[[Film/RobinHood http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/Sirhiss01.jpg]]
[[caption-width:350:He [[{{Sssssnaketalk}} sssssseems]] [[ReptilesAreAbhorrent "trustworthy"]] enough.]]

-->''"Yeah, reach out for me! I'm a snake! '''Never''' trust a snake!"''
-->-- '''Jake "The Snake" Roberts''', ''{{WWF}} Superstars''

-->''"Smiling poison and suspicious craft."''
-->-- '''Skek Sil''''s personality as described in the source book for ''TheDarkCrystal''

The SmugSnake is a type of character (usually cast as a villain) who tends to treat friends and enemies alike with equal disdain. They almost constantly [[DeadpanSnarker speak in a sarcastic tone]] and punctuate most of their sentences with a smirk. More often than not, they will aspire to be a formidable and awe-inspiring adversary, but [[EvilFrogWhoWantsToBeAnOx tend to fail in the face and/or servitude]] of [[MagnificentBastard more cunning villains]]. Others that fall under this trope are [[CardCarryingVillain simply in it to bug the good guys]] and [[FlawExploitation take advantage]] of their [[SlaveToPR moral insecurity]].

A key character trait common to {{Smug Snake}}s is [[{{Pride}} overconfidence]]. Most often, they will think themselves to be the MagnificentBastard. While they may believe that they have [[EvilPlan the situation]] under control (whether they do so through {{blackmail}}, [[ManipulativeBastard coercion]], or simply [[EvilChancellor being in a position of authority]]), there will usually be a [[SpannerInTheWorks hole in that plan]] that they failed to consider. Perhaps they underestimated their opponents' abilities and [[NothingCanStopUsNow claimed themselves unbeatable]], or maybe they [[VillainBall made a really stupid mistake]] along the way. Once that realization hits, expect the Snake to [[VillainousBreakdown lose their cool]] right before [[HumiliationConga everything starts falling apart]] for them. They are not necessarily entirely incompetent or ineffectual, however, and may succeed with at least part of their goals, but they are still lacking that charm and grace that the MagnificentBastard possesses.

Sometimes, a writer will purposely introduce a SmugSnake as a target [[DesignatedVillain for audience hate]] by making them KickTheDog or [[ObstructiveBureaucrat bend the rules to get their way]] and [[DirtyCoward come out]] [[KarmaHoudini smelling like a rose]]. Basically, this is a villain that's made to be hated and the audience will enjoy hating. This, like all other tropes, can backfire if misused. If the writer still tries to foist the character as a MagnificentBastard when their previous actions have proven otherwise, the audience will likely stop enjoying to hate the character, and instead genuinely ''hate'' them as much as they would TheScrappy or TheWesley.

When the Smug Snake [[XmeetsY meets the]] MarySue trope, then you have a VillainSue.

Compare ManipulativeBastard. Contrast WorthyOpponent and MagnificentBastard, who inspire respect and/or admiration from their opponents/the audience. See also SmugSuper. Not to be confused with another [[MetalGear smug Snake]].
----
!!Examples

[[foldercontrol]]

[[folder: Anime and Manga ]]

