Line #68 Main/VillainCred


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8	->''"You compare this insignificant nothing to Zarbon and Dodoria? Was that a joke? Ha! Either you brought the most cowardly of all my troops to my welcoming party, or the Frieza Force has become woefully faint of heart. How do you expect us to run an empire that strikes fear across the galaxies while we're cowering from a handful of Saiyan garbage?!"''
9	-->--'''Frieza''', ''Anime/DragonBallZResurrectionF''
10
11	Whether you consider it short for villain credentials or villain credibility, it's a measure both of how much respect a villain gets among his fellow rogues and of how credible a threat the do-gooders and the authorities consider said villain to be. It's earned through successful completion of bold, daring and devious deeds; in other words, nothing so pedestrian as robbing bank or holding up a liquor store will suffice. It can also [[VillainDecay be lost in a heartbeat]] if one runs afoul of [[Franchise/ScoobyDoo meddling kids and their talking dog]].
12
13	A specific villainous version of a KarmaMeter. Often a major motivation factor for a CardCarryingVillain or NobleDemon.
14
15	A supertrope to ArsonMurderAndAdmiration, a more comedic take on the concept. Compare FameThroughInfamy. Contrast UnintentionallyNotoriousCrime, where a villain gets ''too much'' cred. Do not confuse with VillainRespect, which is directed at heroes.
16	----
17	!!Examples:
18
19	[[foldercontrol]]
20
21	[[folder: Anime & Manga]]
22	* ''Franchise/DragonBall'':
23	** In the original ''Dragon Ball'' series, Mercenary Tao has a reputation as a cold, ruthless assassin that he takes pride in; he goes so far as to refuse to pay a tailor for doing a week's worth of work on his uniform in three days purely because doing so would ruin said reputation.
24	** ''Anime/DragonBallZResurrectionF'': While's he's largely motivated by {{revenge}}, Frieza also invokes this trope while calling out [[TheRemnant what's left of his empire]] on [[HowTheMightyHaveFallen how far they've fallen]], pointing out that no one will take them seriously if they're too busy being terrified of [[TheDreaded Goku]] to actually do anything, especially when they beg him to just forget about Goku and focus on rebuilding the empire.
25	--->'''Frieza''': How do you expect us to run an empire that strikes fear across the galaxies while we're cowering from a handful of Saiyan garbage?!
26	* ''Manga/EdensZero'': Oracion Seis Galactica member and feared criminal boss Drakken Joe takes his reputation as TheDreaded LoanShark ''very'' seriously, as he sees it as insurance of his "clients" paying their owned dues on time knowing if they cross him they've got a FateWorseThanDeath lined up. He doesn't hesitate to kill a lackey not just because he lost to the main characters, who he views as a bunch of inexperienced and idealistic brats way in over their heads, but because said lackey name-dropped his relation to Drakken and his screw-up reflects on him.
27	* ''Manga/OnePunchMan'': King is a hero who only has to show up and look emotionlessly at low-level monsters for them to flee or surrender, knowing he's taken out multiple high-level threats and no one knowing how he did it. He doesn't even have to be there for it to happen, just hearing the King Engine going "DOOM DOOM '''DOOM'''" faster and faster as he gets ready to butcher them is enough. As a result, the monsters who survived facing him (by letting themselves be arrested rather than fighting him) enjoy significant Villain Cred in prison. [[spoiler:It's all BS: ''King'' is the one scared out of his mind and literally has no powers beyond keeping a perfect PokerFace to prevent his fear from showing, the "King Engine" is just his unusually loud heartbeat that gets faster as he thinks he's going to die. The monsters he supposedly took out are actually Saitama's before he became a registered hero. Thankfully he's able to explain the situation to Saitama and even become friends with him.]]
28	* In ''Manga/OnePiece'', a pirate's bounty is often used as a rough estimate of how dangerous they are, and bounties are often discussed as though they were PowerLevels[[note]]The bounty does not scale the actual power of a person. It indicates how the World Government is thinking about the criminal, how many crimes they know from the criminal and how many crimes can be leaked to the public. While combat prowess ''does'' figure into how dangerous the World Government considers a pirate to be and thus when all else is equal would result in higher bounties, this is also limited by the government's ''knowledge'' of the pirate's abilities[[/note]]. Pirates with high bounties will use them for bragging rights and to recruit crew members who want to work for the toughest pirate on the seas. Pirates with BloodKnight tendencies often revel in increases in their bounties (since it shows recognition of how dangerous they are, and makes it more likely that strong Marines and/or bounty hunters will pursue them), while those more inclined to PragmaticVillainy would prefer to stay under the radar, or if possible not draw a bounty at all, for exactly the same reason (but are often presented as {{Dirty Coward}}s because of it).
