[[{{Discworld}} http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/Vetinari.jpg]]
[[caption-width:248:[-He already knows why you're here, everything you've been planning against him and how to effortlessly pound those plans into pulp-] ]]

->'''Ben:''' I can convince him to do it.
->'''Juliet:''' How?
->'''Ben:''' Same way I get anybody to do anything: I find what he's emotionally invested in and I exploit it.
->--''{{Lost}}''

->"The woman you love is trapped in some horrible future where nearly everyone is dead. You can ''change'' that. She needs you, Peter. We ''all'' need you... to open that door."
-->--''Adam Monroe, Series/{{Heroes}}''

[[{{Tricksters}} Trickster]] doesn't even begin to describe them. If TheChessmaster is the master manipulator of events, the ManipulativeBastard is the master manipulator of emotions. The villain who gets off on playing head games -- clever and dangerous and lacking comedic overtones. They always have a plan, but rather than do any work themselves, they prefer to play on [[TheMcCoy other characters' emotions]] and then watch their victims destroy themselves.

Note that as part of the standards and practices of this wiki, where a term has the word 'bastard' it does include women; we would still refer to a female in this role as a 'manipulative bastard' not as a 'manipulative bitch' because 'bastard' has a well-established connotation; the term 'bitch' is subjectively weaker and in many cases does not have the same strength.

Despite relying on other people's emotions to achieve their aims, the ManipulativeBastard him/herself is [[TheStoic rarely emotional]] and seldom burdened by notions such as loyalty, yet [[HorribleJudgeOfCharacter abusing it in others]]. Usually intellectual creatures, they are unmoved by the pain of others, if they don't actively bask in it. However, too many PetTheDog moments from this character and they will [[BecomingTheMask become the mask,]] caring about the people they previously saw as playthings.

While this character type seems inherently villainous, many of them are at least nominally on the heroes' side. A cunning branch of the AntiHero family sports this trope; many Tricksters overlap into ManipulativeBastard territory as well. Any damage done by a ManipulativeBastard will be far-reaching, if not permanent. The hero will probably survive a relationship with this character, but their [[EtTuBrute trust in people will not]].

Like the Chessmaster, they will probably have some larger scheme in mind, but tend to lose sight of it more easily, just enjoying the control they have over their peers. A highly-focused/ambitious ManipulativeBastard is scary indeed; not only will he or she achieve their goal, they will ensure they stay at the top by destroying the souls of everyone they used to get there. And then [[EvilGloating gloat]] about it. A hell of a lot of HeroicWillpower is required to topple them.

They're seldom held accountable and many fall into the KarmaHoudini trope -- after all, [[MoreThanMindControl they never "force" anybody to do anything]]...

May eventually drive the [[ViewerStockPhrases audience]] to scream, "[[WhatAnIdiot Why do you keep falling for this]]?" at the other characters.

Different subtypes of Manipulative Bastards exist, depending on their favourite tricks to manipulate people:
* TheVamp, the FemmeFatale and the {{Casanova}} mainly use their devastating powers of seduction.
* The [[TheSpock coldly analytical]] [[WarriorTherapist character]], user of the HannibalLecture and TheReasonYouSuckSpeech, who pins the heroes' [[FlawExploitation weaknesses]] in one assessing glance and then hits all their sore spots to devastating effects.
* The BunnyEarsLawyer and other characters who use their ObfuscatingStupidity to mask and distract from their manipulations.
* The ConMan who lies and builds elaborate tricks professionally.
* The [[ConsummateLiar great liar]] who uses both {{Sarcastic Confession}}s and {{False Reassurance}}s to dissimulate the truth.
* The ParkerLewisFerrisBueller expert in {{Zany Scheme}}s, hustling and charming people into getting what he wants, and remaining sympathetic while doing so.
* An odd subtype is the comparatively rare passive-aggressive. They employ the same tricks as their scheming fellows, but they are ''genuinely'' weak, not just pretending to be, and their ploys are a survival tactic against stronger characters, not a means of entertainment or strategy. However, the outcome is much the same; a world of heartbreak for anyone who's ever cared about them.

Sometimes overlaps with DevilInPlainSight, but is often the "grown up" version, where the "look cute" fallback has become a fairly professional strategy. If a ManipulativeBastard mixes their emotional manipulation with [[XanatosRoulette complicated schemes,]] [[TheChessmaster mindgaming]] and [[PsychoticSmirk sufficiently scary facial expressions,]] - and they do it all with style - they get promoted to MagnificentBastard. Compare ClockKing.
----
!!Examples
[[foldercontrol]]

