of the Faerie arc, a demon bent on destroying the world? Irwin. |
| 336 | * In ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaSpiritTracks'', the most [[TheHeavy active antagonist]] and main servant of Malladus is known as Chancellor Cole. |
| 337 | * ''VideoGame/LittleGoodyTwoShoes'': The true name of [[spoiler:the Strange Boy]], the sadistic Demon Lord villain? [[spoiler:Ozzy]]. Though it is implied to be short for [[spoiler:Asmodeus]]. |
| 338 | * ''VideoGame/MasterDetectiveArchivesRainCode'': Regarding [[EvilInc the Amaterasu Corporation]], there are many names (bar one) that are rather casual despite the characters being villainous: the Peacekeepers have names like Swank Catsonell, Seth Burroughs, Martina Electro, Guillaume Hall, and Dominic Fulltank. The leader is an exception to this, being called [[NamesToRunAwayFromReallyFast Yomi Hellsmile]]. As for the game's main antagonist, [[spoiler:the CEO of the company is called [[IronicName "Makoto Kagutsuchi"]], which is rather casual even in the context of its translation, meaning "truth" and "fire god"]]. As a bonus, the head researcher of the company is also called Dr. Huesca, and he turns out to be [[spoiler:among the ''absolute'' most villainous characters in the game, but certainly not to the extent of the evil-sounding Yomi.]] |
| 339 | * ''VideoGame/MeetTheRobinsons'' has Wilbur Robinson unintentionally altering history so that he now lives in Magma City ruled by Emperor Stanley, which he can't take seriously. |
| 340 | * ''Franchise/{{Metroid}}'': A giant, purple carnivorous space dragon who can shoot fire, fly through space and regenerate his body after incredible injuries. His name? Ridley. While that's an uncommon name, it is still a very human one. |
| 341 | ** Probably a ShoutOut to Creator/RidleyScott, as ''Film/{{Alien}}'' was clearly an influence on the ''Metroid'' series, and Ridley himself is a XenomorphXerox. |
| 342 | * By nature of being represented by a player-chosen Mii, the Dark Lord in ''{{VideoGame/Miitopia}}'' can be this. And if the Mii's name is Tom, then you'll get an actual Tom the Dark Lord. In the Switch version of the game, his default name is Stan. |
| 343 | * ''{{VideoGame/Minecraft}}'': WordOfGod, the [[DragonsAreDemonic Ender Dragon's]] name is "[[SamusIsAGirl Jean]]". |
| 344 | ** The ''VideoGame/{{Witchery}}'' GameMod has a [[DemonLordsAndArchdevils demon lord]] named Leonard. Not the mod creator's fault in this case, as [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leonard_(demon) Leonard]] is actually the name of a demon associated with witches in the ''Dictionnaire Infernal'', a 19th-century book on diabolism. |
| 345 | * One of the most iconic characters in ''Franchise/MortalKombat'' is the massive four-armed warrior Goro. In Japan, Goro is a very common boy's name. |
| 346 | * The Pig King of ''VideoGame/Mother3'' makes Giygas look tame in comparison, orchestrating the horrific Chimera projects that turn peaceful animals into deranged cyborgs, conquering your hometown and corrupting the residents into greedy, selfish people, and ultimately deciding to destroy the world for laughs. King P[[spoiler:orky]] also qualifies in the [[Videogame/EarthBound1994 previous game he appeared in.]] |
| 347 | * ''VideoGame/PaperMarioTheOrigamiKing'': The one who turned Peach and Bowser's minions into origami figurines and aims to do the same thing to the rest of the world is an evil king named ''Olly'', a name much more befitting a young boy. [[spoiler:It makes more sense when you learn of his [[FromNobodyToNightmare origins]], though: not only was he [[ReallyWasBornYesterday "born" pretty recently]], he was never intended by his creator to be a villain.]] |
| 348 | * ''Franchise/{{Pokemon}}'': |
| 349 | ** In many games, the leader of the NebulousEvilOrganisation usually has a cool name; [[VideoGame/PokemonRedAndBlue Team Rocket]] has Giovanni, [[VideoGame/PokemonDiamondAndPearl Team Galactic]] has Cyrus, [[VideoGame/PokemonBlackAndWhite Team Plasma]] has Ghetsis, [[VideoGame/PokemonXAndY Team Flare]] has Lysandre, and [[VideoGame/PokemonSunAndMoon Team Skull and Aether Foundation]] has Guzma and Lusamine. [[VideoGame/PokemonRubyAndSapphire Team Magma and Team Aqua]], however? Maxie and Archie, respectively. |