29	[[/folder]]
30
31	[[folder:Comic Books]]
32	* In ''ComicBook/Eternals2021'', after an initial attempt to goad [[Characters/MarvelComicsThanos Thanos]] into killing him, his omni-genocidal great-uncle Uranos eventually hails him as the one member of his line who is ''not'' a disappointment. For his part, Thanos thanks Uranos and refers to him as "grandfather".
33	* ''ComicBook/TheFlash'': One [[UsefulNotes/TheSilverAgeOfComicBooks Silver Age]] story has the Mirror Master get upset that he's only ranked as the third most successful criminal in the prison newspaper, so he breaks out to commit more crimes in the hope of raising his standing.
34	* ''ComicBook/{{Batman}}'':
35	** A [[UsefulNotes/TheSilverAgeOfComicBooks Silver Age]] story has [[Characters/BatmanTheJoker the Joker]] and [[Characters/BatmanClayface Clayface]] commit crimes using each other's M.O.s so that each can claim the title of Public Enemy #1.
36	** The same basic gimmick was used in [[Characters/BatmanPoisonIvy Poison Ivy]]'s debut story in the 1960s, where she arranges the capture of three other female criminals -- Public Enemy numbers 1, 2, and 3 -- so that she can step forward and take credit for various previously unsolved crimes.
37	** And used again in a story in the 1970s where rumors of Batman's murder sweep through the underworld, prompting the villains to assemble a JokerJury of their own to evaluate the Villain Cred of the various supervillains (ranging from the Joker to [[Characters/SupermanLexLuthor Lex Luthor]] to [[Characters/BatmanTheRiddler the Riddler]] to Characters/{{Catwoman\|SelinaKyle}}) claiming to be Batman's killer.
38	** In the Signalman's origin, he was a small-time crook who arrived in Gotham and attempted to form a gang only to be told he needed to build a reputation first. He adopted the costumed identity of the Signalman and used signal clues to taunt Batman in attempt to build up his rep.
39	** Killer Moth was briefly a very serious villain in the Silver Age, until he spectacularly lost his Villain Cred both in-universe and to readers by being [[NeverLiveItDown comprehensively]] [[OnceDoneNeverForgotten beaten]] by Barbara Gordon in her first ever outing as ComicBook/{{Batgirl}}.
40	* ''ComicBook/{{Superman}}'':
41	** ''ComicBook/TheDeathOfSuperman1961'': After Luthor has succeeded in murdering Superman, the criminal underworld throw a party in his honor, declaring he is the greatest of them all.
42	** In ''ComicBook/TheDeathOfLuthor'': Lex bursts in rage when Characters/{{Supergirl\|TheCharacter}} saves his life because he, who used to be respected by all criminals, will be the gangland laughingstock from now on thanks to her.
43	* ''ComicBook/TwoThousandAD'':
44	** In ''Magazine/HeavyMetal [[ComicBook/JudgeDredd Dredd]]'', a wannabe criminal tries to make a name for himself by being the one person who's bad enough to kill Judge Dredd. Obviously, since this is Dredd we're talking about, this turns into an EpicFail. Doesn't stop him from trying at least two more times with similar results.
45	** In ''ComicBook/TalesFromTheBlackMuseum'', the serial killer Edward Bernardo is shown to have killed his family during Necropolis before sneaking into Justice Department HQ to attempt to kill Judge Death himself. Since Death is an immortal zombie, [[YouCantKillWhatsAlreadyDead this obviously didn't work out]], but he subsequently turned Bernardo into an undead serial killer because he appreciated the evil he found lurking in his mind.
46	* Roderick Kingsley, the original Hobgoblin, a ''[[ComicBook/SpiderMan Spider-Man]]'' foe came out of retirement to kill the fourth Hobgoblin, in part for being an embarrassment to the Hobgoblin name. He has since taken to establishing a business of establishing a costumed identity, gaining villain cred, and then licensing out the name to another villain; in fact when the ''sixth'' Hobgoblin killed his brother and took the mantle, Kingsley chose to let him live after being impressed by his moves and hammering out an agreement to be given a share of the proceeds from his crimes.