[[folder:Anime andManga]]
* [[NeonGenesisEvangelion Gendo Ikari]]. Where do we begin? Causing [[spoiler: Shinji to break down mentally]], causing [[spoiler: Naoko's suicide ("Old hag")]], (in Shinji's words) [[spoiler: crippling (anime)/killing (manga) Toji by way of the Dummy plug]], [[spoiler: Instrumentality]], [[spoiler:cloning his dead wife into the form of Rei, and interpretations vary on the scale of the [[{{Squick}} "relationship"]] between the two]]. [[YourMileageMayVary YMMV]] on whether he is a total douche or just [[TheWoobie misunderstood]], but this is the prevalent interpretation (without much MindScrew).
* Sae, the {{Manipulative Bitch}} in ''PeachGirl''.
* Paptimus Scirocco of ''{{Zeta Gundam}}'' is one of the first anime examples and still one of the best examples of this character He manipulates practically ''everyone'' he encounters, instigating many betrayals and coup d'etats in his name as he goes. By the end of the series, he's gone from a [[TheStarscream nobody from Jupiter to the unquestioned master of the Titans.]]
* Saiou, the teenaged {{Cult}} leader of ''{{Yu-Gi-Oh GX}}''.
** And in {{Yu-Gi-Oh 5Ds}}, there is Divine. His lack of morality, [[KickTheDog the crimes he commits]], and of course, his manipulation of other people for his own ends, bring him very close to being a CompleteMonster, spared only by [[MisaimedFandom part of the fanbase]] liking him for being a truly evil bastard.
* Akio in ''RevolutionaryGirlUtena'' is a master {{Casanova}} manipulator very adept of the MoreThanMindControl, in these matters Touga is his apprentice, playing mind games with his sister Nanami and his on-and-off again best friend Saionji since they were very young. Akio's sister Anthy is a manipulator of the rare passive agressive kind. She still easily rivals Akio in terms of mind games, although she's arguably a much more sympathetic figure.
* Shigure from ''FruitsBasket'' belongs to the ObfuscatingStupidity category of manipulators, but still manages to get away with lots of mindgames while remaining rather sympathetic.
** Akito, from the same series, is more ManipulativeBastard than passive-aggressive, although a case could be made for both. He has sufficient status to ensure that he is obeyed, but prefers to deploy the tyranny of the weak (due to his illness) and mental/physical torture to make absolutely sure that he controls their ''souls.''
* [[spoiler:Corrector Haruna]] in ''CorrectorYui''. Of course, she turned out to be [[FakeBoss manipulated]] herself by someone that used ''her'' emotions of [[MissedTheCall jealousy]] against her.
* Nagi in ''{{Mai-HiME}}''. It's basically his "profession", as one of the [[spoiler:perpetrators of the [=HiME=] Carnival, to trick the girls into eliminating each other by playing with their fears]]. His ''{{Mai-Otome}}'' incarnation was also like this at first, but eventually transformed into a SmugSnake.
** By the last few episodes, Ishigami the art teacher has Yukariko's mind firmly in the palm of his hands, and uses her against the other [=HiME=] for his own ambitions (namely, getting her to [[WoundedGazelleGambit fake an injury]] to [[LetsYouAndHimFight provoke Natsuki into attacking Nao]], and using her CHILD to trap Mai in a LotusEaterMachine to [[BreakTheCutie further break her spirit]]).
* Count D, in ''PetShopOfHorrors'', loves to watch humans dig traps for themselves, with a minimum of encouragement from him and his pets.
** D finds himself BecomingTheMask, though, with his growing attachment to Leon and Chris. He becomes increasingly sympathetic towards humankind [[spoiler: only to be badly affected when a girl he felt some responsibility for dies]].
*** He's still a ManipulativeBastard in the sequel, though.
* The ''{{Loveless}}'' cast is full of both true Manipulative Bastards and passive-aggressives -- some are both at once. This is most likely due to the fact that everyone is trying to manipulate someone else, while having serious emotional vulnerabilities of their own.
** Case in point: [[spoiler: Soubi. He's constantly trying to maneuver Ritsuka into doing what Soubi wants him to do at the start of the manga. Turns out Soubi himself was [[FreudianExcuse badly abused]] and manipulated by a whole herd of people, including Ritsuka's big brother. To further complicate matters, Soubi becomes ''subservient'' to his "target," Ritsuka.]]
*** I have to disagree. Not only does Soubi genuinely care about Ritsuka and does what he can to prevent him from feeling the pain a sacrifice must go through, but, following their Fighter Unit and Sacrifice relationship, it's Ritsuka who's actually in charge. The only exception is that Soubi is a still controlled by [[spoiler: Seimei, Soubi's previous sacrifice. It's shown in later chapters that Soubi doesn't really have a choice in the matter, as Fighter Units must follow their Sacrifice's orders; again, it's the base of the whole Fighter/Sacrifice thing (not to mention Seimei's apparent powers; other sacrifices aren't NEARLY as powerful as Seimei).]]
** [[spoiler: Seimei]] is the king of this trope. Not only does he [[spoiler: masterfully fake his own death (they even [[NeverFoundTheBody find a body]]), he kills and/or [[MindRape manipulates]] almost everyone he comes in contact with. Not only is he extremely manipulative on his own, but he also seems to have an inhuman kind of mind control power. Soubi? Nothing but [[ChessMaster Seimei's pawn]]. Of course, this is all just a plan to [[BrotherSisterIncest test his younger brother Ritsuka's love for him]]. Speaking of Ritsuka, Seimei is not above [[{{MindRape}} Mind Raping]] his beloved ([[BreakTheCutie twelve-year-old!]]) brother.]]
* ''KyouKaraMaou'''s resident [[{{Tricksters}} trickster]], Murata, is a more benign version. He lets Yuri and company walk into trouble just because he likes seeing how they react, even when he knows enough to prevent the trouble in the first place. His OmniscientMoralityLicense lets him get away with it without Wolfram or Gwendal killing him out of frustration.
* Tohma, from ''{{Gravitation}}'' is a variant. He's certainly adept at messing with people's heads and hearts, being an extra-special bastard to hapless and naive Shuichi. However, he doesn't really care about his ''victims''' emotions... well, maybe he gets a bit of a power trip out of it. Mainly however, he's invested only in Yuki's feelings. He maintains that everything he does is to protect the novelist, but by doing so he also maintains Yuki's dependency on Tohma himself. As a result, his nastiness to Shuichi is due at least in part to jealousy.
** Yuki himself is a ManipulativeBastard / TheVamp to his boyfriend in the manga, and makes no secret of the fact. At one point, he taunts Shuichi by saying that he's only nasty because that's the romantic ideal that Shuichi wants. Since the anime is less convoluted than the manga, this aspect of Yuki's personality is played down, making him a JerkWithAHeartOfGold instead.
* Seishirou in ''TokyoBabylon'' shows to be an extremely good liar, and wholly shameless about it.
* Orochimaru from ''{{Naruto}}'' is somewhat unusual, in that he normally doesn't target the heroes (although he is adept at HannibalLecture, and seems to teach it to those closest to him as well). Instead, he seems to specialize in finding traumatized young ninja and using his manipulative powers to turn them into his devoted followers.
* Nakago of ''FushigiYuugi'' is a ''prime'' example of this. One main reason: he manipulates the heroine Miaka's best friend Yui into [[spoiler:believing she was raped and betrayed, and also plays off of her unrequited feelings for Miaka's lover, effectively turning the two girls into archenemies.]] He also appears to like going out of his way just to screw with the characters' heads, even when it no longer serves a real purpose.
* Naraku of ''{{Inuyasha}}'' loves to do this, and his creations and minions often favor it as well. Naraku's favorite tactic is to turn people with close relationships against one another - for example, the nearly series-long campaign he wages against Sango by controlling her little brother Kohaku and trying, repeatedly, to provoke her into killing Kohaku.
* Eriol Hiiragizawa, CardCaptorSakura's resident holder of the OmniscientMoralityLicense, falls into this trope more than once. To a lesser extent, so does his pet GenkiGirl Ruby Moon, though she's not as good, continuing to persist in being a Manipulatrix even after the [[AloofBigBrother object of her manipulations]] catches on.
* Lelouch Lamperouge of ''{{Code Geass}}''. Sure, he ''could'' just order people to do anything he wants thanks to his [[MindControl Geass]], but ItOnlyWorksOnce per victim, and he much prefers just pulling the strings and letting them do the rest themselves. The greatest example of this comes in episode 19 of the second season: [[spoiler: Rolo, Lelouch's fake little brother, was actually a teenage assassin charged with the task of keeping an eye on Lelouch in case he regained his old memories. When Lelouch found out, he continued treating Rolo kindly and even orchestrated a situation where Lelouch could pretend to risk his life to save Rolo, winning his trust and bringing him over to his side. After Lelouch's real sister died, he admitted to Rolo that he was just using him, actually hated him, and had tried to kill him on several occasions. Nevertheless, without being asked or influenced by Lelouch's Geass, Rolo sacrificed himself to protect Lelouch.]]
** He only had to [[spoiler: yank the kid's chain lightly. Rolo seemed already infatuated with him, wanting to be his only family, only friend.]]
** ThisTroper would also like to nominate his evil, evil abuse of Suzaku in ep. 18 of Season 1. He'd found out from [[spoiler:Mao that Suzaku's father hadn't killed himself, ''Suzaku'' had killed him and been carrying the guilt about it around for years.]] So when he, as Zero, has Suzaku trapped and wants to convince him to switch sides, he makes a NotSoDifferent speech [[spoiler:predicated on the fact that the Prime Minister's death was murder, not suicide- ''but he delivers it as if he expects this to be news to Suzaku''.]] Lelouche, you are [[MagnificentBastard a terrible person]].
** Schneizel is arguably even more notorious.
** Later on it turns out that C. C. [[spoiler:knew the truth about Marianne's murder and was just stringing Lelouch along so that he could grant her wish to have her code, and along with it, her immortality taken so she could finally die]]. Later on she regrets this, and asks Lelouch if he hates her for it. [[CrowningMomentOfHeartwarming He doesn't.]]
* The BigBad of ''KaraNoKyoukai'', Araya Souren.
* Sideways, from ''TransformersArmada''. If something happens that isn't directly related to finding a Minicon, this guy's behind it.
* Dr. Nii, [[spoiler: also known as Ukoku Sanzo]] from {{Saiyuki}} since it turns out he's been behind just about everything in the manga story so far in one way or another.
* To some extent, L from DeathNote. His main strategy seems to be "jerk Light around until he slips up and reveals himself as Kira." He manages to convince Misa to join him in his investigation of Yotsuba by playing on her concern for Light's safety... and then in the same breath convinces Light to join him by playing on his concern for Misa's safety- which was only jeopardized due to her joining the investigation.
** And Light, of course. The boy managed to manipulate a shinigami into [[spoiler: killing L at the cost of her own life]] for chrissakes.
* TheTowerOfDruaga: the Aegis of Urk has two of these, though [[spoiler: Neeba]] is probably the closest to MagnificentBastard status. He even tells his party members that they are going use the blue crystal rod to rebuild their dead friends hometown. Then, he kisses TheLancer, just out of the blue. She promptly melts and gets enough of a morale boost to last right up until TheReveal. How does he repay his friends after the BigBad is dead? By shooting TheBigGuy in the kneecap with an arrow. The only person he was ever honest to was his brother, whom he thinks is 100% worthless with no redeeming value.
** [[spoiler: Kaaya]] is also pretty Manipulative of her FiveManBand, as well. She even lets [[spoiler: Her literal and figurative Lancer die]] , in addition to playing the Protagonist much the same way that [[spoiler: Neeba]] played Fatina, however, this ManipulativeBastard seems to feel genuinely sorry about it. The pair's only slip-up was that they left a perfectly good five man band and two army officers alive - albeit separated - and ''really, really'' wanting to kick their ass.
* Vetti Sforza of ''GlassFleet'' seems to prefer to use emotional manipulation to accomplish his goals. During his StartOfDarkness, he [[spoiler: seduced, if not actually raped, his foster mother in order to manipulate her into killing his foster father. Then, since she was no more use to him, he killed her]]. During the series itself, he exerts considerable effort to persuade Rachel, the daughter of the Pope, to marry him. Although she eventually agrees to marry him for political reasons only, Vetti goes the extra mile to get her to fall in love with him for apparently no other reason than to be able to snub her later.
* In ThePrinceOfTennis, [[AlwaysCamp Hajime]] [[SmugSnake Mizuki]] of Saint Rudolph is one of the biggest examples, playing up the manipulative card ''so'' much in the [=SeiRu=] arc that lots of people cheered when he got HoistByHisOwnPetard.