* Minister Foss from ''{{Berserk}}''.
* Masaya Wadou is this in ''Anime/{{Witchblade}}'', on top of being a CorruptCorporateExecutive. This is his undoing because he tries so hard to be a MagnificentBastard, but he keeps fucking up royally because as BadassNormal Reiji Takayama puts it, "He's always looking for shortcuts." This winds up biting him on the ass in an cruelly ironic way.
* Makoto Isshiki in ''RahXephon'', for whom this trope is partly named after (he's nicknamed "White Snake" because of his [[EvilAlbino albinism]] and scheming). At first he's a typical SmugSnake, but in the second half of the story [[VillainousBreakdown turns into a madman]].
** It runs in his family, [[spoiler: judging from Babhem]].
* Quattro from ''[[MagicalGirlLyricalNanoha Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha StrikerS]]'' enjoys manipulating and controlling people, belittles both enemies and allies, and does this all with [[BitchInSheepsClothing a sickeningly cutesy appearance]]. The fact that her role as support means she's usually hiding somewhere safe from her enemies while she's condescending to them doesn't help her case. Her eventual (non-fatal) fate at the business end of the titular character's [[{{BFG}} staff]] was [[CrowningMoment/MagicalGirlLyricalNanoha a very satisfying scene]].
* Arguably, Orochimaru from ''{{Naruto}}''. Sure, he's evil and fairly skilled, but he leaves a lot of the planning to his EnigmaticMinion. Also a literal example, what with his theme being snakes.
** Gato of the Land of Waves arc loudly complains when Zabuza and his followers fail to kill Tazuna, despite them being stronger than him or any of the other men he has in his employ, and tries to kill both Zabuza and Team 7 after their battle in order to save money, showing considerable arrogance, overconfidence and disdain for his allies. Unfortunately, he doesn't count on the injured and {{Heel Face Turn}}ed Zabuza having enough strength and skill to kill him.
* Frank Archer from the anime version of ''Anime/FullmetalAlchemist'' is the epitome of a SmugSnake; a ruthless sociopath who orchestrated heinous catastrophes for the sake of [[GloryHound bettering his own image and publicity]].
* Half of the ''DeathNote'' fandom sees Light Yagami as a MagnificentBastard, while the other half sees him as a SmugSnake. The authors, notably, were ultimately going for this reaction, and a lot of his [[KickTheDog dog-kicking]] is ''necessary'' to ultimately put him on the villainous side; even without the DracoInLeatherPants factor, Light Yagami is [[WellIntentionedExtremist very easy to see as a hero]].
** Higuchi's a better example, because while Light has a tremendous ego and no qualms about manipulating people, he is quite brilliant. Higuchi, however, enjoys insulting people, is highly arrogant, is the second least competent member of Yotsuba (behind someone who was put in to make him look smart) and is obsessed with achieving power and status.
* Gauron from ''FullMetalPanic''. Treating both allies and enemies with disdain? Check. Always speaking in a sarcastic tone, ending it with a smirk? Check. ''Loves'' to bug the protagonist and take advantage of his moral insecurity? Check. Overconfident that his plans will go exactly the way he wants? Check.
* Yuri Killian became one of these toward the end of the first season of ''KaleidoStar'', enacting a complicated revenge plot against Kalos Eido, his former boss, for [[spoiler:the death of his father Aaron several years ago]]. While he succeeds in buying out Kaleido Stage and forcing most of its stars out (all the while taunting them about how they'll never make it big without him), attendance under Yuri's management dwindles rapidly because of people complaining [[TheyChangedItNowItSucks the shows aren't as fun as they used to be]]. As a final insult, his ex-partner Layla Hamilton sees what he's done, attempts to fight back and finally gives him a hard slap to the face for assuming everything was Kalos' fault even after he learned that [[spoiler:Aaron's death was genuinely accidental, and Kalos had been trying to make up for it ever since.]]
** Yuri actually is [[spoiler: one of the few Snakes who actually has a HeelFaceTurn ''and'' works hard to become TheAtoner. Even if he goes ''too'' far in Leon's case...]]
* Kazamatsuri Hayato from ''{{Gilgamesh}}'', perhaps portrayed as a complete asshole in an attempt to make EvilMatriarch Kageyama Hiroko look more sympathetic in comparison.
* Akihiko Kurata, the MadScientist from ''DigimonSavers'', is incredibly manipulative, condescending, and selfish, and his habit of situating himself well out of harm's way until he's absolutely sure of success makes him even more infuriating. This is somewhat made up for by his [[DirtyCoward extreme cowardice]], which makes the times when things actually go against him very satisfying indeed.