47	* In the ComicBook/MickeyMouseComicUniverse Pete and the Phantom Blot started out as feared criminals, but years of defeats against Mickey ruined their reputations... And they have diametrically opposing approaches to it:
48	** When his reputation plummeted Phantom Blot was outraged and even had a VillainousBreakdown, as [[CardCarryingVillain he actually enjoys people cowering in fear at his name]], and many of his plans actually rely on civilians and the police fearing him. He then went and temporarily wiped out the memory of ''everyone in Mouseton'' just to be feared again, and [[TheBadGuyWins succeeded]].
49	** Pete, on the other hand, basks in his poor reputation, as even the police are now prone to underestimate him and forget that if given enough time to build up some cash he can take over all crime in Mouseton and then expand and even try and TakeOverTheWorld. On the occasion he stumbled on a device that could take over all machines he accumulated a small fortune and repeatedly humiliated the police, who briefly considered he could be the mysterious "Master of All Machines" but then dismissed the idea as they knew he wasn't that good with advanced technology until the device's inventor asked them for help and revealed it had been lost where Pete was on vacation.
50	*** On the other hand Pete has a ''fearsome'' reputation among other criminals, as they know he's capable and willing to come up with good plans for other criminals and doublecrossing him means Pete ''will'' take his revenge, even if he gets arrested in the process. Even Phantom Blot knows better than angering Pete, and either tries to make sure their paths don't cross or will give him a fair deal and keep his word.
51	* ''ComicBook/TheSimpsons'': Cecil geeks out over being considered important enough to be locked in solitary instead of his more famous brother.
52	[[/folder]]
53
54	[[folder:Fan Works]]
55	* ''Fanfic/PonyPOVSeries'': After ''WesternAnimation/GravityFalls'' ended, Discord (who has the ability to break the fourth wall) holds a funeral for Bill Cipher, saying he admired his ability to invoke chaos and deals with the devil.
56	* ''Fanfic/TheBridge'': Queen Chrysalis decides she needs to do a VillainTeamUp to have any chance of defeating the heroes and considers her options. She knows Discord's made a HeelFaceTurn and can't find Tirek, but expresses admiration for King Sombra, citing his power and intelligence.
57	* In ''Fanfic/InstinctsOfAFearfulBody'', each core Red Lotus member becomes worried by Amon over the the course of the story as he demonstrates his powers.
58	* ''Fanfic/FatesCollide'': Kirei Kotomine says he had admired Mercury Black's father Marcus for being such a notorious killer and was surprised to find out he was dead. Since Mercury hated his father, he is disgusted to hear him be praised.
59	* ''Fanfic/TheNewAdventuresOfInvaderZim'': Ironically, given that he's actually a disguised Zim, the Tallest admit that [[MalevolentMaskedMen Miz]] is pretty cool and impressive, despite the fact that he's [[spoiler: preaching rebellion against them]].
60	[[/folder]]
61
62	[[folder:Films -- Live-Action]]
63	* An anti-hero example comes from the Creator/StevenSeagal film ''Film/AboveTheLaw1988''. After being informed that he's now number four on the FBI's Most Wanted list, Nico quips that he wanted to be number one.
64	* In ''Film/{{Casino}}'' Nicky Santoro cannot help but respect someone he is torturing for information as they just won't break. For 2 whole days they lay into him, even going as far as [[GroinAttack sticking ice picks in his balls]] and he hasn't spilled the beans. It takes getting his [[EyeScream eye popped out of his head]] by crushing his skull in with a vise to finally get him to say anything. As Nicky puts it in his monologue "He was one of the toughest Irishman I ever met"
65	* In the third ''Film/{{Riddick}}'' movie, the mercs are impressed with Riddick's balls when he suddenly appears out in the open, walking toward their camp for a pow-wow. Becomes a DiscussedTrope with Riddick to Vaako in the Directors Cut.
66	-->'''Riddick:''' They say you lost your nerve, Vaako, [[TheStarscream after that big swing and a miss]].\
67	'''Vaako:''' Is that what they say?\
68	'''Riddick:''' Now what are you gonna do to get that cred back? What's the big play? Something splashy.