** To some degree, also Renji Yanagi of Rikkaidai (mixed with KnightTemplar) and Sadaharu Inui of Seigaku, but these sides of their personalities come out quite more in the courts than outside of them.
* In ''{{Bleach}}''... [[spoiler: Aizen.]]
* Griffith from ''{{Berserk}}'' really likes to emotionally manipulate people for his own ends. From holding Foss' daughter hostage to foil an assassination plot, to pretending to be in love with Princess Charlotte so that he can marry her, to giving Casca the strength she needs to defend herself and thus gaining a powerful fighter, to pretending to be Guts' friend and gaining himself an even stronger fighter, to giving thousands and thousands of people, including the CrystalDragonJesus equivalent of the Pope, visions of a saviour defeating darkness so that half the world effectively rallies behind him, Griffith does qualify for this trope to say the least. The Godhand as a whole to a lesser extent, as they offer people demonic powers and make them give up their loved ones at their lowest point. The goal of the Godhand is just [[CrapsackWorld making Midland an even shittier place to live in]], though.
*[[{{Slayers}} Xellos]] is particularly adept at this, especially in the novels. Seriously, just read novels 7 and 8 to get a asgood idea of how thoroughly he can screw the protagonists over. You know you're good when your victims ''know'' you're up to something and ''still'' fall for it hook, line, and sinker.
*Quite a few of the Hentai productions out there that showcase material that live adult movies couldn't get away without breaking countless laws have ManipulativeBastards of both genders as protagonists. In the cases where the protagonists are the victims, then every other character will be a ManipulativeBastard. It reaches the point where the plots focus as much on MindRape as they do on actual rape. OrSoIHeard.
*Johann from {{Monster}} is arguably the epitome of this trope. He is directly responsible for the deaths of a fairly small number of people, he prefers to have conversations with anyone that interests him and, very politely, talk them into committing acts of mass murder or just killing themselves. In fact it's rare for Johann to leave a room without leaving someone Mind Raped to the point of temporary paralysis. He's just that damned evil.
* Rokudo Mukuro from ''KatekyoHitmanReborn'' is somewhat of a ManipulativeBastard. He frames other people for murders he committed [[GrandTheftMe while using their bodies]] and [[EasilyForgiven manages to receive forgiveness for his actions with minimal effort]]. Tsuna very readily forgives him after Mukuro (very likely on purpose) showed him strategic memories of how he [[PetTheDog sacrificed himself for the sake of letting his subordinates escape]]. This prompts Tsuna to actually feel ''[[TheMessiah apologetic]]'', complete with a "I didn't understand anything!" scene. Never mind that Mukuro was shown to be completely unapologetic about the whole thing and actually came out and said that his plan [[NietzscheWannabe was to turn the world into a sea of blood]]...
* At his best, France from AxisPowersHetalia is like this.
* Demidevimon/Picodevimon of ''DigimonAdventure'' is a good example, having used deception and played on their fears to keep the Digidestined apart after they split up to look for Taichi and Agumon, as well as to prevent their crests from glowing (causing T.K./Takeru to despair, Joe/Jyou to appear unreliable, Matt/Yamato to doubt Joe's friendship, Koushiro/Izzy to trade away his curiosity, Mimi to act selfishly and deceptively, and Sora to believe she had never been loved). The only reason he ended up failing was because [[TheMessiah Taichi]] [[SpannerInTheWorks came back]].
** Cherrymon/Juraimon also manipulated Matt into turning against the other Digidestined, especially Tai.
* Kurt Godel from {{Negima}}. Every single thing that the man has done is part of a massive ploy to get Negi to do what he wants...[[spoiler:Revenge for the unjust incarceration and near-execution of Queen Arika. Bloody, fiery revenge.]]
* [[MeaningfulName Hikyou]] [[KongohBancho Bancho]] combines this with DirtyCoward and {{Badass}}. For some reason, he's a good fighter too.
* In RanmaOneHalf {{Fanon}}, [[TheBarnum Nabiki Tendo]] is often made into one of these. In the actual {{Canon}}, she couldn't be farther from it, as she has no real drive and only has something that approaches an actual plan twice. The first, offering to sell Ranma to one of the other girls in his UnwantedHarem during her stint as his [[OfficialCouple "official" Tendo fiancee]], went completely wrong when the normally NeutralEvil girls had an attack of StupidEvil and decided they'd try killing her and then taking Ranma as opposed to trying to outbid each other for him. The second, using the destruction of an opera ticket she'd bought by Ranma to get him to model cheesecake photos for her in his [[AttractiveBentGender female form]], only worked because Ranma is a JerkWithAHeartOfGold... not to mention it was his suggestion in the first place. As "plan" two comes after "plan" one, Nabiki may not be a MagnificentBastard, but is most certainly an UngratefulBastard.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:ComicBooks]]
* [[{{Comicbook/Batman}} The Joker]] occasionally falls into this trope, although he is very emotional and his plans often do involve comedy...although in many cases, only he thinks it's funny.
** [[TheChessmaster Batman]] himself occasionally verses into this trope as well, most notably for his manipulation of [[{{Sidekick}} Tim Drake]] following Tim's [[DangerousSixteenthBirthday sixteenth birthday]].
* Henry Bendix, the creator of [[TheAuthority Apollo and Midnighter]], is all over this trope in the nastiest way. His amazing talents of mindfuckery let him [[TheChessmaster plan ten steps ahead]] on any given day, but he has a special talent for screwing over his own creations: he knows where all their buttons are, and in many cases, he installed them. See ''The Authority: Revolution'' for a crowning example of this - [[spoiler: all he had to do was prey on Midnighter's worst insecurities, and bam: one indomitable superteam dissolved, one happy family ripped apart, and the world left wide open to a fascist takeover. Sure, it's all (mostly) okay in the end, because Jenny Quantum is too awesome to stand for supervillains ''or'' parental abandonment, but Midnighter still spends several pointless and horrible years apart from his husband and daughter, unwittingly helping the bad guy.]] For someone with no apparent superpowers, Bendix manages to scare the crap out of some very high-level heroes.
* Mister Sinister from ''{{X-Men}}'' has been the penultimate Marvel ManipulativeBastard for the past twenty years, manipulating the lives of the Summers family in particular (You can blame him for the SummersFamilyTree). Pity he's been [[AdaptationDecay bastardized]] in recent years.
* [[{{Hellblazer}} John Constantine]]
* During the Sinestro Corps War storyline in {{Green Lantern}}, Sinestro managed to manipulate the Green Lantern Corps, the Guardians of the Universe, every superhero on Earth, and even everyone fighting on his own side. He assembled his own intergalactic army, created a power source run on pure fear, brought together the most powerful collection of supervillains the cosmos had ever seen, declared war on the entire universe...and lost. The Lanterns sentence Sinestro to death, thus breaking their own law against never taking a life. It turns out this was what Sinestro wanted all along -- his plan was not to destroy the Green Lanterns or conquer the universe, but to create a threat so great and terrifying that they would abandon all their principles to stop it. Essentially, instead of destroying the GL's, he wanted to destroy ''what they stood for.'' And when his death sentence was handed down, he had done just that.
* CarlBarks' Scrooge [=McDuck=] was a master manipulator and trickster who enjoyed every minute of it... all done in the name of teaching his nephews and grand-nephews important lessons about courage, money, hard work, etc., of course.
*[[{{Batman}} Hush]] is going to manipulate you. No matter what. Good or evil. And he is going to put other plots underneath the current plan just in case you don't serve his purpose.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Film]]
* ''{{Shane}}''. Jack Wilson (Jack Palance) tells the innocent farmer to pick up the gun. The innocent farmer refuses, knowing what will happen. Jack quietly and threateningly tells him to pick it up. The farmer refuses. This goes on for a bit, but finally, the farmer reaches down to pick it up and ... '''BLAM!''' Wilson smugly tells everyone that they were all a witness - the farmer was armed and about to shoot him. (Yes, this is Literature, but Jack Palance makes him all the more {{Badass}}.
* Scar from ''TheLionKing''. After killing Mufasa, he tricked Simba into thinking himself responsible for his father's death -- before telling the hyenas to kill him. Upon Simba's return several years later, Scar played off Simba's misplaced guilt to turn the whole pride against him. He would have won right there if he hadn't [[JustBetweenYouAndMe stopped to gloat]] before killing Simba.
** Admittedly, manipulating a child isn't really all that difficult.
***But it's still pretty bastardly.
* Gaston from Disney's ''BeautyAndTheBeast'' Though for the most part a highly unintelligent person (he's BookDumb in an extreme sense), he's surprisingly good at using his popularity amongst the townfolk to get them to do what he wants, not matter how obviously evil it is.
** Then there's Forte in ''Enchanted Christmas'', voiced magnificently by Tim Curry.
* J. Pierpont Finch, protagonist of the musical ''How To Succeed In Business Without Really Trying''.
* Harry Powell from ''TheNightOfTheHunter''.
* If he were just the {{Chessmaster}} or even "just" the MagnificentBastard he is, [[StarWars the Emperor]] would not have gotten Anakin on his side and might have failed outright. His ability to turn the emotionally-vulnerable Skywalker into a desperate pawn saved his life at least once.
* Hannibal Lecter, in TheSilenceOfTheLambs, IS this trope. He gives the eponymous HannibalLecture to Clarice, it's implied he convinces the guy in the next cell to kill himself, and in the books it's revealed that he did this to patients of his as well.
* Though the Joker has already been referenced, the version of him in ''TheDarkKnight'' gets special mention. His manipulative skills are at ''least'' as frightening as his penchant for random acts of violence.
** From the same movie: Salvatore Maroni, the closest thing to TheDragon that the Joker can have, is also the only one to actually benefit from his presence through sheer street savvy...Until he [[KarmicDeath makes the mistake of dealing with Two-Face]]:
---> '''Two-Face''': ''(flips coin)'' You're fine. ''(flips coin)'' He's not.
---> '''Maroni''': Who?
---> '''Two-Face''': [[PreAssKickingOneLiner Your driver.]] ''(puts on seatbelt)'' *'''BANG'''* ''(car flips over)''
* Rotti Largo from [[RepoTheGeneticOpera Repo! The Genetic Opera]], sometimes to the point where it's hard to figure out who he's ''not'' manipulating.
* The Warden from ''DeathRace''. She's also TheChessmaster the way she makes the convicts participate in her GameShow that she uses to finance the operations of the prison, she's an AntiHero by the way the movie makes us not like her, and she's a ManipulativeBastard by the way she uses people to get what she wants. I was considering if she was a MagnificentBastard but she's not quite that good.
* [[spoiler: Brigid O'Shaughnessy]] in ''The Maltese Falcon''. As Sam Spade says at the end of the film, he wants more than anything else to believe her version of events, and that's why he doesn't.
* Eve Harrington, Addison [=DeWitt=], and Margo Channing in ''AllAboutEve'' can all play people like instruments.
* Jack Sparrow of ''PiratesOfTheCaribbean'' is the king of this, despite not being a villain,... ''kinda''. In Dead Man's Chest alone, he managed to renegotiate a non-negotiable [[DealWithTheDevil deal with Davy Jones]], change the thing that Elizabeth wanted most in this world, and, after Will and Norrington tag-team fight him, having him disarmed and at both of their mercies, ends up [[TalkingYourWayOut turning Norrington on Will]], and manages to walk off with the key while they fight each other to the death. All with nothing but the gift of gab.
* [[RockyHorrorPictureShow Dr. Frank N Furter]] is VERY good at manipulating people into sleeping with him.
* The titular character of ''TeachingMrsTingle'' plays two of the other three main characters like a fiddle before showing weakness on-screen (but away from other characters), and would have gotten the third already were it not for a convenient interruption.
* Keyser Söze, the villain in ''TheUsualSuspects''. To explain any more about the character would probably spoil the entire movie.
* Frollo in Disney's HunchbackOfNotreDame. This guy convinces the priest that, since the mother died on his doorstep (cause Frollo killed her) that the priest should provide lodgings for Quasimodo. He then convinces Quasimodo that he is locked up for his own good. Arguably, he even convinced himself that lusting after Esmerelda is okay because God "made the devil so much stronger than the man."
[[/folder]]