| 350 | ** ''VideoGame/PokemonSwordAndShield'' has [[spoiler: a MegaCorp called Macro Cosmos, which is trying to kickstart the Darkest Day and unleash an EldritchAbomination. Its leader has the fairly benign name of "Chairman Rose". [[SubvertedTrope Subverted]] in that Rose is a WellIntentionedExtremist; his plan is an attempt to solve an energy crisis that he predicts will happen some thousand years in the future.]] |
| 351 | ** The leader of [[spoiler: the VillainInNameOnly]] Team Star in ''VideoGame/PokemonScarletAndViolet'' has the cute and harmless name of [[spoiler: Penny.]] |
| 352 | * In ''VideoGame/{{Postknight}}'', the mastermind behind the villains of the first game, DiscOneFinalBoss of the second game, whose [[VillainousLegacy legacy still haunts the Postknights until three arcs later]] and culprit for the spread of the plague is Dark Knight [[spoiler:Kraig.]] |
| 353 | * The giant monster player-characters of the coin-op ''{{VideoGame/Rampage}}'' are George (giant gorilla), [[PunnyName Lizzie]] (lizard) and Ralph (werewolf). The latter (along with the nature of ''Rampage'') may have been part of the inspiration for ''WesternAnimation/WreckItRalph''. In their case, it's justified as they're actually regular humans who were mutated into {{Kaiju}}. |
| 354 | * In the ''VideoGame/{{Reincarnation 2008}}'' series, Lucifer, Prince of Lies, prefers to go by "Luke". His underlings are no less intimidated by him either way. |
| 355 | * Most, if not all of the main {{Big Bad}}s in the ''Franchise/ResidentEvil'' games qualify: Albert Wesker, William Berkin, Alexia Ashford, Derek C. Simmons, Carla Radames, Jack Baker, etc. Justified, however, on accounts that they were each ordinary humans ([[spoiler:except for Carla]]) prior to becoming mutants. |
| 356 | * In ''VideoGame/RuneScape'', trolls are named for the first thing they try to eat (or the sounds it makes if the trolls don't know what it is). Naturally, this leads to a quest where you make an alliance with the dreaded troll warlord "Pretty Flower". He's not happy about his name, and hopes his son gets a cooler one.[[spoiler: His son ends up with the name 'Sparkly Crystal'.]] |
| 357 | * During Issue #9 ''VideoGame/TheSecretWorld,'' players are introduced to the Black Signal, the disembodied sentience commanding the [[TheVirus Filth]] in Tokyo and the voice of [[EldritchAbomination the Dreamers]] on Earth. However, despite a fanciful number of titles including "The Word Virus," "The Brain Pathogen Grammar," and "The Smoking Mirror," he's actually very upfront in revealing that his real name is, in fact... John. |
| 358 | * Fleming, Lord of the Demons from ''VideoGame/ShadowsOfTheDamned''. |
| 359 | * ''VideoGame/{{Skullgirls}}'': The titular Skullgirl, a massively powerful lich, is named Marie, and her predecessor was Nancy. Nancy almost ''destroyed the world'' and required all nations to ally to take her down. |
| 360 | * The player protagonist from ''VideoGame/SpinalBreakers'' (a violent and {{Gorn}}-loaded arcade game) is Captain Waffle, a badass OneManArmy who slaughters enemy mooks by the dozens. |
| 361 | * Every time he runs into her, [[TheHero Jim Raynor]] in ''VideoGame/StarCraft'' reminds the [[NamesToRunAwayFromReallyFast Queen of Blades]] that her real name is "Sarah". This is part of his series-long [[IKnowYoureInThereSomewhereFight I Know You're In There Somewhere]] quest [[spoiler:which eventually succeeds]]. |
| 362 | * The final boss of ''VideoGame/StreetFighterIV'' is named Seth. Like Seymour above, it's a religious reference that sounds exotic in Japan, but to English speakers it just sounds silly unless they know Egyptian Mythology (especially compared to "Akuma", "Sagat", or "M. Bison"). Helping somewhat is that it's also a reference to PromotedFanboy Seth Killian. |
| 363 | * ''VideoGame/TalesOfSymphonia'' has a variation. Most of the major villains have menacing-sounding names (Magnius, Kvar, Rodyle, Forcystus, Pronyma) while the BigBad's name is the equally cool-sounding [[spoiler:Yggdrasill]]. However, [[spoiler:his actual first name is Mithos, which, while certainly not a normal name in real life, sounds a lot less threatening and is explicitly stated to be a common boy's name in-universe]]. |