69	* In ''Film/DemolitionMan'', the BigBad Simon Phoenix tries to unfreeze a cryo-prison full of psychotic murderers. When he hears that [[SerialKiller Jeffrey Dahmer]] is among the convicts, he joyfully expresses admiration for the guy.
70	* ''Film/DeathWarrant'': The SerialKiller known only as "The Sandman" is a renowned figure in the prison due to his love for killing cops. When he's first brought to the prison, the other cons give him a huge ovation. He has no problem finding allies among them who are willing to follow his orders.
71	* ''Film/HalfBaked'': Parodied when the newly-imprisoned Kenny complains that he's "not getting the respect a cop-killer deserves." While he did [[MetaphoricallyTrue technically]] kill a member of the police force, that member was a ''diabetic horse'' that he accidentally killed by feeding it too many sweets.
72	* ''Film/Daredevil2003'': After Daredevil narrowly defeats the Kingpin and then leaves him for the police, Kingpin threatens to tell everyone his secret identity. Daredevil stops him by pointing out his cred will go down the drain once everyone finds out he got beaten by a blind man.
73	* ''Film/RunningScared1986'': Drug lord Julio Gonzalez is left ''furious'' by the loss of face that comes from the main character having his Cadillac towed and then chasing him through his building in his underwear as the result of a raid. His way of recovering this lost prestige is to take a woman hostage and force them to toss ''their'' pants down the stairway before letting her go in order to publicly humiliate them as well.
74	* Discussed in ''Film/TrainingDay''. A trio of Mexican GangBangers talk about [[RabidCop Alonzo Harris]]: one of them considers Alonzo a "ruthless vato", but their leader Smiley [[EvenEvilHasStandards disagrees]]; "he don't respect nada".
75	[[/folder]]
76
77	[[folder:Literature]]
78	* ''Literature/ArtemisFowl'': the second book has two Mafiya goons discussing Artemis Fowl Jr., one grumbling that the kid has an Interpol listing and he doesn't.
79	--> Thirteen years old and with an active file? I am thirty-seven, and still no Interpol file.
80	* In ''Literature/InterviewingLeather'', the titular villainess describes two different types of crime she commits. To enhance her Villain Cred, she does loud flashy attacks in which she rants, breaks things, terrorizes the citizens, dares the local superheroes to try and stop her, etc. To [[OffscreenVillainDarkMatter pay the bills]], she leads her henchmen in quiet efficient robberies that draw far less attention (unless something goes wrong).
81	* ''Literature/DancingAztecs'':
82	** The reason that unaffiliated criminal Corella claims to be a mafia member is so that his business partners will think he's worthier of respect.
83	** Harlem gang boss Bad Death Jonesburg is practically doing a jig when he captures Frank and Floyd during their search for the statues and believes that they're FBI agents and he's important enough to warrant Federal surveillance, something he wants no time in bragging about to his friends.
84	* In ''Literature/TheSupervillainySaga'', Gary a.k.a. Merciless: The Supervillain without [=MercyTM=] is constantly trying to increase his and running into the fact no one takes him seriously. This despite the fact he has a body count three figures long of other supervillains and has killed a number of NinetiesAntiHero types. Amusingly, he's genuinely surprised when villains avert it and assume he's using ObfuscatingStupidity to appear less dangerous than he is. He isn't. He's just an enormous dork.
85	[[/folder]]
86
87	[[folder:Live-Action TV]]
88	* At the end of ''Series/BetterCallSaul'', [[spoiler:Jimmy]] ends up getting a life sentence at a max security prison, but is recognized by the prisoners in his bus as [[spoiler:"Better Call Saul"]], with his rep as a [[spoiler:lawyer turned lieutenant of a drug empire]] earning him the admiration of the criminals to the point that they're openly chanting out [[spoiler:"Better Call Saul"]] during the ride with the implication that he'll be decently respected and safe during his stay.
89	* A [[MonsterOfTheWeek villain of the week]] on ''{{Series/Bones}}'' wants to get arrested because he’s a rapper. Brennan had trouble understanding the idea of “street cred”, which is basically this trope.