[[folder:Literature]]
* Dolokhov from ''WarAndPeace'' often manipulates others during games of chance to earn far greater winnings, or to spur them into doing things they will regret later. He also seems to take some sort of perverted delight in seeing people, his social betters, strung around so easily.
* [[spoiler:Smerdyakov]] in ''TheBrothersKaramazov'' fits this trope to a fault, to the point of [[spoiler:convincing Ivan that he is the one responsible for his father's death, despite the fact that Smerdyakov was the one who did the old man in. According to Smerdyakov, Ivan [[IKnowYouKnowIKnow subconsciously told him through various cues and actions that he wanted his father dead.]]]] Whether this is true or not is left rather ambiguously defined.
* Long John Silver from TreasureIsland. While lacking the style needed to be a MagnificentBastard, he fits this trope perfectly; acting so damn charming and likeable that one can easily forget that he's in fact a ruthless, murderous pirate. His fondness for Jim Hawkins is particularly of notice, as even in the end it's never made clear just how much of their relationship was genuine and how much was manipulation on Silver's part.
* Ellsworth Toohey from AynRand 's book TheFountainhead. Here's a man who holds to the StrawmanPolitical philosophy that no one should ever achieve anything great, and he does everything he can to make people feel so insecure to be anything but a mass of mediocre and dependent "second-handers." He has a well-developed {{Backstory}} to show that he's been growing into this role all his life, and he gives a HannibalLecture to Peter Keating that explains all his motivations and goals.
** What makes him even more Manipulative and Bastardly is that he ''doesn't'' genuinely believe this himself: rather, he realizes that people who lack a sense of the greatness in life are easier to control. (As witness the way he sabotages his niece's chances for a fulfilling career and a happy marriage.) Basically, Toohey is driven only by the desire for power over others, like the Party in ''1984.'' (In fact, [[WordOfGod both Orwell and Rand]] stated that inspiration for the antagonists came from observing the very worst tendencies in contemporary socialists and taking them to their logical conclusions.)
* [[spoiler:Stephen Norton]] in Agatha Christie's 'Curtain: The last case of Poirot' is largely based on Iago. The manipulations quickly reach downright ridiculous extremes bordering on full-blown ''{{Xanatos Roulette}}s''. It often takes little more than a casual remark on [[spoiler: Stephen Norton]]'s part [[spoiler: (or on the part of any of the dozens of people he uses as unwitting proxies to voice his 'suggestions' to the people involved, both victim and murderer alike)]] in just about any given conversation to set a complex chain of events into motion that will lead to someone getting killed shortly afterwards. [[spoiler: Norton]] is actually so good at this, that even Poirot knows that [[spoiler: it'd be just about impossible to ever him get convicted of any crime whatsoever.]] So Poirot decides to [[spoiler: just kill Norton instead.]]
* Female example (her title ought to be Bloody Wonder): Nellie Lovett, from ''SweeneyTodd''. Not only does she fuel Sweeney's rage to her own financial gain, she conveniently leads him to believe his wife is dead, [[DieForOurShip just to get him for herself]].
* Abelard Lindsay and the other Shaper diplomats in {{Schismatrix}}, but also Lindsay's untrained rival Constantine.
* The three Wiggin children, plus Graff, from ''EndersGame''.
** Achilles from the spin-off ''Shadow'' series manages to hook entire goverments, despite being an '''openly'' [[ReliableTraitor reliably traitorous]] AxCrazy PsychoForHire.
* Raistlin Majere in ''{{Dragonlance}}'' is very good at TheChessmaster event-manipulating (he earns his title as 'Master of Past and Present' in more than the time travel sense) but arguably even better at using ''people'', effortlessly twisting his brother's love to his own purposes, maneuvering apprentice-Bastard-in-training Dalamar into both hating and [[HoYay worshiping him]], manipulating guileless kender Tasselhoff into achieving several of his goals (though he [[SpannerInTheWorks screws up others]]) and even playing (and almost always winning) mind-games with the heads of the Orders of High Sorcery, Fistandantilus, and ''the Dark Queen Herself''. His crowning achievement, however, is his protracted seduction (and subsequent cruel abandonment) of a holy cleric of Paladine simply so he could use her to [[spoiler: enter the Abyss and kill the Queen. To [[AGodAmI take her place]], naturally.]]
* Lord Havelock Vetinari from the {{Discworld}} series is practically the defintion of this trope (''and'' he's a {{Chessmaster}} to boot, the combination turning him into an outright ''[[MagnificentBastard Magnificent]]'' [[MagnificentBastard Bastard]]).
* Leland Gaunt from {{Stephen King}}'s ''Needful Things''. He's similar to Iago, but on a large scale; he takes the conflicts among people and turns them into murderous feuds.
* [[HonorHarrington Honorverse]] is positively awash with this types, given the series somewhat political bent, especially in the latest novels.
* Petyr "Littlefinger" Baelish of ASongOfIceAndFire. As well as being TheChessmaster and a card-carrying MagnificentBastard, he emotionally manipulates those around him callously and shamelessly, starting with UnluckyChildhoodFriend Lysa Tully. ''And'' he's seemingly training [[spoiler: Lysa's niece, Sansa Stark]] to follow his steps.
** Actually, [[spoiler: Sansa]] had inklings of this from the beginning. She's said to be insanely good at putting up a false front and lying to others right to their faces, so Littlefinger just has to teach the girl his best manipulation techniques...
* Cassie from ''{{Animorphs}}''. Many, many times throughout the series, she uses her innate understanding of people for the good of the team, if not necessarily for the good of herself, or the person. Her main victim of her manipulations was Visser Three (mainly because the Visser was an evil ego-driven son of a bitch). She also (reluctantly) used her understanding of people to trap a traitor of the group in the body of a rat. [[BewareTheNiceOnes Beware the nice ones,]] indeed.
** David, the aforementioned 'Ani-Traitor', also falls into ManipulativeBastard territory, coming closer to wiping out the Animorphs than the the entirety of the Yeerk Empire in his trilogy. He goads Jake into fighting a battle he cannot win, manipulates Ax's ignorance of alarm clocks and Rachel's opinion of him as a robber to lure Rachel into another trap, and turned the entire Berenson family into puppets by pretending to be recently-hospitalized cousin Saddler. His return in #48 goes even further, working the HannibalLecture and TheReasonYouSuckSpeech tropes overtime in his attempt to break Rachel's will to fight.
* One good example of the cold and ambitious ManipulativeBastard would be Solarian Vice-Admiral Luis Rozsak, who is also TheChessmaster, and has absolutely no qualms about bending almost everybody to do his bidding. Surprisingly he isn't a villain, at least technically: he's a rather personable guy, and his goals are mostly noble, so he's actually more of a WellIntentionedExtremist.
** The same series also subverts this trope with Havenite secret agent [[GodModeSue Victor Cachat]], who fits the same analytical type to a T, but it is only ONE part of his otherwise genuinely kind and meek personality, and manifests itself only when [[{{Determinator}} he firmly believes in its necessity]].
* Gentleman in ''Fingersmith'' by Sarah Waters. He has exceptional insight and sometimes understands a person's mind better than they themself do, but only uses the knowledge to exploit them, for profit and for fun.
** Also [[spoiler: Mrs Sucksby. She raises Sue as a daughter, keeping her close and innocent (and making Sue love her like a mother), but the whole time planning to her being able to put Sue [[BedlamHouse away]] and reclaim Maud, her biological daughter.]]
* 'Sticky Eye' Kawakami in ''CloudOfSparrows''. [[hottip:Spoiler - click to reveal:He raises Heiko from a village of ''eta'', outcasts who perform disgusting but necessary work such as butchers and tanners, as the most beautiful geisha in Edo, and assigns her as a spy and assassin attached to Genji. Genji quickly cops to the fact that she's an assassin, but it turns out Kawakami had counted on this so he could reveal her background to Genji at the right moment. This sends Genji into a well-concealed HeroicBSOD, which culminates in him sending Heiko to America and massacring her entire village to prevent anyone else finding out.]]
* Sol in ''WarriorCats''. His voice even seems to have the power to influence other cats' minds.
** And Hawkfrost.
* In Nick Kyme's {{Warhammer 40000}} novel ''Salamander'', Iagon reveals his true colors when he manipulates Tsu'gan into not reporting his [[HangingSeparately ploys]]. [[spoiler:Followed up by his reflection that he has to do something about the Apothecary who knows, and later by his murdering a helpless servant.]]
* [[XWingSeries Ysanne Isard]], particularly in the comics. The Director of Imperial Intelligence, she served the Emperor until his death. After the Battle of Endor, Isard advised Grand Vizier Sate Pestage while plotting to make his position shaky enough that he made plans to abandon the Empire and flee to the Rebellion. In the same day, Isard had Pestage and the obstructive Imperial Ruling Council assassinated, leaving her Empress in all but name. A favored element in her plans involved capturing members of the Rebel Alliance, brainwashing them into becoming [[ManchurianAgent sleeper agents]], and sending them back completely unaware to their superiors, awaiting the right moment to [[ParanoiaFuel activate them]].
[[/folder]]