* Tomoe Marguerite from the anime version of ''{{Mai-Otome}}'' spends a lot of her time plotting against Arika and her friends (and eventually the whole of Garderobe Academy), attempting to bump them ''all'' off [[PsychoLesbian in an effort to get Shizuru to notice her]]. Her inability to control her pride and keep her hatred for Arika in check prevent her from succeeding with anything bigger than small-time crimes, though she still winds up as a KarmaHoudini in the end, mainly due to her accomplice taking full responsibility for everything Tomoe did in the first half of the series (and nobody keeping close tabs on either of them).
* The manga incarnations of Nagi in both ''Manga/{{Mai-HiME}}'' and ''Manga/{{Mai-Otome}}'' are far less AffablyEvil and [[ManipulativeBastard manipulative]] than his anime counterparts, though he is much more proactive in opposing the heroines, rather than plotting from the background. In both cases, he gets beaten pretty badly (twice in the former).
** [[spoiler: Nagi from the Mai-Otome manga partially subverts the trope by being the only version of Nagi in the mangas or animes to make a HeelFaceTurn and actually reveal himself to be a semi-decent human being. He actually dies in a HeroicSacrifice defending the main hero! It is, however, only a partial subversion, because for ''most'' of the series, he ''was'' a complete ass.]]
* Millions Knives from ''{{Trigun}}''. Missing throughout the entire anime except for a few scenes, we're expected to take him seriously when we see him sitting down in a field sipping a glass of wine? Even though his [[TheDragon Dragon]] [[spoiler: had nearly mentally crippled Vash, Knives lost to him in the span of an episode]]!
** This is mainly due to AdaptationDecay and [[OvertookTheManga the anime overtaking the manga]]. In the manga, he has much, much more of the trappings of a terrifying [[GodMode superpowered]] MagnificentBastard with the grandeur (and [[FatalFlaw tragic flaw]]) of a Shakespearean villain. However, YourMileageMayVary about his manga version due to the massive amounts of [[{{Narm}} bathos]], ([[{{Wangst}} w]]){{angst}}, procrastination, and [[FreudWasRight probable overcompensation]] associated with him.
* Job Trunicht from ''LegendOfGalacticHeroes'' is particularly notorious for throwing an ''entire interstellar nation'' under the bus for personal gain, multiple times. In an unusual example, he's actually aware of what a slimy scumbag he is:
-->'''Trunicht:''' [[DemocracyIsBad Democracy isn't really all that remarkable]]. You can just look at me, Fleet Admiral. Someone like me can hold power and make others live and die as he likes. If that isn't a flaw of democracy, then what is?
* ''OnePiece'' both plays it straight and subverts it. There are plenty of Smug Snakes who rather satisfyingly get their asses handed to them by the Straw Hats, which makes them lose everything. The subversion comes from the fact that said snakes end up better off from said asskicking. Look no further than Wapol who after he was defeated by the Straw Hats and blown away from Drum island ended up starting a toy company, became a multi-millionaire, and married a model. Also, Helmeppo, who after the defeat of both him and his father, re-evaluated himself decided to seriously pursue the profession of a marine officer with Coby.
** Some end up better off, but many do not. Kuro ended up forced to be a pirate again, the last thing in the world he wanted to be. Crocodile was stripped of his prestigious position as a Sea Warlord and sentenced to life in the worst prison in the world. Arlong lost his empire and was caught by the Marines. On the other hand, Eneru got exactly what he wanted (his own moon kingdom, meaning he's the only major ''OnePiece'' villain who actually ''won'',) and then there's the ones who win a little and lose a little, like Moria who lost his ship and his zombies but got to keep his position and had his defeat covered-up by the government. It seems that the ultimate fate of a ''One Piece'' villain is left up to fate (and the whim of Oda) and being evil is no guarantee of comeuppance.
** Mr. 3 is probably the best example, primarily because he constantly harps about his tactics, when he’s [[EvilFrogWhoWantsToBeAnOx weaker than Mr. 4]], chronically overconfident and cowardly, and not even as smart as Crocodile. He'd like to be a MagnificentBastard, but he's far too arrogant and not as clever as he thinks.
*** Helmeppo's fate isn't particularly grating, though, due to a HeelFaceTurn (he's basically trying to clean up his act, and he wants to restore his family's good name... by recapturing his fugitive dad).
* Jean Gedoo from ''{{Geneshaft}}'' has all the ego of being the valedictorian in his class (and [[{{Yu-Gi-Oh}} Yugi]] [[AnimeHair hair]]), with the "best genes" for leadership. Granted, he wasn't bad tactically, but he was far too obsessed with ''asserting'' and ''proving'' his worthiness, to the point that he would do [[KickTheDog very cruel things]] simply because he felt that someone - anyone - did not acknowledge his perfection...or simply because he was [[{{Ubermensch}} perfect]] and thus [[AboveGoodAndEvil beyond judgment]]. That he had [[HoYay a problem]] with [[EnsembleDarkhorse Mario Musicanova]] really grated.