90	* A consistent element through ''Series/BuffyTheVampireSlayer'' and ''Series/{{Angel}}''. The Watcher's Council records the exploits of demons and vampires, and the underworld community in general seems to have pretty good word of mouth. Angelus had particularly good cred, something Angel occasionally traded off of. Even the Master held Angelus in high regard, intending to appoint him as TheDragon. The Mayor was keen to have Angelus on his team, as well. At one point Darla and Drusilla managed to attract a group of demons to serve them simply by introducing themselves (and de-earing one person who'd never heard of them). Spike had a particularly good reputation for having killed two slayers despite being barely two hundred -- [[WritersCannotDoMath or 126, or a vampire for 120 years]]. Several enemies come to town specifically because killing a Slayer would be good for their reputation. Wolfram & Hart is another example. Even Sahjhan is familiar with the firm's reputation, being as it exists in other dimensions, as well.
91	-->'''Nostoyev:''' Used to be quite the terror back in the day. Haven't heard much of you lately, though. \
92	'''Angel:''' Haven't heard much of you, ''ever''.
93	* In the ''Series/MastersOfHorror'' episode "[[Recap/MastersOfHorrorS1E11PickMeUp Pick Me Up]]", [[EvilVersusEvil two rival serial killers]] called Walker and Wheeler pick off the passengers of a bus crew that they come across in the northwest. They both despise each other for their respective {{kill steal}}s and treading on the other's "territory", but are also quite impressed by the other's ingenuity and brutality. Walker in particular prizes Wheeler on decapitating one of his victims [[ImprovisedWeapon with a baggage compartment door]].
94	* The ''Series/BlakesSeven'' episode "City at the Edge of the World" features Creator/ColinBaker as VillainOfTheWeek Bayban the Butcher, a homicidal psychopath who is the '''second''' most wanted man in the Federation and is upset that, as he sees it, some johnny-come-lately SJW revolutionary has "stolen" his rightful position.
95	* In one episode of ''Series/EvenStevens'', a prankster from another school who looks identical to Louis starts causing trouble, and Louis ends up getting blamed for it. However he's less upset about getting in trouble than the fact that he is being credited with the lookalike's amateurish and unimpressive pranks, thus ruining his reputation as a master prankster himself.
96	* ''Series/LawAndOrderSpecialVictimsUnit'': In "Pattern Seventeen", the protagonists goad SerialRapist Beck into confessions to all of his rapes over the past several years (the evidence of which has been lost) in the hopes that this might get him some respect in prison for outwitting the cops for so long when the alternative is being branded as a simple pedophile (the only two victims they have evidence against him for being underage) who got beaten by a twelve-year-old girl and her puppy.
97	* One episode of ''Series/{{Limitless}}'' has a mobster be talked into betraying his boss in exchange for the promise that he'll get to take his boss's place on the FBI's ten most wanted fugitives list. Brian's explanation for this is that the mob the two men belong too is becoming obsolete and that its members want that level of infamy in order to feel relevant before the end.
98	* ''Series/{{Gotham}}'':
99	** Jim Gordon drags Professor Pyg by bringing up notorious villains such as [[Characters/BatmanTheJoker Jerome Valeska]], [[ScaryBlackWoman Fish Mooney]], and [[Characters/BatmanThePenguin Oswald Cobblepot]], and their "staying power" in the minds of the citizens of Gotham. Compared to them, Gordon says, Pyg is nothing but a flash-in-the-pan [[BigBadWannabe second-rate wannabe]].
100	** By the series finale, [[Characters/BatmanTheJoker Jeremiah Valeska]] has earned this, with [[Characters/BatmanTheRiddler The Riddler]] flat-out calling him "a legend" and the entire GCPD being [[TheDreaded terrified of his return]].
101	* ''Series/{{Firefly}}'': Crime boss and TortureTechnician Adelai Niska puts immense value on his professional reputation as TheDreaded as well as a man of his word. Mal and the crew refusing to complete a job he gave them and even sending back the money he gave in advance is seen as an ''insult'' from his perspective (the fact they also diced his current right-hand henchman doesn't help matters either).
102	* ''Series/{{CSINY}}'': "[[Recap/CSINYS02E07 Manhattan Manhunt]]." A murderer Horatio Caine follows to NYC from Miami is arrested. In lock-up, he realizes he's sitting next to a notorious serial killer. Looking at him admirably, he gushes:
103	-->'''Rosetti:''' Henry Darius! I saw you in the paper, you killed those nurses! I killed someone once.