| 364 | * ''VideoGame/TotalWarWarhammerIII'': The Daemon Prince [[HelloInsertNameHere can be named whatever the player wishes]]. Whenever he shows up in official Creative Assembly videos, he's named 'Daniel', and the name is even given a mention in the introduction video to ''Immortal Empires'' when The Advisor mentions the name keeps haunting him. His name before his ascension, Yuri, would also count [[ThatManIsDead but The Daemon Prince is heavily implied to have rejected it]]. Granted, there is nothing stopping the player from using that same name again. |
| 365 | * ''VideoGame/TromboneChamp'': In order to make progress through the game's meta-narrative, the player will need to collect Tromboner Cards and sacrifice them to a demon in order to unlock new trombones, with the demon promising to reveal his true name once they've become the Trombone Champ. Do so by beating the game, and talking to him has him reveal that his name is [[spoiler:George]]. |
| 366 | * ''Videogame/{{Undertale}}'' |
| 367 | ** [[spoiler:The AxCrazy true villain]] refers to himself as [[spoiler:Flowey the Flower]]. Kind of odd considering that [[spoiler:he probably came up with that himself, and the name of his original self is Asriel Dreemurr, which is much more intimidating aside from the fact that it's just a mash-up of his parents' names]]. |
| 368 | ** There's also the real name of [[spoiler:the Anomaly, which is whatever the player's name is. [[NotMakingThisUpDisclaimer No]], not the player character, ''[[NoFourthWall the player]].'' It's literally you, after all.]] |
| 369 | * ''VideoGame/WestOfLoathing'' has a sinister EldritchAbomination lurking in the El Vibrato Ruins which answers to the name... Roberto. There's also a demon lord named [[spoiler: Barnaby Bob]]. |
| 370 | * ''VideoGame/WarioLand3'' has [[spoiler:Rudy the Clown as the main antagonist. Keep in mind that he is essentially a MonsterClown with supernatural powers and a terrifying appearance. But then again, he is a clown so the name doesn't sound too inapropriate]]. |
| 371 | * In ''VideoGame/WorldOfWarcraft'': |
| 372 | ** A succubus [[spoiler:really an imp mother]] that intimidates even the Council of the Black Harvest, causing one of its members to insist she's "beyond all of us" is named Agatha. |
| 373 | ** High Inquisitor Whitemane is a brutal KnightTemplar who serves the fanatical Scarlet Crusade faction. This is all despite the fact that her first name is Sally. |
| 374 | * The [[{{Narcissist}} narcissistic]], [[GodIsEvil godly]], BigBad of ''VideoGame/XenobladeChronicles'' is a DoubleSubversion of this trope, having the adequately fantastical name of [[spoiler: Zanza]] but his true name was the much more common and less fantastical name of [[spoiler: Klaus]]. |
| 375 | ** The sequels follow suit with TheHeavy for each respective game, [[VideoGame/XenobladeChronicles2 Jin]] and [[VideoGame/XenobladeChronicles3 N]] [[spoiler: (who’s original name was Noah)]]. |
| 376 | * ''VideoGame/YIIKAPostmodernRPG:'' The universe-destroying FinalBoss has the rather mundane name [[spoiler:Proto-Alex.]] |
| 377 | * The ''VideoGame/YoshisIsland'' series almost seems to be making a trend out of this for the boss names, with all the villains having names more suited to a school or workplace than the dark side. Some examples include Roger (the potted ghost), Raphael (the raven), Gilbert (the gooey boss in world 1 of ''Yoshi's Island DS''), Hector, Sal and (in ''New Island'') Fred. |
| 378 | * ''Videogame/{{Zombidle}}'''s main character is an undead necromancer spreading destruction across many kingdoms with his demonic hordes... named Bob. |
| 379 | [[/folder]] |
| 380 | |
| 381 | [[folder:Visual Novels]] |
| 382 | * The major villains in the ''Franchise/AceAttorney'' series tend to have cool or menacing-sounding names, such as [[spoiler:Manfred von Karma]] from ''VisualNovel/PhoenixWrightAceAttorney'', [[spoiler:the phantom]] from ''VisualNovel/PhoenixWrightAceAttorneyDualDestinies'' (whose real name is never even revealed) or [[spoiler:Ga'ran Sigatar Khura'in]] from ''VisualNovel/PhoenixWrightAceAttorneySpiritOfJustice''. [[spoiler:Matt Engarde]] from ''VisualNovel/PhoenixWrightAceAttorneyJusticeForAll'', however, doesn't sound particularly evil, despite being one of cruelest villains in the series. |
| 383 | * ''Franchise/{{Danganronpa}}'': |
| 384 | ** The BigBad is [[spoiler:a self-centered, egotistical bully and a terrorist who seeks to cause despair for its own sake, and yet has the rather casual MeaningfulName of "Junko Enoshima", which isn't at all threatening nor does it capture the extent of her misdeeds. She uses the casual aspect of her name as part of her fashionista cover.]] |