[[folder:LiveActionTV]]
* If you want to be bad guy on ''[[TwentyFour 24]]'' you must have a Masters degree in {{Manipulative Bastard}}ness. They seem to specialize in the SmugSnake and ConMan subtypes, but that show has showcased at least three kinds of every type in its seven seasons.
* As the page quote suggests, Benjamin Linus of ''{{Lost}}'' beats out the majority of the other characters on this page.
** Ben Linus is a combination of this, TheChessmaster, the MagnificentBastard, and an emotionless monster. He has only shown a genuine facial expression in one episode of the series, where [[spoiler: his daughter is shot by a PsychoForHire]]. He's manipulated almost the entire cast at some point or another, and they only continue to even pay attention to him because he convinces them to. He actually spends most of the first part of season four tied up and constantly being hit by angry people, but he manages to talk his way out of it.
*** The incident above is the only time a genuine emotion is ''wrenched'' from him, but he's also smirked a couple of times when no one is watching him.
*** Funnily enough the page quote references his attempts toward one character where his actual plan was overly convoluted and in fact failed. Fortunately he was able to salvage what he wanted through a quick rethink later on.
* Megan of ''DrakeAndJosh'' raised the bar to Olympic-worthy standards before hitting her teens.
* Pretty much the ''raison d'etre'' -- his love of torturing people, both physically and emotionally, leads to his downfall more than once -- of the sadistic vampire Angelus from ''BuffyTheVampireSlayer'' and ''{{Angel}}'':
--> '''Angel:''' I couldn't take my eyes off [the victims]. I was only in it [[ForTheEvulz for the evil]]. It was everything to me. It was art. The destruction of a human being.
** Also, Holtz, Holland Manners, [[spoiler: possessed Cordelia]], Lindsey in fifth season, well let's just say that ''{{Angel}}'' liked this sort of character.
* Virgil "Web" Webster from the [[TheFireflyEffect short lived]] crime drama ''The Inside'' ruthlessly preys on the psychological flaws of other people with a chilling indifference, often drawing comparisons to the very criminals he pursues.
* [[{{House}} Dr. Gregory House.]] He tricks his patients into highly risky medication or procedures, as well as manipulating colleagues/superiors for various purposes (chief among which is getting a Vicodin prescription).
-->'''Rodney Foreman''': My son says you're a manipulative bastard.
-->'''Dr. House''': It's just a pet name. I call him Doctor Bling.
-->...
-->'''Dr. Cuddy''': Don't you think this is a little manipulative?
-->'''Dr. House''': No. I think it's ''hugely'' manipulative.
* The magician Derren Brown is well known for this trait. In one show he recruits volunteers and offers to teach them psychological techniques. Instead, he manipulates them into robbing a security van. He once fooled a man into thinking that he was a ''[[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PCW-ZSlBweE ventriloquist's]] [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vd3dzTAALd8 dummy]]'', for heaven's sake.
** Alternate interpretation: Derren Brown also manipulates viewers through use of paid actors.
** Internet essayist [[BadassBookworm Dan Hemmens]] of ferretbrain has written an [[http://www.ferretbrain.com/articles/article-303.html alternative alternate interpretation]] that if right, would catapult Derren Brown to full-blown MagnificentBastard status.
* Jim Profit and Bobbi Stakowski of ''{{Profit}}''. LIKE WHOA. There's a reason Profit is where he's at in life [[spoiler: despite being literally ''[[RaisedByWolves raised in a box]]'']]: he finds your deepest weakness and exploits it. This can range from nudging the boss's wife into an affair with him to [[spoiler: his psychological torture of Joanne in "Healing"]]. As for Bobbi? Well, [[EvilMatriarch where do you think Jim got it from]]?
* Just about any reality show is going to have at least one of these in the cast. Richard Hatch from the first season of ''Survivor'' is an example.
* It's this editor's pet theory that at the end of [[{{Firefly}} Ariel]] Jayne [[spoiler: not so much cared about the crew regarding him a traitor (it's not like they loved him to begin with) as guilt-tripped Mal into sparing him]]. I may be crediting him with more brains than he usually shows but still...
** Two words: [[PsychoForHire Jubal. Early.]]
** [[IHaveManyNames Saffron/Bridget/Yolanda]] is a tremendous straight example in her first appearance, but almost counts as a deconstruction of just how messed up this character type would have to be during her appearance in Trash.
* T-Bag in ''PrisonBreak''.
* ''FraggleRock'': "Convincing John can convince ''anyone'' to do ''anything!''"
* EvilMatriarch Angela Petrelli and MagnificentBastard Adam Monroe of Series/{{Heroes}}.
**Nathan somewhat subverts this trope as his manipulations usually wind up blowing up in his face.
* Dave Williams in ''DesperateHousewives''.
* Queen Rose in ''Kings''. Her Manipulative Bitch wonderfully compliments Silas' MagnificentBastardry.
** Katrina Ghent tries hard for ManipulativeBitch status, and almost gets it when she [[spoiler: blackmails Rose into almost ruining the reputation of [[TheSadisticChoice either Jack or Michelle]] and then turns around and proposes to Jack, poised to become the next queen.]] Shame about that trip to Osteria.
* Gemma in ''Sons of Anarchy''.
*Long in ''JukenSentaiGekiranger''. And in spades, I might add. In fact, come to think of it, calling him this is putting it ''mildly''.
* Micheal Cutter from ''LawAndOrder''.
* Editor Lynda Day from ''PressGang''. To quote her best friend Sarah after one of Lynda's finest moments of manipulation: "Can you explain to me how I just argued myself into doing what you wanted me to do in the first place? You are a devious, unfeeling, calculating, manipulative bitch!" Lynda's reply? "Well, you were asking what made me a better choice for editor."
* Tony in ''Skins'' (seasons 1 & 2). Overlaps with TrueArtIsAngsty, which is lampshaded in his speech to Sid, where he tells him that he is a ManipulativeBastard to liven things up.
* [[EvilMatriarch Lucille Bluth]] on ''ArrestedDevelopment'' starts off like this. [[spoiler:By the end, it's clear she's also a [[TheChessmaster Chessmaster]] and therefore a MagnificentBastard]].
* {{Humphrey}} in ''YesMinister'' always knows exactly what to say to get people to see things his way, and it's clear he's the person who actually runs Hacker's department. Dorothy also has shades of this.
*Helen Cutter from ''Primeval''.
[[/folder]]