104	-->'''Darius:''' Oh yeah? Tell me about it.
105	[[/folder]]
106
107	[[folder:Tabletop Games]]
108	* Creator/GamesWorkshop games:
109	** ''TabletopGame/BlackCrusade'': The Infamy characteristic, which is central to some of the game mechanics, is a combination of reputation among other humans and the favor of the Gods. While you can spend XP to get higher Infamy until you hit lower-midlevel (representing player characters leveraging their actions towards their reputation), Infamy is mostly rewarded by achieving something tangible, which increases your reputation and unholy favor. Optional rules state that if a character becomes too dependent on another with a higher Infamy score to get equipment or favors, he may risk lowering his own Infamy, with a lack of self-reliance being a sign of being an underling rather than a peer. Similarly, particularly Infamous characters can "overawe" less Infamous characters and keep them in their place (i.e., not trying to embarrass, coerce, or otherwise manipulate the more Infamous character).
110	** ''TabletopGame/WarhammerFantasyRoleplay'': ''The Old World Bestiary'' contains descriptions of major intelligent races and monsters found in the setting, accompanied by quotes from a variety of scholars, people with first-hand experience of them, and the beings themselves when they're intelligent. One recurring commentator is Rikkit'tik, a scholar from Clan Eshin, the Skaven clan specialized in assassinations, poisoning and general subterfuge. Most of his comments are terse instructions on how to dispatch the creature in question, but in the section on hobgoblins, a goblin breed notable for being a pack of treacherous, conniving sneaks who like to win their battles with poisoned knives in the dark, he says "I kind of like these green-things. They show... promise."
111	* ''TabletopGame/HeroesUnlimited'': This is a cultural expectation in Century Station. Supervillains are supposed to engage in big, flashy scores and fight superheroes; those who engage in more PragmaticVillainy like liquor-store robberies are called "lowballers" and shunned by other villains.
112	[[/folder]]
113
114	[[folder:Video Games]]
115	* In the ''VideoGame/EvilGenius'' game, this is your genius' Notoriety, which increases as you successfully complete Acts of Infamy. It also riles up the good guys something fierce, and causes them to gradually send their top secret agents to try to get you, so you have to strike a balancing act.
116	* If your karma rating is 'very evil' in ''VideoGame/{{Fallout 3}}'', other evil characters will make impressed comments, give you supplies and caps to appease you, and give you special quest and dialogue options.
117	* In ''Videogame/FalloutNewVegas'' if you've done a lot of actions to deliberately oppose the NCR and aid the Legion, when you finally meet Caesar by accepting his invitation to the fort he'll list out all of your actions beneficial to him and talk about how you've definitely earned his respect. In contrast, if you've done a lot of actions hindering the Legion he'll angrily list out all of your sins before threatening you but is still willing to try and win you over to his side.
118	* In the [[InNameOnly videogame adaptation]] of ''VideoGame/TheGodfather'', you get "respect" points that make you more powerful. Acts that earn you respect range from [[NeighbourhoodFriendlyGangsters helping shopkeepers]] and [[CorruptCop bribing police officers]] to murdering enemy gangsters and blowing up their safehouses.
119	* ''VideoGame/HeroesOfTheSeasons'': Gobi merely pretended to be Frinch's underling while manipulating him. Despite that, Frinch actually respects Gobi and is proud of him [[spoiler:for becoming the boss of Cameo mode]].
120	* In the first two ''VideoGame/SaintsRow'' games, Respect is earned by completing side jobs and spent to access story missions. Since ''VideoGame/SaintsRowTheThird'', it's become straightforward experience, unlocking access to character and gang upgrades.
121	* The ''VideoGame/{{Overlord}}'' series: Not only are you explicitly a villain, but you get ranked on how evil you are via KarmaMeter.
122	* ''VideoGame/LiberalCrimeSquad'' has Juice, which represents your street cred as a member of LaResistance and goes up as you slaughter hordes of [[ArsonMurderAndJaywalking soldiers, cops, and workers who refuse to join labor unions]].
123	** Forget killing people, pulling feats such as hacking the CIA Supercomputer, being the lawyer who gets him a Not Guilty verdict on the charge of Treason he/she/xe got in the act, ([[AFoolForAClient or doing both]]) is both less risky and gives more street cred.