| 385 | ** ''VisualNovel/Danganronpa2GoodbyeDespair'' has a character (albeit a massive {{Chuunibyou}}) claiming to be a demon lord of destruction. His name? Tanaka- one of the most common family names in Japan, and essentially the equivalent of 'Dark Lord Smith'. On the other hand, his given name is [[Franchise/{{Gundam}} Gundham]]. |
| 386 | * In [=ClockUp=]'s ''Maggot Baits'', the biggest, meanest, supernatural "witch" (yes, include the quotation marks) in the game... her name is Sandy. And her rude, hedonistic partner's name is Isabel. The rest of the "witches" names (either Heroic or TrueNeutral) are Carol, Gloria, Wilma, Alison, Carla, Edna, Irene, and [[NoNameGiven Jane Doe]]. All the witches ''are'' named after famous hurricanes because of their incredible destructive power, so they still count as {{Meaningful Name}}s. |
| 387 | * The Floor Master of Chapter 3-1 in ''VisualNovel/YourTurnToDie'' can be [[HelloInsertNameHere named by the player]], but his [[CanonName default rename option]] is "Midori". While not an exceedingly common Japanese name, it literally translates to "green", which is [[LineOfSightName the color of his hair]]. [[spoiler:This trope also applies to his real name, Sou Hiyori, which is rather simple as well.]] However, despite his simple name, he is revealed to be responsible for much of the suffering that the cast goes through and is easily the cruelest of the floor masters. Since the player has control over what he'll be called in the game, this can be invoked as well. You could literally name him "Tom."[[note]]There's even room to put in "Tom the Dark Lord."[[/note]] |
| 388 | [[/folder]] |
| 389 | |
| 390 | [[folder:Webcomics]] |
| 391 | * The main character of ''Webcomic/HellInc'' is a demon named Doug who works in a pretty unremarkable cubicle-layout office, aside from the fact that the comic is set in Hell. |
| 392 | * From ''Webcomic/LookingForGroup'', there is a character whose titles include "Chief Warlock of the Brothers of Darkness, Lord of the Thirteen Hells, Master of the Bones, Emperor of the Black, Lord of the Undead, King of the Dance, [[SheIsTheKing Mistress of Magma]] and mayor of a little (undead) village up the coast." The character's name? Richard. This is constantly mocked in the comic. The protagonist Cale is fond of referring to him as Dick just to get on his nerves. |
| 393 | * ''Webcomic/ElGoonishShive'' gives us an alternate reality EvilOverlord version of one of the protagonists. All hail Lord Tedd! And then there's the maniac with a god complex, Damien. |
| 394 | * In ''Webcomic/SluggyFreelance'' we have "Chaz," an unstoppable sword also known as the Unholy Evil Death Bringer, forged in the most insidious of flame by the blacksmith known only as... Bob. |
| 395 | * ''Webcomic/ExterminatusNow'' gives us the Conspirator, Greater Daemon of the Patterner... Kevin. |
| 396 | -->'''Jamilla:''' Wait, ''Kevin?''\ |
| 397 | '''Kevin:''' "Kevin" is not my real name, since that is unpronounceable in your feeble mortal tongue. If you were able to pronounce it, [[BrownNote the skies themselves would shatter]]!\ |
| 398 | '''Morth:''' Actually, it ''is'' his real name.\ |
| 399 | '''Kevin:''' Oh, just tell everybody, why don't you? |
| 400 | :: She actually manages to bring her sacrifice to a screeching halt by revealing this fact, leading the cultists to start bickering about it. |
| 401 | * Bob is one of the major villains of the sprite comic ''Webcomic/BobAndGeorge''. [[spoiler:He's also a fiery supervillain known as Napalm, but most people refer to him as "Bob" even when he's manifesting his "Napalm" superpowers.]] |
| 402 | * The Emperor of the Souballo Empire's name is "Brian" in ''Webcomic/OurLittleAdventure''. |
| 403 | * The (most frequently appearing) super-powered, evil trickster of the ''Webcomic/MountainTime'' universe is Dave. |
| 404 | * ''Webcomic/TrueVillains'' features a sinister NoNonsenseNemesis sorcerer who shows up out of nowhere to punch a hole through Sebastian's soul, face Xaneth in magical battle, and even return from Hell as [[CameBackStrong a giant demon]] bent on vengeance. His name? Dove. |
| 405 | * In ''Webcomic/GrrlPower'', we learn after his defeat and incarceration that [[spoiler: Vehemence's actual given name is Kevin]]. The author mentions he specifically chose it as a non-threatening name [[PersonOfMassDestruction for an extremely dangerous villain]]. |