* Diethard Reid of ''CodeGeass'' serves this role in a show full of {{Magnificent Bastard}}s. While at first he seems merely calculating and pragmatic, often pointing out the difficult, morally controversial issue in contrast to [[TheEveryman Ougi]], he crosses the line into SmugSnake when, after taping the incident where [[spoiler: the Black Knights betrayed Lelouch, he joined up with Schniezel. It culminates in him getting shot and begging Lelouch to use Geass on him, who responds with disdain.]] At least Ougi can be seen as a man who can't catch up to the controversial times due to his position as the local average guy - Diethard ''does'' have the brains and the means to get in and out at any time, but stupidly chooses not to.
** Also, all of [[EvilChancellor the Chinese high eunuchs]], who possess practically zero merits or skills of any kind and sell out practically everyone in their own country for their own benefit, while planning to either kill or marry off a lonely girl for exactly the same reason.
* Hajime Mizuki from ''ThePrinceOfTennis'' starts this way, being an extremely quirky Strategist who wasn't above of [[KickTheDog using one of his player's insecurities to his advantage]], despite the risks it'd bring to the kid. After a memorable HumiliationConga dealt to him by said player's [[BigBrotherComplex overprotective older brother]], he gets a slightly more sympathetic role and becomes a sort of EnsembleDarkhorse (making him one of the very rare Snakes who's a bit ''popular'' in fandom)... Mainly since he's the epithome of AlwaysCamp and therefore it's easy to put him in HoYay situations.
* Jonathan Glenn from ''BrainPowerd'' probably thinks himself a MagnificentBastard... and that's just his first failing! A combination of overconfidence, KickTheDog moments, and the fact his manipulations never really go anywhere (plus, he later allows himself to become Baron Maximillian's pawn) gets him a place in this trope and makes him one of the most unsympathetic characters in the series.
* Katsuhiko Jinnai from ''ElHazard'' certainly counts. Being a brilliant strategist and successful conqueror isn't enough to make up for his monumental ego and AnnoyingLaugh; traits that make him both hateable and/or hilarious to the audience.
* Haruo from ''HistorysStrongestDiscipleKenichi'', a fair weather friend with an ever-present [[GigglingVillain arrogant smirk]] on his face who enjoys getting Kenichi into trouble ([[spoiler:for example, by spreading the news of his victory over Tsukuba, which made Kenichi a target for Ragnarok]]). A lot of readers would like nothing better than crossing the pages of the manga and punch his teeth in...
** And he actually has ''snake tongue''!
** Of course, he really ''is'' a ManipulativeBastard, and even Kenichi's masters admit that he has genuine strategic talent, and ''eventually'' he does become an asset to the team (kind of). He still has no fighting skill and an ego the size of a zeppelin, but still...
* Mikoto from ''FlameOfRecca''. While her first credentials show her to be a CompleteMonster, her fight with Fuuko cements her as a true SmugSnake, starting from the usage of CrocodileTears, slow poisoning (while gloating on how she likes seeing life fading away), and finally, scoring a default victory through silencing the referee (who was about to declare KO), knocking Fuuko out and won over a ten count. As Raiha coined, it's not her physical strength that makes her a Jyuushinshu, it's her SLYNESS. Even Joker noted that he is ''really'' doubtful about how Mikoto ends up in the Jyuushinshu ranks. While still smuggy, she starts softening up when she got into a relationship with [[CompleteMonster Mokuren]]. But that ends very [[strike:tragically]] pitifully for her.
* Goryo of ''{{Muhyo and Roji}}'' prides himself on his tactics, even though his grasp of magical law is inferior to Muhyo's. Despite [[spoiler: (technically) winning the contest against Muhyo]], Goryo’s plan to corner Ark fails miserably, forcing Muhyo to come to his aid. Goryo is also largely unlikable because his business model frequently involves KickTheDog moments.