124	* ''VideoGame/BatmanArkhamKnight'': Once you apprehend Professor Pyg and bring him in to the GCPD, [[spoiler:the Joker]] watches him in his cell with a kind of admiration:
125	-->Now old pig-face here? Total lunatic! Far too good for this place. Don't worry! You'll be the first one I let out!
126	* Occurs in ''VideoGame/CityOfVillains'', as the basic currency Infamy (corresponding to the heroic currency Influence and the Praetorian currency Information). You can even give it to other people, because you're increasing their reputation at the cost of your own due to "selling out."
127	** There was also a Villain tip mission that was explicitly about discovering that you were only number two on Nemesis' Threat List, and taking the fight to Nemesis just to be moved up to number one. (Shock Treatment, number three on that list, joins you in order to be raised up to number two)
128	* Demons from the ''Franchise/{{Disgaea}}'' series tend to be rather concerned about their reputation for "evilness," but most of them aren't very good at it beyond things like [[PokeThePoodle not washing their hands or cutting class.]] This is probably for the best, since demons who are good at bad (e.g. [[{{Superboss}} Baal]], [[VideoGame/Disgaea2CursedMemories Zenon]], [[VideoGame/Disgaea5AllianceOfVengeance Void Dark]], and [[VideoGame/Disgaea6DefianceOfDestiny The God of Destruction]]) are kind of scary.
129	* ''VideoGame/QuantumProtocol'': After the Aegis dungeon, Omega criticizes CorruptCorporateExecutive Victor for skimping on security camera costs, to which Victor responds that he needed to spend money on other hardware. Victor states that he'll only bother upgrading the cameras after Omega increases his funding. Despite being on the losing end of this deal, Omega compliments Victor for manipulating the former into giving the latter more money.
130	[[/folder]]
131
132	[[folder:Web Original]]
133	* In ''WebVideo/DrHorriblesSingAlongBlog'', Dr. Horrible's primary goal through Act I and Act II is to earn enough cred to get into the Evil League of Evil. He eventually succeeds...but at a ''horrible'' price.
134	* {{Discussed\|Trope}} in Literature/{{Worm}} as a sort of metaphorical 'shield'; after all, if you're ''just that terrifying'' nobody will start a fight in the first place, essentially giving you a free victory. Grue is the one who first talks about this, but it's eventually embraced by [[VillainProtagonist Skitter]].
135	** One fan theory as to [[TheDreaded Sleeper's]] power is that it simply makes everyone ''perceive'' him as an enourmous threat without actually giving him any dangerous abilities. His power never actually gets revealed, because ''everyone is too terrified of him to try and mess with him''. This was {{jossed}} by [[WordOfGod the author]]: Sleeper is every bit as powerful and dangerous as his reputation suggests.
136	[[/folder]]
137
138	[[folder:Western Animation]]
139	* ''WesternAnimation/KimPossible'':
140	** Kim learns that her EvilCounterpart Shego [[{{Backstory}} used to be]] part of a superhero team, and uses that [[SlaveToPR to blackmail her]] into helping her defeat this week's villain:
141	--->'''Kim''': Because if you don't help, I'll tell the the world you used to be a good guy.\
142	'''Shego''': You wouldn't!\
143	'''Kim''': I've got a website, and I'm not afraid to use it.\
144	'''Shego''': Ugh, [[CardCarryingVillain my evil reputation]] would be ''shot!''
145	** One recurring gag is that [[ButtMonkey Dr. Drakken's]] Villain Cred is so weak that people haven't heard of him -- worse, they sometimes mistake him for [[AlwaysSomeoneBetter Professor Dementor]].
146	* ''WesternAnimation/PhineasAndFerb'': After much evil perpetrated around the Tri-State Area, [[Characters/PhineasAndFerbHeinzDoofenshmirtz Dr. Doofenschmirtz]] rescues [[PetTheDog one kitten]] from a tree, and risks the complete loss of his evil-genius status.
147	** His worst Christmas is also his ''best'' because it was the first Christmas bad enough to make him hate the holiday. Before that he was unable to summon up more than a passionate, burning indifference -- not enough motivation to try to ruin it, as a good villain should.
148	* One ''WesternAnimation/DarkwingDuck'' episode is all about [[EvilTwin Nega Duck]] learning he lost his Public Enemy #1 spot to [[TheGhost Dr. Slug.]] This prompts him to start a massive crime spree to reclaim his throne.