| 406 | * ''Webcomic/{{Narbonic}}'' gives us the Dave Conspiracy, a secret society controlling much of the world, made up of everyone named Dave. |
| 407 | * In ''Webcomic/CucumberQuest'', Thebestmaster eventually reveals that the [[BigBad Nightmare]] [[AntiVillain Knight]] is really named [[spoiler:Steve]]. |
| 408 | * In ''Webcomic/{{Homestuck}}'', one of the most powerful and deadly enemies is named... Jack. That his last name is the slightly exotic Noir only dampens the effect a little bit. |
| 409 | * ''Webcomic/{{Housepets}}'' has the Cosmic Gryphon, an extremely powerful demigod. Though not really ''Evil'', he's a callous narcissist with a dangerously competitive spirit who views mortals as little more than toys, and his cruel actions set in motion much of the plot. His name is Pete. |
| 410 | [[/folder]] |
| 411 | |
| 412 | [[folder:Web Original]] |
| 413 | * ''Podcast/TheAdventureZoneBalance'': |
| 414 | ** Played for laughs with the first major villain, the Black Spider, whose real name is...Brian. |
| 415 | --->'''Magic Brian:''' It's Brian, [[VerbalTic darling.]]\ |
| 416 | '''Merle:''' "Brian Darling?" You're related to [[Literature/PeterPan Wendy Darling?]]\ |
| 417 | '''Magic Brian:''' No, no, just Brian. You don't need to add anything else. |
| 418 | ** A more ominous example is [[spoiler:the avatar and true form of [[EldritchAbomination the Hunger]], who goes by "John"]]. |
| 419 | * ''WebVideo/DontHugMeImScared'': |
| 420 | ** The villain of the second video is a talking clock with control over the flow of time who uses his power to [[spoiler:[[DisproportionateRetribution rot the puppets alive for questioning him]]]]. WordOfGod is that his name is Tony. |
| 421 | ** Shrignold in the third video doesn't qualify, but [[spoiler:Malcolm, [[GreaterScopeVillain the god he serves]]]], does. |
| 422 | ** In the fourth video, the puppets are [[spoiler:trapped in a deteriorating virtual world where there is nothing to do but open three doors over and over again]] by a sentient computer. WordOfGod is that the computer's name is Colin. |
| 423 | ** The BigBad of the entire series? [[spoiler:Yellow Guy's dad, Roy.]] |
| 424 | * WebAnimation/DorklyOriginals did this as a joke regarding ''Franchise/SonicTheHedgehog'' fan characters. Robotnik shows up and releases a container containing the "Ultimate Original Character". As the light fades, it reveals a tall Echidna with a metal belt, dark eyeliner, Knuckles' signature gloves, two tails (not unlike Tails himself), and sharp dreadlocks like Sonic's spines. He shouts his name to everyone dramatically. |
| 425 | --->''Behold... I... am... KEEEVIIIIIIIN!!!!!'' |
| 426 | * ''WebVideo/DrHorriblesSingAlongBlog'': Doctor Horrible. His SecretIdentity is that of an awkward nerd named Billy. Of course, his villainous nickname and its accompanying catchphrase ("I've got a [=PhD=] in Horribleness") are intentionally {{Narm}}y as well. |
| 427 | * ''WebAnimation/{{Dreamscape}}'': There is a RealityWarper zombie sorcerer named ''Ethan''. This is especially jarring when you compare his name with his sister Curien. |
| 428 | * A group name variant in ''[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gjGpzhcnA64 Fuwa Fuwa Foof]]''. Foof's old criminal gang, which was one of the most vicious and notorious gangs during the time it was active, initially had the name of the Grassy Meadows, as given in the opening content of the fan comic ''[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TURCoo7nvLw Fair Play]]'' approved by creator Kyra Kupetsky. Kupetsky would later rename the group to the more fitting Heavy Meadow. |
| 429 | * ''WebVideo/TheFunniestMinecraftVideosEver'': After going unnamed for most of the "Dragon Morph" video, the name of dragon!Wilbur is revealed to be [[spoiler:''Keith Smith'']]. |
| 430 | * ''Literature/AHerosWar'': Emperor Muppy is a laughingstock among the kids, but strikes dread in adults centuries after his death; having a name too funny not to insult and personal ''death squads'' crushing the populace is ''not'' a healthy combo. |