* Kashmir from ''OvermanKingGainer'' is a pompous ass who uses underhanded tricks to try to defeat the Yapan Exodus. He succeeds once making it so that a Dome that the Exodus stopped at is damaged forcing them to join the Exodus which causes distrust and hatred which is the main source of Kashmir's plans (it also backfires when several of them form a second squad under former Siberian Railroad member Adette). All other plans fails at which point Kashmir who is the worst recurring mecha pilot in the series than gets his ass kicked.
* The condescending jerk Haraguchi from ''{{Genshiken}}''. This is especially displayed in the manga, where he picks up one of the Genshiken's new comic releases, thumbs through it, and gives it back. ''When he could have gotten it for free.''
* The ''{{Gundam}}'' franchise has numerous Smug Snakes in it including:
** M'Quve of the original ''MobileSuitGundam'';
** Jamaican Danigan, Franklin Bidan and Bask Ohm from ''ZetaGundam'';
** Glemy Toto from ''GundamZZ'';
** Chronicle Asher and Tassilo Vago of ''VictoryGundam'';
** Duke Dermail and Dekim Barton of ''GundamWing'';
** the Frost Brothers of ''GundamX'', though Olba is more of a Snake than Shagia who actually ''does'' partially get to be a MagnificentBastard;
** Patrick Zala and Muruta Azrael of ''GundamSEED'';
** Lord Djibril and Yuna Roma Seiran of ''GundamSEEDDestiny''; and
** Alejandro Corner, Wang Liu Mei and Arba Lindt of ''{{Gundam 00}}''.
*** Ribbons Almark is an interesting case of a character starting out as a straight MagnificentBastard... [[spoiler: but being unable to keep up with the rest of the field as the characters evolved, he began to rely almost exclusively on a supercomputer to counter everything the opponent had. Effectively, this led to his degenerating into a nasty SmugSnake towards the end.]]
* Chigusa, the BigBad during the Kyoto arc of ''MahouSenseiNegima''. She acted all superior despite the fact that she's a DirtyCoward who hid behind a HumanShield (Konoka, [[DistressedDamsel her captive]]) whenever an enemy got near. In fact, when the inevitable happened and all her plans came crashing down around her in a spectacular manner, Chachazero, the ''AxCrazy PerversePuppet'' of [[NobleDemon Evangeline]], appeared before her and called her out for all of her cowardly actions before giving her an ignoble defeat: [[spoiler: Scaring her so badly that she fainted.]] And as though emphasizing her "feels a lot more important than she actually is" nature, the three ''[[http://www.mangafox.com/manga/mahou_sensei_negima/c038/19.html minions]]'' she hired and lorded over in the Kyoto arc ([[spoiler: [[TheRival Koutarou]], [[PsychoLesbian Tsukuyomi]], and ''[[BigBad Fate]]'']]) all turned out to both be stronger and a lot more plot relevant that Chigusa herself was in the grand scheme of things.
** Much, ''much'' later on, Kurt Godel, Governor General of Ostia seems to be like this. [[spoiler: [[SubvertedTrope Subverted]] as he's actually [[MagnificentBastard powerful enough to take on Negi]], and [[WildCard might actually be (or not)]] an ally of the BigBad.]]
* Kurotowa in ''NausicaaOfTheValleyOfTheWind'' fits this trope to the letter. Actor Chris Sarandon, who provided his voice in the English dub, even says he based his whole performance around the character's persistent sneer.
* Kristof from ''{{Monster}}''.
* Luppi, the replacement sixth [[QuirkyMinibossSquad espada]] in ''{{Bleach}}'' was a smug snake in a big way; convinced of his indisputable superiority to his predecessor (Grimmjow), overestimating his skills in his fight with Hitsugaya and threatening to kill Orihime because he was injured in a diversion to cover for her abduction. Eventually, he gets killed in one shot by Grimmjow.
* Iwamoto and Akashi from ''YuYuHakusho'' are what happen when you combine this with SadistTeacher. They're always cooking up schemes to get Yusuke and Kuwabara expelled, but in the end always get thwarted by Yusuke and [[ReasonableAuthorityFigure Mr. Takanaka]].
** To a greater extent, Gonzou Tarukane, the hideous crimelord who imprisioned Yukina. He thought he had everything under control but in truth, he ''never'' even remotely stood a chance against Sakyou's XanatosGambit.
** There's also Rishu in the Dark Tournament arc. He thought his match against Kuwabara was in the bag due to the manipulations (read:bribery) his sponsor carried out. Oh how wrong he was.
* Tenzen in ''{{Basilisk}}'' sees himself as a MagnificentBastard but doesn't live up to it, making a number of embarrassing mistakes. [[spoiler:He gets himself killed several times over.]]
[[/folder]]

