Line #14 PlayingWith/HarmlessVillain


1	'''Basic Trope''': A villain who poses no real threat.
2	* '''Straight''': [[DastardlyWhiplash Darcy W. Ip-lash]] considers [[TheHero Hiro]] to be his nemesis, and unless Hiro concedes to his demands, he will ... [[PokeThePoodle put itching powder in his pants?]]
3	* '''Exaggerated''':
4	** Darcy W. Ip-lash attempts to hold the world hostage by [[FelonyMisdemeanor threatening to BEND a SPOON!]] AndThatsTerrible!
5	** No matter how hard he tries, Darcy W. Ip-lash always accidentally does good things.
6	** Darcy hasn't done anything worse than spoilering movies.
7	* '''Downplayed''':
8	** Darcy is a mugger who ApologisesALot and often gives back half his earnings out of guilt.
9	** StupidCrooks
10	* '''Justified''':
11	** Darcy needs to uphold the [[CardCarryingVillain reputation of his family line]], but [[MinionWithAnFInEvil being unable to bring himself to do truly evil acts]], and instead settles for being annoying.
12	** Darcy is a form of Fae, and he is compelled to be a minor inconvenience to everyone because of it.
13	* '''Inverted''':
14	** Darcy W. Ip-lash is a supremely competent villain whose schemes are always a clear threat.
15	** Hiro is a FailureHero who loses every confrontation with Darcy [[CurbStompBattle badly]].
16	** MagnificentBastard
17	** InvincibleVillain
18	** UltimateLifeForm
19	* '''Subverted''':
20	** While, for now, he’s content with firing freshly-made dinosaur eggs at the Statue of Liberty, Darcy actually has enough EvilMinions, AppliedPhlebotinum, and OffscreenVillainDarkmatter to be a [[BewareTheSillyOnes severe threat to the world at large, should he ever turn his thoughts to conquest.]]
21	** Darcy turns out to be a NotSoHarmlessVillain.
22	** Darcy is a StealthMentor, but [[GoodAllAlong his moral compass]] means he can't do anything particularly heinous while tutoring his "students".
23	** Darcy was ''never'' harmless, and it was all a ruse to distract the heroes from his ''true'' schemes.
24	* '''Double Subverted''':
25	** All of Darcy’s EvilMinions and AppliedPhlebotinum are [[CripplingOverspecialization masterful at pulling off really silly schemes, and nothing else.]]
26	** But being defeated even after pulling out all the stops damages Darcy's confidence. He never goes back to trying anything serious or ambitious.
27	** Though if he were any better at it, he wouldn't be defeated so much.
28	** Over time, Darcy [[EvilFeelsGood starts to genuinely enjoy being evil-ish]]. He celebrates by going on a rampage of [[PokeThePoodle [=YouTube=] comment trolling and pushing all the buttons on the elevators in random office buildings]].
29	* '''Parodied''': [[CheeseEatingSurrenderMonkeys The French immediately surrender]] upon learning of Darcy Ip-lash’s "terrifying" [[AbnormalAmmo pancake cannon!]]
30	* '''Zig-Zagged''': Darcy’s plans are almost bipolar, switching between [[EarthShatteringKaboom genuinely threatening]] to [[PokeThePoodle completely harmless]] with next to no warning. Naturally, Hiro is [[MindScrew very confused.]]
31	* '''Averted''':
32	** All the villains in the series are a genuine threat to the world at large.
33	** It's a GoodVersusGood or otherwise non-villain-dependent story.
34	* '''Enforced''': Darcy is head of the GoldfishPoopGang in a video game, and thus, shouldn’t be all that difficult after the second time you defeat him.
35	* '''Lampshaded:'''
36	** "Hang on, Darcy W. Ip-lash is trying to [[TheNudifier strip the princess naked]] on live television. I’ll be back soon, this should only take a minute."
37	**
38	-->“Hey, remember when Darcy was a threat?”
39	-->“Uhhh, no?”
40	-->“Me neither.”
41	* '''Invoked''': Darcy acts as a HarmlessVillain so he won’t get in serious trouble for his delightful antics.
42	* '''Exploited''': Darcy is [[ObfuscatingStupidity a lot smarter than he lets on,]] and [[CutLexLuthorACheck sells his services to villains who need the hero distracted for a half-hour or so.]]
43	* '''Defied''': Darcy realises Hiro perceives him as this, so he [[TookALevelInBadass becomes stronger and smarter]] to prove he isn't.
44	* '''Discussed''': “No villain is harmless, Hiro. Remember that.”
45	* '''Conversed''': “Y’know, for once in this show, I would like to see a villain that could be dimly considered a threat.”
46	* '''Deconstructed''': The courts take Darcy seriously, and he is handed a life sentence simply because of the scale of his “crimes.”
47	* '''Reconstructed''': The judge dismisses Darcy's pranks. He realizes he prefers to be an annoyance instead of a true threat, and people learn to accept it.
48	* '''Played for Laughs''': By its nature, this trope is played for laughs.
49	* '''Played for Drama''': At one point or another, Darcy breaks into tears and [[VillainousBreakdown rants about his sheer inability to do anything right, no matter how hard he tries]]. By the end, [[DespairEventHorizon he's so depressed that he surrenders to the heroes]].
50	----
51	Back to HarmlessVillain! Or [[CutHisHeartOutWithASpoon I shall squirt you with CITRIC ACID!]]

Context PlayingWith / HarmlessVillain