| 431 | * ''WebAnimation/HunterTheParenting:'' [[LargeHam THE GREAT AND MIGHTY KEVIN]], a crazed [[TabletopGame/VampireTheMasquerade Tremere vampire]] from the [[FeralVampires Sabbat]], who has zero problems treating such a mundane name like the loftiest of titles... and as we find out later, there are reasons for that: He's a vampire who still tries to keep a connection to humanity, and was forced to adopt a "shitty Camarilla roleplay name" (Herbertus) when he was embraced, and then got bestowed with an EmbarrassingNickname when he managed to defect to the Sabbat until he earned enough respect to be called what he wanted. Using his own mortal name is both a sign of wanting to remain human and a symbol of the shackles he's shattered in the way... that and he ''despised'' the other names he got, with special hatred for Herbertus. |
| 432 | * In TabletopGame/NewVindicators, the main villain of the Laputa arc in the European story, Laputa-Prime, is really named [[spoiler:Elizabeth]], but often addressed by a very cutesy-sounding nickname, [[spoiler:Little Lizzie]]. |
| 433 | * ''WebAnimation/MetaRunner'': The BigBad is a completely sociopath who is willing to do anything to keep his reputation clean, and his name is Derek Lucks. |
| 434 | * ''WebAnimation/NoEvil'': The ostensibly human Charles, who seems to be [[spoiler: behind the return of the Black Tezcatlipoca]]. |
| 435 | * The mastermind behind the anomalies in ''ARG/TheNoedolekcinArchives'' is named "Kirk". |
| 436 | * ''WebAnimation/RedVsBlue'': |
| 437 | ** The main villains of The Blood Gulch Chronicles are named O'Malley, [[spoiler:Gary, and Reggie. Though O'Malley and Gary aren't their actual names, which are the somewhat more sinister-sounding Omega and Gamma]]. |
| 438 | ** The Director of Project Freelancer, the [[BigBad main villain]] ultimately behind basically every problem in the series is named [[spoiler:Leonard Church]]. Along with his right-hand man, [[spoiler:Aiden Price]]. |
| 439 | ** [[spoiler:[[BigBadDuumvirate One of the main villains]] of the Chorus Trilogy is simply named Felix. (The other goes by the name of his armor instead of using a proper name.) Their boss, the Chairman of Charon Industries, is named Malcolm Hargrove.]] |
| 440 | * ''Roleplay/RubyQuest'' has the horrible mutated monster Daisy, KnightTemplar MadDoctor Filbert, and the AxCrazy 'highest priority hazard', Tom. The latter is usually referred to by his subject number (#6), as [[OneSteveLimit he shares his name with Ruby's companion]]. [[spoiler: For the very good reason that they're one and the same. The person that the players thought was Subject #6 (who was really #5) also counts, since he's an ''incredibly'' creepy borderline EldritchAbomination whose name is also Tom.]] |
| 441 | * The {{Trope Namer|s}} is {{discussed|Trope}} in Episode 13 of ''WebVideo/SatelliteCity'', where the human [[UnfazedEveryman Sullivan]] finds it hilarious that the evil monster that [[TheDreaded even the interdimensional demon-animals living in his house are scared of]] has the [[FluffyTheTerrible seemingly harmless name]] of "[[spoiler:Dizzy Jones]]". The trope itself is played with in that the villain's ''actual'' name, [[spoiler:Mandus]], sounds appropriately ominous and evil, but the ''nickname'' he goes by is comparatively silly-sounding. |
| 442 | -->'''Sullivan:''' You mean to say, that you're actually that scared of this fucker that you actually called him a ''goof name'', I mean, "[[Literature/HarryPotter Voldemort]]" was supposed to intimidate because [[LampshadeHanging his actual name was fuckin']] ''[[LampshadeHanging Tom]]''. |
| 443 | * ''WebAnimation/SpookyMonth'': The antagonist of "Tender Treats" is a [[ImAHumanitarian cannibalistic]] SerialKiller who actively stalks the main characters, successfully maims someone onscreen, and is consistently treated by everyone as a threat, including [[OOCIsSeriousBusiness the two normally naive and oblivious child protagonists]] towards the episode's end. His name is Bob. |
| 444 | * The main antagonist of [[WebAnimation/Supermarioglitchy4sSuperMario64Bloopers SMG4]]'s Anime Arc is a genocidal crime lord who caused the first ever permanent death in the series, who is given the horrifying name of... [[spoiler:Francis]]. Justified however, as he is a [[AdaptationalVillainy far more villainous variant]] of the character of the same name from ''VideoGame/SuperPaperMario''. |
| 445 | * A recurring character in WebVideo/SuperMarioLogan is the devil, who is given the terrifying name of... Craig. |
| 446 | * ''WebOriginal/WelcomeToMountport'': The BigBad of the musical who plans to eclipse Mountport with her tower is most fiendishly named... Tina Johnson. |