[[folder:Theatre]]
* Iago, from {{Shakespeare}}'s ''{{Othello}}'', is the absolute definition of a Manipulative Bastard and the inspiration for many other entries on this list.
** Shakespeare was using a traditional Christian theatre character called a Vice, who was always scheming and bragging to the audience. (Obviously it was a coveted role.)
* In Shakespeare's King Lear, the appropriately-named villain Edmund The Bastard gets his brother disowned and banished by framing him for an attempt to kill their father Gloucester, then arranges for Gloucester to be disowned and banished after having his eyes gouged out; he does this all for minor political gains. After Edmund becomes king, he seduces two different women with promises of being his queen, even though they are both sisters, and already married. He also secretly arranges for their father to be killed, and another sister as well, to solidify his claim to the throne.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:VideoGames]]
* [[ResidentEvil Albert Wesker]]... nuff said.
* Kurow Kirishima of RivalSchools is best described as Capcom's loving tribute to [[ZetaGundam Paptimus Scirocco]]. Think Scirocco... with ''claws''. Hell, they even have the [[BinShimada same voice actor]].
* [[RatchetAndClank Ultimate Supreme Executive Chairman Drek]] deserves a mention here. He's quite good at what he does, has an impressive voice (done by Kevin Michael Richardson) and has eyes that are large, shiny and blueish with no pupils.
* The Practical Incarnation from ''[[PlanescapeTorment Planescape: Torment]]''. He gets a woman who ''knows'' he's a ManipulativeBastard but is still in love with him [[spoiler:to accompany him to her certain death so he can have a spy in the place where she'll die]]. He creates a holy text [[spoiler:quite possibly wholecloth in order to get a member of a race that freed itself from slavery and despises the notion to swear fealty to him]]. He gets a blind archer [[spoiler:to effectively sell himelf to him]]. Manipulative? Oh yes. Bastard? ''Hell'' yes.
** And, depending on how you play the game, the player character can be as well. If you're smart enough, you can actually out-manipulate the above Bastard.
* [[EvilIsSexy I-no]] from ''GuiltyGear'' is an allegory of this trope. And she loves it.
* Lord Galcian of ''SkiesOfArcadia''.
* Axel from ''KingdomHearts'', prior to his CharacterDerailment, playing both sides in an Organization XIII internal conflict so that he could feel amused (hey, when you're a Nobody, you'll take any feeling you can get.)
* In the {{Fallout}} series you can get out from/make almost any/every situation if your Speech-skill is high enought...this, of course, depending are you good or evil. In {{Fallout 3}} alone - when playing Good - you can negotiate/seduce a man to give up his plan to blow up a city or - as Evil character - manipulate him to double the reward if you want to blow up the bomb for him.
* In ''[[KnightsOfTheOldRepublic Knights of the Old Republic II: The Sith Lords]]'', Kreia digs into Atton's subconscious and holds his past over his head like an axe for the whole game, ensuring he remains loyal to the Exile. When she meets Mandalore later, she casually namedrops Revan, and then promising an answer to "the question that burns within his shell" - which likely boils down to "Why did he abandon me?" - to ensure ''his'' loyalty to the Exile.
** Emphasised by an optional scene in the game - If Atton and the Exile develop enough trust between them, Atton [[spoiler:tells the exile of his murder of several Jedi during the war, some former comrades of the Exile. The Exile accepts this and forgives Atton.]] Atton, having done this, confronts Kreia, and states that she has no power over him any longer. Kreia's Response - [[spoiler:"If you thought I had any power over you in the first place then you were more of a fool than I thought. However, never forget, traitor, the feeling of guilt you had, and know that I can make you recall that feeling at - any - moment. Now, leave me, murderer".]] A Magnificant Bastard, indeed.
**Unfortunately for Kreia, she can’t manipulate droids.
* [[spoiler:Metal Sonic]] From ''Sonic Heroes'' fits this trope well. Despite being seen right in the beginning, he worked behind and in the scenes, and manipulated ''everyone'' to the point where [[spoiler:he almost won, had it not been for the teams collecting the emeralds.]]
* [[spoiler: Master Li]] of ''JadeEmpire'' is the epitome of Manipulative Bastardry. He pulls off a ''twenty year'' XanatosGambit (only saved from being a XanatosRoulette because he is ''always'' in control of it) perfectly, [[spoiler: even anticipating crash sites of flyers and manipulating family GenreSavvy enough to assume he survived a blizzard after being chucked around by a deity ''and'' to still be looking for him. Hells, he knew about and relied on Sun Hai doing that. All hail the Glorious Strategist!]]
* ''FinalFantasyTactics'': Apart from all his standard BatmanGambit (in relation to Ramza,) and his XanatosGambit amid everyone else's XanatosRoulette, Delita may be seen as a ManipulativeBastard towards Ovelia if you think that he never truly loved her. Duke Barrington was one too towards Rapha and Marach, even if the former realized it very early on. Zalbaag and Dycedarg could also count on Ramza's passion for their own ends.
* The ''AceAttorney'' games have [[spoiler:Matt Engarde]] from ''Justice For All'' and [[spoiler:Dahlia Hawthorne]] from ''Trials and Tribulations''.
** And we can't forget [[spoiler:Damon Gant]]. Not quite as manipulative as the above, but still a master at playing everyone around him.
* [[spoiler:Adachi]] of ''{{Persona 4}}'' makes another unsupecting man do his dirty work for him and and manages to successfully avoid capture until the very end of the game. Somewhat subverted in that the part with the other man was a stroke of luck.
* [[spoiler:Sakaki]] of .hack//G.U. is an interesting case. Some people can see the manipulative bastardry from the beginning, others don't realise it until [[spoiler:his]] victim does. Full details: [[spoiler:Sakaki is practically mindraping Atoli from the beginning, and always turning her away from everyone and towards himself. This is very similar to the Orochimaru gambit of taking an already heavily abused victim, and then twisting them around your little finger. He even then admits to the whole thing fully aware that Atoli is in ear shot, but unable to do anything about it.]]
* [[spoiler:Dimentio]] of [[PaperMario Super Paper Mario]]. At first he appears nothing more than an amusing little henchman, but, particularly in the endgame, it becomes clear that he's manipulating ''both'' sides of the conflict to further his own ends, playing off each side's desires as well as the prophecy itself. In fact, some EpilepticTrees concerning him even go so far as to suggest that [[spoiler:he wrote the Dark Prognosticus in the first place, setting up the whole prophecy from the beginning.]]
*[[FateStayNight Kirei Kotomine.]] He isn't even revealed as a bad guy despite his rather openly villainous attitude until late in each path, just as a jerk who likes messing with Shirou.
** Even worse, Zouken Matou. He doesn't pretend to be a good/neutral guy or even bother masking the fact that's a vicious and creepy old man. Yet he manipulates Shinji/Sakura etc. regardless. Kirei Kotomine at least manages to also net being a MagnificentBastard.
* In [[MitadakeHigh Mitadake High]], you are either this or a [[XanatosSucker puppet of everyone else]]
* ''{{Touhou}}'' has Yukari, especially in Silent Sinner in Blue, or the numerous fanfics play this role all the time.
* Shizune of ''KatawaShoujo''. She's not the master manipulator Hisao thinks she is (probably...), but she is very cunning, her favorite game is Risk, and she has a lackey in Misha (well, a [[TheDitz ditzy]] lackey with no volume control, but still.)
[[/folder]]