149	* In one episode of ''WesternAnimation/ThePowerpuffGirls1998'', a MonsterOfTheWeek claims that many of the monsters who attack Townsville go there just for a chance to fight the girls, because it's a good way to build up villain cred.
150	* ''WesternAnimation/SpongeBobSquarePants'': The episode "Jailbreak!" reveals that every criminal in Bikini Bottom looks up to [[Characters/SpongeBobSquarePantsSheldonPlankton Sheldon Plankton]]; they outright describe him as "criminal royalty."
151	* ''WesternAnimation/YoungJustice2010'': Sportsmaster is obsessed with this, to the point that he's willing to betray his former bosses and ally with his hated daughter just to restore it [[spoiler:because Aqualad killed his heroine daughter Artemis without him being involved. When it turns out she's alive and it was all a trick to help Aqualad in his deep cover mission, Sportsmaster accepts the cred loss to help keep their cover, because their success would be an even bigger blow to the Light than anything he could do by himself]].
152	* The ''WesternAnimation/BatmanTheAnimatedSeries'' episode "[[Recap/BatmanTheAnimatedSeriesE51TheManWhoKilledBatman The Man Who Killed Batman]]" provides us with one-time character Sid 'The Squid', a small time crook who wished to gain some cred as a big shot... And succeeded when he got in a scuffle with Batman and, completely by accident, ''apparently killed him''. Then it's {{deconstructed\|Trope}}. As the real life saying goes, "[[ThePerilsOfBeingTheBest when you're king of the hill, everyone else wants to knock you off]]". First, he becomes a target for another crook looking to earn cred for himself by taking down the guy who killed Batman. Then, he's kidnapped by The Joker, who [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ld0uIhst3TA tries to kill Sid]] for [[TheOnlyOneAllowedToDefeatYou depriving him of the chance to kill Batman himself]]. Finally, he goes to [[TheDon Rupert Thorne]] for help in getting away from Gotham, but after Sid tells his story Thorne decides that there's no way Sid can be telling the truth, as surely nobody could survive such dangers through sheer dumb luck, so Thorne comes to the conclusion that Sid must be [[ObfuscatingStupidity putting on an act]] as part of an attempt to take over Thorne's drug racket. After all, if someone is tough enough bring down ''the Caped Crusader himself'' then why wouldn't Thorne see him as a rival? Of course, Batman was alive after all, [[HesJustHiding letting people think he was dead]] and keeping Sid alive through these misadventures in order to follow him and find out who was running the crime ring. In the end, Sid ''did'' get some prison cred as the man who ''nearly'' killed Batman and then proceeded to make fools of the Joker and Thorne.
153	* ''WesternAnimation/WanderOverYonder'' has the Galactic Villain Leaderboard, which ranks who are considered the most powerful, evil, and important villains in the galaxy. Lord Hater originally had the top slot, but lost it thanks to Wander, though his position fluctuates throughout the series and he eventually does make it back to the top five. When [[KnightOfCerebus Lord Dominator shows up]], she very quickly skyrockets to the top and remains there until the series finale.
154	* ''WesternAnimation/DuckTales2017'':
155	** Duckburg's villains generally have a "live and let live" policy of not rubbing shoulders with each other. However, there is one villain who they respect above all else: Magica de Spell. Despite being inactive for 15 years before the show, and then only doing one big public display/battle afterwards, a majority of the LegionOfDoom consider her Scrooge's greatest nemesis for her evilness, powers, and composure. Glomgold is the one exception since he wants to be seen as Scrooge's #1 enemy.
156	** In "The Last Adventure!", [[spoiler: [[Characters/DuckTales2017BradfordBuzzard Bradford Buzzard]] betrays his ally, the CardCarryingVillain Black Heron, and has her wiped from existence. Rather than be mad about this turn of events, Heron spends her last moments commending Bradford on this act of villainy]].
157	* ''WesternAnimation/PennZeroPartTimeHero'': Rippen is a PunchClockVillain who hopes to one day gain enough Villain Cred to not only make it a full-time job, but finally gain the respect of his family, who are incredibly successful criminals themselves. However, since he doesn't have a single win to his name and his sidekick is a MinionWithAnFInEvil, accomplishing this is easier said than done.
158	[[/folder]]

Context Main / VillainCred