| 447 | [[/folder]] |
| 448 | |
| 449 | [[folder:Western Animation]] |
| 450 | * ''WesternAnimation/PhineasAndFerb'': |
| 451 | ** Doof started an Evil League called the '''L'''eague '''O'''f '''V'''illainous '''E'''vildoers '''M'''aniacally '''U'''nited '''F'''or '''F'''rightening '''I'''nvestment in '''N'''aughtiness. Or as it's better known, [[FunWithAcronyms L.O.V.E.M.U.F.F.I.N.]]. |
| 452 | ** There's also Meap's sworn enemy, EvilPoacher and would-be galactic overlord Mitch. [[IHaveManyNames Some people call him "Big Mitch".]] |
| 453 | ** Another episode has Doofenshmirtz telling Perry about his mentor whom his temporary island hideout belonged to, Professor Destructicon... or "Kevin" to his friends, which Doof refers him by as he continues his story. |
| 454 | * ''WesternAnimation/TheLifeAndTimesOfJuniperLee'': |
| 455 | ** The '''L'''eague '''O'''f '''V'''illainous '''E'''vildoers (LOVE) featured in one episode. June also goes up against a GovernmentConspiracy called '''H'''umans for the '''A'''bolishment of '''M'''agic... HAM. |
| 456 | ** Another recurring villain in the series is the Sandman, who prefers to go by his real name: Stephen. (But does ''not'' like to be called "Steve".) |
| 457 | * ''WesternAnimation/YinYangYo'' has Carl the Evil Cockroach Wizard. |
| 458 | * In ''WesternAnimation/DaveTheBarbarian'', the main recurring villain is the Dark Lord Chuckles the Silly Piggy. |
| 459 | * Simon the gremlin from ''WesternAnimation/{{Trollz}}'' was sealed away for 3000 years after turning most of the good magic evil and destroying the world of the Trollz as they knew it, but it's still hard to take him seriously with that name. |
| 460 | * In the third [[WesternAnimation/TheAdventuresOfJimmyNeutronBoyGenius Jimmy]]-[[WesternAnimation/TheFairlyOddParents Timmy]] [[{{Crossover}} Power Hour]], there is a ''male'' villain named "Shirley". |
| 461 | * ''WesternAnimation/TheSuperHeroSquadShow'' once had The Trapster appear. However, due to his original villain name being 'Paste Pot Pete', he is mocked by [[Characters/MarvelComicsAIM M.O.D.O.K.]] and the Abomination for being named "Pete". |
| 462 | * In ''WesternAnimation/TUFFPuppy'', when Larry took over D.O.O.M. he changed his name to Murray, which made everyone in T.U.F.F. gasp in fear. |
| 463 | * In ''WesternAnimation/LiloAndStitchTheSeries'', the main villain is a rodent-like alien named Dr. Hamsterviel, often mispronounced to sound like the not-very-threatening Hamsterwheel. |
| 464 | * ''WesternAnimation/AdventureTime'' has [[VampireMonarch Marceline]]'s father, Hunson Abadeer. Neither are particularly common names, but it's oddly normal for a [[OurDemonsAreDifferent demonic]], [[YourSoulIsMine soul-sucking]] HumanoidAbomination who rules over a {{World of|Chaos}} ChaoticEvil. (It's also a bit odd for the setting, as most characters don't have "normal" surnames.) |
| 465 | * The TV Series of ''WesternAnimation/HowToTrainYourDragon'' gives us Alvin the Treacherous. Also lampshaded in the show itself. |
| 466 | * In ''WesternAnimation/RegularShow'' Death's baby son is named Thomas. |
| 467 | * The BigBad of ''WesternAnimation/GravityFalls'' is named [[OurDemonsAreDifferent Bill Cipher]], often just called "Bill" by the main characters. He manages to be [[NightmareFetishist plenty scary]] despite his [[BewareTheSillyOnes many silly attributes]]. His name is likely inspired by Killer BOB (above), and also alludes to the dollar ''bill'' (since he looks like the Eye of Providence) and [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beale_ciphers the Beale Ciphers]] (since the show features plenty of cryptograms as {{Easter Egg}}s). Supplemental material reveals that "Bill Cipher" is just a nickname as his true name is a BrownNote to human beings, but this is never brought up in the show proper. |
| 468 | * The cartoon spin-off of ''WesternAnimation/WheresWaldo'' featured the terrible, evil, malicious grey knight...Fred. |
| 469 | * David Xanathos of ''WesternAnimation/{{Gargoyles}}'' has a cool last name but a pretty common first one. The irony lay is his enemy being named [[DavidVersusGoliath "Goliath."]] |
| 470 | * ''WesternAnimation/SpongeBobSquarePants'': |
| 471 | ** Plankton has the EmbarrassingFirstName of Sheldon, which is not particularly evil-sounding. |
| 472 | ** From the first movie, Dennis isn't exactly the first name to come to mind when you see an insane and merciless hitman. |