[[folder:WebComics]]
* Adam from ''{{Loserz}}'' seems like a {{Casanova}} at the first glimpse, but in [[http://bukucomics.com/loserz/index.php?comicID=130 this strip]] he displays what a master of manipulation he is.
* Tohya Miho from ''{{Megatokyo}}'' does this with varying levels of success.
** Miho is an interesting (and arguably realistic) example, because while the impact of her schemes has been truly dramatic she is forced to admit that she actually ended up achieving the opposite of her true objectives. Her ManipulativeBastard actions in the Endgames prequel similarly end in failure, when Piro [[BeatThemAtTheirOwnGame plays her own game back at her.]]
* While some view Maytag of ''{{Flipside}}'' as a Purity Sue both inside and outside the comic, others view her as a frighteningly powerful Manipulative Bastard.
* Mike from ''CollegeRoomiesFromHell'' is a good example. Physically, he's about evenly matched with roommates Dave and Roger -- but mentally, he's ''always'' two steps ahead of them. Mike can accomplish almost anything by manipulating others' actions, and he seldom betrays any affection for people other than his sister Blue and girlfriend Marsha. He can even see through ''the devil's'' mind games '''while being tortured in Hell'''.
** More recently, April -- once the nicest character in the strip -- has let her doomed love for Mike drive her into becoming a Manipulative Bitch. In a way, she's his opposite: while Mike only falters on the rare occasions when he loses his cool, April is at her scheming best when she's most bitter and desperate. After one series of lies so brazen that it literally ''killed her conscience'', there was no turning back.
* [[CtrlAltDel Christian and Rory]], a [[ScrewTheRulesIHaveMoney rich jerkass]] and a JerkJock AloofOlderBrother, respectively.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:WebOriginal]]
* While [[spoiler: Lear Dunham]], the BigBad of ''BrokenSaints'' is the consummate {{Chessmaster}}, it is his {{Dragon}}/[[spoiler: son, Gabriel]], who is fits this trope better; [[spoiler: he is easily able to earn Shandala's trust, play on Tui's jealousy like a drum, and keep the suspicious heroes calm long enough for the effects of his paralysis-inducing wine to kick in.]]
[[/folder]]

[[folder:WesternAnimation]]
* Eric Teodor Cartman of ''SouthPark''. Although most of his victims were indeed gullible simpletons, still his ability to persuade people en mass is near-frightening. Even his nemesis Kyle is not safe from his enticement. So what'd do you expect from the ordinary folk?
** He manages to form a Neo-Nazi organization out of fans of "Passions of Christ" and lead them on a march chanting anti-Semitic slogans and they never got the slightest idea of what they were nearly dragged into!
** Cartman also convinced everybody that ginger kids are soulless monsters. In order to teach him a lesson, Kyle and Stan make him up as a ginger. Naturally, Cartman immediately rallies all the ginger kids into a sect and begins an extermination of non-gingers. Mere moments before the extermination commences, Kyle and Stan reveal the truth to him. It only takes him a handful of words to mitigate vengeful gingers and reconcile everybody.
* Azula of ''AvatarTheLastAirbender'', no question. As she puts it "I'm a people person". When she successfully turns the secrete political police of the capital of the country her country is at war with for a century against its leader, he says that she beat him at his own game. Her response?
-->Azula: Please, don't flatter yourself; You were never even a player."
**A certain [[EvilMentor Bloodbender]] deserves a mention here too...
** Hell, Azula's old man Ozai fits the bill as well. During the Day of Black Sun, he even deploys a manipulative tactic against Zuko at ''the exact same time'' Azula's employing a similar one against Sokka.
* Vlad Masters/Plasmius from ''DannyPhantom'' does this all the time, especially with the main character whom he likes to play up the [[NotSoDifferent similarity between the two]] in order to get him on his side.
* Slade from ''TeenTitans'' definitely goes here. Manipulating others and making them suffer for it is what he does best. Unfortunately he cannot see outside of his big plans, so his manipulations usually come with a [[VillainBall price]].
* The version of Megatron in ''TransformersAnimated'' was able to convince Isaac Sumdac he was an Autobot and to never mention his name to the Autobots, as well as get the Constructicons on his side with a story of "Autobot oppression" and a couple drinks.
** Not to mention getting [[spoiler: Bulkhead]] to build him a space bridge by being the only person who seemed to believe he wasn't a complete idiot, and talking [[spoiler:Omega Supreme right back to Cybertron rather than killing him.]]
** He even managed to convince [[spoiler: ''Starscream'' to join him in conquering Cybertron together after Starscream took over Omega Supreme and had Megatron at his mercy.]]
* Megatron in ''TransformersBeastWars'' is just as manipulative. The guy managed to convince Silverbolt (''the noblest individual Optimus Primal has ever met'') to become a Predacon when he first met him. In ''Beast Machines'' he later played on Rattrap's insecurity about his now useless robot mode and got him to help him out for a night. After infecting all the Maximals except Optimus with a virus that causes discord he got Optimus to consider (admittedly, for like five minutes) that maybe his vision of forced harmony was the way to go.
** Tarantulas in ''TransformersBeast Wars'' was about as talented. More than once he duped Quickstrike into betraying Megatron, and once even got him to go along with a plan that would negate both him and every other Transformer (but Tarantulas) from existence.
* Dave from ''{{Code Monkeys}}'' tends to fall into this territory sometimes most notably [[spoiler:In the Drunken Office Party episode where he gets Jerry to believe he is responsible for all the horrible things he (Dave) actually did at the Office Party. The whole episode Jerry is racked with guilt and is insulted, physically attacked, thrown up on trying to make up for what he did. He even considers quitting. Because Jerry believes he broke Dave's arm he gives him his ticket to Hawaii and thanks him for being such a good friend. It is only at the end of the episode he realizes Dave was behind it all and the things happening to him were happening because Dave was with him and he happened to be caught in the crossfire. Several of the people he offended were made up and Dave gets go spend two weeks in Hawaii while it all blows over.]]
* Digeri Dingo from TazMania is a milder, more lovable example of this
* Despite the series being known for its incompetent or even stupid characters, ''The Simpsons'' actually has a surprising amount of manipulative bastards. Though very few come across as being completely unlikable or evil...a rare thing to have acomplished, the fact is that most of the cast dabbles in deception on more than one occasion. In fact more than 90% of the cast could be considered in this category, but let's just stick with the noteworthies.
** Mr. Burns is of course an obvious choice. However, many seem acutely aware of Burns' evil ways so sentiments may vary here.
** The Mayor of Springfield, "Diamond" Joe Quimby, of course makes his living being a manipulative bastard. He's a satirical politician after all. Though one must admit, even in the somewhat [[CrapSackWorld morally confused]] world of the Simpsons, many of Quimby's actions are particularly bad. Even the incompetent Chief Clancy Wiggum, whom Quimby seems to have under his thumb, holds a thinly veiled desire to see Quimby answer to karma. Not without moments of sympathy, but a manipulative bastard no less.
** Being a comedic center of a lot of villainous staples, Sideshow Bob has of course dabbled in the art of the manipulative bastard on more than one occasion.
** Krusty the Clown, Springfield's resident celebrity, will do almost anything to keep his fame and fortune in check. Much like Quimby in a sense, Krusty in way makes his living off of being a manipulative bastard.
** Let's not kid ourselves...Homer Simpson may be the de-facto main character and the big doofus ([[Jerkass most of the time...]]) we all love...but at the end of the day he's one hell of a manipulative bastard. Just consider how many situations Homer slimed his way out of by playing on people's emotions...whether it'd be Marge, the townsfolk, or even YOU! This doesn't mean he's a bad man of course, anyone who's watched the show knows that he's got a good heart somewhere in there...but he really is a manipulative man in many ways. Thinking otherwise means you're under his spell most likely.
*** Let's not forget Bart either. Though not as shameless perhaps as his dad, and with a little more of an apparent heart of gold most of the time, entire episodes have been spun around the fact Bart gets by so much because of the fact he knows how to play on people's sympathies. Although not truly evil by any extent like with most of the characters, still a true little bastard to the very end.
* At the risk of sounding [[DepartmentOfRedundancyDepartment redundant]], David Xanatos of ''{{Gargoyles}}''.
** The Archmage takes the cake in the three part episode "Avalon". He convinces the weird sisters (who don't like mortals telling them to do anything) to do his bidding, while showing his past self the steps needed to obtain unlimited power. When he finally gets his power, he attacks the humans and Gargoyles on Avalon, but spares them so that they can go and get Goliath to help them. With Goliath in the battle, the Archmage can now exact his revenge for supposedly killing him.
** Thailog's a definite example as well- he's ''at least'' as good as Xanatos, and possibly better. Demona's got a manipulative streak as well, but as usual she's her own worst enemy, and her bad temper and bouts of genocidal insanity often wind up shooting her in the foot at key stages.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:RealLife]]
%%This troper gently reminds all tropers that this is not a tropers' tales page. Examples of historical significance only, please.%%
* The French King Louis XI embodies this trope, going so far as being named "The Spider King" because of how threads of his web of influence managed to get into every political corner.
* Otto von Bismarck stands out as well. On one occasion, he editted a conversation between the king and the French diplomat just enough to be insulting to the French. This was enough to get the French to declare war on Germany, which in turn helped Bismarck convince the holdout German states to join into the German federation. It also increased the prestige of the Prussian army, as they managed to resoundly defeat the French and take Alsace-Lorraine.
** His mastery of this trope was also frequently used on the king, saving Bismarck from the ire of the elected government more than once and solidifying his power within Prussia.
* Perhaps "lower scale" in a sense (it's quality, not quantity, ladies and gents), but if the WoundedGazelleGambit page is anything to go by, Lady Diana Spencer was one ''par excellence''. EverythingsBetterWithPrincesses, after all. (Is it wrong that this knowledge makes me kind of like her more than when I thought she was all but a real life PuritySue?)
* Very controversial figure but, Henry Kissinger, the Secretary of State under Presidents Nixon and Ford (as well as Nixon's National Security Advisor) may easily fit this. He started off rising to power by backing David Rockefeller for the Republican nomination for President in 1968. Then when Rockefeller lost the nomination to Nixon he was still allowed by then President Johnson to be privy to the negotiations going on in Paris that were trying to end the Vietnam War. Kissinger relayed information on the progress of the talks to the Nixon Administration whom were trying to stop the peace talks. They were, according to Nixon's own memoirs, giving Hubert Humphrey (the democartic nomination for president) a last second boost in the polls. Anna Chennault, one of the chief advisors to President Thieu of South Vietnam was the connection through which Nixon told the South to not come to the peace talks because he could get them a better deal. Of Kissinger she said, "He was getting information from both sides, he was probably giving information to both sides too." After the talks collapsed Kissinger was awarded for his role by being named National Security Advisor to Nixon (who just barely won.) According to a member of his staff Roger Morris, who later resigned along with two others, said Kissinger "was constanlty playing one side off against the other." When the Vietnam War finally ended on virtually the same terms as the Johnson Administration had offered, twice as many Americans had died and it had even expanded into the neutral countries of Cambodia (which paved the way for the Khmer Rouge) and Laos. Despite this, Kissinger was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1973.
* ''Plants.'' Think about it: Wheat and corn got humans to eradicate forests and meadows just for them; flowers are useless to us but because they're attractive we spend big bucks on them (to the point of [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tulip_mania wrecking the economy]]), and we regularly ''go to jail or die'' over marijuana, cocaine, and 'shrooms. And that's just humans, plants have been manipulating animals for millions of years: elephants have figured out that one kind of tree they like will grow better if they get rid of all the other trees and orchids trick insects into pollinating them by pretending to be females.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:TabletopGames]]
* The Craftworld Eldar from ''[[{{Warhammer40000}} Warhammer 40,000]]'' are [[MagnificentBastard magnificent]] manipulative bastards, thanks to a combination of [[PsychicPowers psychic farsight]] and a callous disregard for the "inferior" life-forms they manipulate. For example, the Eldar are willing to slaughter an ''entire Imperial Guard regiment'' so the naughty humans wouldn't accidentally awaken a Necron tombworld, trick some of their ''own people'' into the hands of their [[{{FateWorseThanDeath}} dark kin]] so they might stave off their species' demise a century or two longer, and [[{{DawnofWar}}systematically murder or dethrone the leaders of several other armies just to maintain a bloody stalemate]]. These are just the small-scale stuff: the Eldar subtly redirected Ork warboss Ghazghkull Mag Uruk Thraka to the planet Armageddon, leading to two cataclysmic wars that killed billions and turned the region into a perpetual warzone, because otherwise the Orks would have killed a few Eldar. Worst of all is the fact that the Eldar can't compete with the [[{{XanatosRoulette}} C'Tan known as The Deceiver, or the Chaos god Tzeentch]].
** Unfortunately for their image, they really got given the IdiotBall on Armageddon. The second war was played as a worldwide campaign, meaning every army in the galaxy (eldar included) sent people to fight and die over it. Troops had to be redirected from fighting the Tyranids in the Eastern Fringes, meaning the Tyranids could get further into the galaxy, something the Eldar living their had been desperately trying to stop (and, in the case of Iyanden, been all but wiped out by). Lastly, the Imperium had been weakened just before the Eye of Terror campaign, fought to decide the fate of the entire galaxy, in which many, many eldar died and various eldar, including Eldrad Ulthuan, the one behind it all, were doomed to a FateWorseThanDeath. Oops.
** On the subject of Tzeentch, it is said that it has so many plans working in unison manipulating so many people and events that they effectively cancel each other out. Foiling one plan will cause a dozen more plans to initiate, which will in turn foil several dozen ''more'' plans... and so on and so forth.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:ProfessionalWrestling]]
* Former {{ECW}} president and SmugSnake extraordinaire Paul Hayman fits this troop to a tee. He stole most of his ideas from other promoters like The Sheik, Joel Goodhart, and Atsushi Onita and was not only able to convince his fans that they were his ideas but that if anyone else used them they were stealing from him. He was also able to convince them that they were watching only high quality wrestling and that the WWF and WCW wrestlers were crap while he made stars out of people like Public Enemy and 911. Then there is the way he treated his wrestlers which made them loyal to him despite the fact he did not pay them for the last 6 month. Even though most people that worked for him relies what a bastard he was in retrospect he still has a strong CreatorWorship following today despite his all his failures in the industry
* {{WWE}}'s commentators don't refer to Triple H as "The Cerebral Assassin" for nothing.
* Raven, especially during his first ECW run and his WCW run, is another prime example just for his ability to gain loyal follower after loyal follower. The man got The Sandman's ''own wife and son'' to turn against him, for god's sake.
* There's a good reason Edge is known as the "Master Manipulator".
[[/folder]]

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