| 473 | * ''WesternAnimation/EdEddNEddy'': In-universe, some of Ed's horror comics, like ''Marlene of the Deep'' or ''Evil Tim''. Tim isn't exactly a scary name, no matter how evil he is. |
| 474 | * Sideshow Bob from ''WesternAnimation/TheSimpsons'', although he is rarely referred to simply as "Bob." |
| 475 | -->'''Sideshow Bob''': Hello, Bart. |
| 476 | -->'''Bart and Lisa''': Aah! Sideshow Bob! |
| 477 | -->'''Sideshow Bob''': Oh, come now. We've been through so much together. Just call me Bob. |
| 478 | -->'''Bart and Lisa''': Aah! Bob! |
| 479 | ** In the "Death Tome" Treehouse of Horror skit, the Shinigami that serves as the Ryuk parody is named "Steve Johnson". He states that it was a much more exotic name eons ago. |
| 480 | * ''WesternAnimation/StarVsTheForcesOfEvil'': |
| 481 | ** Star's half-demon PsychoExBoyfriend, the prince of the Underworld, is literally named Tom Lucitor. In an subversion, demons in this setting are not generally evil (or even enemies of the [[FantasticRacism generally xenophobic]] Kingdom of Mewni), and Tom's destructive behavior [[ReluctantPsycho is something he regrets and tries to reign in]] (eventually, [[HeelFaceTurn he succeeds]]). |
| 482 | ** The "evil efficiency expert" Ludo hires in "Fortune Cookies" is a slick, suave lizard man named [[FluffyTheTerrible Toffee]], who winds up being a KnightOfCerebus. |
| 483 | * Peaches the Dark Lord from ''WesternAnimation/RockosModernLife'' who famously tried to take Heffer's soul twice [[BannedEpisode (and one episode ended up being banned!)]]. |
| 484 | * ''WesternAnimation/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagic'': |
| 485 | ** The series has villains with names like Nightmare Moon, Discord, Queen Chrysalis, King Sombra, Tirek, and... Starlight Glimmer, a fairly standard pony name. But she's got a pretty impressive rap sheet: in the season five premiere, she runs a cult based around convincing (or forcing) ponies to give up their cutie marks, which define who they are and their purpose in life. Then in the season five finale, she uses a time-travel spell to stop Rainbow Dash's first Sonic Rainboom (which [[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS1E23TheCutieMarkChronicles is what got Twilight Sparkle and her friends their cutie marks]]), [[ButterflyOfDoom accidentally creating]] a series of {{Bad Future}}s where previous villains took over Equestria. Starlight's tatical skills gave her the upperhand in the entire situation that Twilight, the Princess of Friendship, was only able to beat her [[spoiler: by [[TalkingTheMonsterToDeath talking her]] into a HeelFaceTurn]]. |
| 486 | ** In the season eight finale, the villain responsible for draining Equestria's magic and locking the main heroes of the series in Tartarus is [[spoiler: Cozy Glow]]. |
| 487 | * ''WesternAnimation/{{Archer}}'': |
| 488 | ** Barry Dylan. He may not start out particularly villainous, but once he receives [[spoiler: [[WeCanRebuildHim a cyborg upgrade]]]], he certainly qualifies. |
| 489 | ** The vicious (male) leader of the Irish Mob is named Franny Delaney. |
| 490 | ** To a lesser extent, [[spoiler: Conway Stern]]. Good surname, but that first name doesn't inspire a lot of fear... |
| 491 | ** The ruthless hitman couple of...Charles and Rudy. |
| 492 | * ''WesternAnimation/PJMasks'' has the Wolfy Kids, a trio of werewolf-like villains named Rip, Howler and....Kevin. |
| 493 | * Obake, TheChessmaster MadScientist BigBad of the first season of ''WesternAnimation/BigHero6TheSeries'', was born [[spoiler:B'''ob Ake'''n]], much to Fred's shock. |
| 494 | * ''WesternAnimation/TheOwlHouse'' |
| 495 | ** The true name of Emperor Belos is [[spoiler:Philip Wittebane. Pretty good surname, first name... not so much. Unlike most examples of this trope, he actually ''prefers'' to be addressed as Philip, and only changed his name once he got run out of too many towns under his real identity.]] |
| 496 | ** The Elder of the Titan Trappers, who has dedicated his life to hunting Titans to near extinction, is called Bill. |
| 497 | --->'''Luz:''' Is that short for something?\ |
| 498 | '''Tarak:''' Nope! Just Bill. |
| 499 | [[/folder]] |
| 500 |
http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/context.php
FollowingContext Main / TomTheDarkLord
Go To
- Show Spoilers
- Night Vision
- Sticky Header
- Wide Load