[[folder: Comic Books ]]

* The fourth Hobgoblin was a B-rate villain who stole the costume and and gear of one of the more formidable foes in ''{{Comicbook/Spider-Man}}'' history, and eventually the original Hobgoblin came out of retirement to kill the guy with the seven page losing streak for his wannabe aspirations.
* At least two characters from JackKirby's ''Fourth World'' mythos fit the trope: Desaad, Darkseid's majordomo/torturer, and Glorious Godfrey, Darkseid's PR man.
* Kanjar Ro, a SilverAge foe of the JusticeLeagueOfAmerica and "[[SpacePirates intergalactic entrepeneur]]", fits this trope.
* The Wizard from ''{{Comicbook/Fantastic Four}}'' is a good example. He thinks very highly of himself, but really he is just a fourth rate Dr. Doom wannabe with lamer motives, lamer tech and a way fewer accomplishments. He is dumb enough attack the Fantastic Four, a group that defeats Dr. Doom and Galactus on a regular basis, by forming [[ThePsychoRangers a group called the Frightful Four]] and having the Trapster, a loser villain with a glue gun and used to be called "[[FailOSuckyName Paste Pot Pete]]", as a member.
** One of his more recent appearances involves him breaking into the Baxter Building with a new Frightful Four during a period where the Fantastic Four are suffering a downturn in their public fortunes and aren't expecting him, giving them a beat-down, and then broadcasting it all over the world to gloat about it. Yes, that's correct -- his 'greatest triumph' is essentially a case of [[KickThemWhileTheyAreDown kicking someone when they're already down]]. And even then Reed essentially lets him do it so that he'll leave without threatening Reed's children, and so that the Four can deal with him later.
* Straddling the line between Comics and Literature, Ysanne Isard of the ''XWingSeries''. She's not quite as good as a Magnificent Bastard, she's quite manipulative, she's the head of Imperial Intelligence and aware of the various things being planned, and many of her plans seem to hinge on [[XanatosRoulette letting the New Republic win an Imperial planet.]] Brentaal IV, she put a hopelessly incompetent admiral in charge so that opinion would turn against Sate Pestage and she could have him assassinated; in the process the planet was lost and the best Imperial pilot since Vader switched sides. Coruscant, she infected with a nasty virus and left to the New Republic. The New Republic found a cure. Then, well, here's a passage where another of her people defects.
--> "Madam Director Ysanne Isard, I regret not being able to bring you this message personally, but not that much. In the time I have been associated with you I have found you to be sociopathically self-centered, prone to irrational and impulsive reactions to situations, and prey to a preference for appearance over substance. I have no doubt these affectations were seen as skills by the late Emperor, and indeed may have enhanced your ability to comply with his orders, but by no means are these traits that make for great, or even ''adequate'' leadership."
* A non-villainous example: Gladstone Gander, as created by CarlBarks. Though not actively evil, he is [[http://i73.photobucket.com/albums/i212/Kerrah_photos/Douchebag.jpg the biggest douchebag in the Disney comics]] and openly embraces the opinion that his [[BornLucky improbably high luck]] makes him better than anyone else in the world. He especially loves deriding his cousin Donald, taunting him into contests that Donald can't win and often stealing Daisy away by making him look look bad in the process. It's only a very rare, deliberate attempt to use his luck to help others that save him from being a total rat's ass, and even there we can tell he's doing it largely so those others will admire him.
* An accidental example: Drift from IDW's ''{{Transformers}}'' series. He's barely less than a GodModeSue who rarely speaks but is always, ''always'' smirking. Combined with IDW's [[ShillingTheWesley hype for the character]], this makes him come across as horribly annoying instead of badass.
* Morlish Veed of StarWarsLegacy is a brilliant military leader, but his political skills leave ''a lot'' to be desired (largely due to overconfidence brought on frome aforesaid military victories). Lucky for him that [[WildCard his girlfriend]] ''is'' a genuined MagnificentBastard- or maybe not, if she ever decides [[YouHaveOutlivedYourUsefulness she doesn't need him anymore]].
[[/folder]]

[[folder: Film ]]

* Kaa from Disney's ''TheJungleBook'' literally ''is'' a SmugSnake. This is the [[AdaptationDecay complete opposite]] of his personality in RudyardKipling's original book, where he was more of an OldMaster who has the respect (and fear) of the Jungle. [[ReptilesAreAbhorrent Disney didn't like the idea of a snake being a hero.]] [[{{Disneyfication}} Go figure]].
** The SmugSnake in the book? ''Shere Khan'' the tiger.
* The criminal Waingro in ''Heat'' displays a smug expression whenever committing an low act like killing a guard during a heist for staring at him and enjoying a pie afterwards, murdering a underage prostitute or betraying his former collagues to a common enemy.
* The arms smuggler and film's protagonist Yuri in ''LordOfWar'' is the epitome of the Smug Snake. An [[HonestJohnsDealership Honest John]] that refuses to confront the vehemence of his guilt and crimes by arguing that "I just sell guns, I don't pull the trigger". He taunts an honorable and idealistic weapons inspector, Valentin, by using the letter of the law to divert its spirit. Though by the end of the film he's still at it, he has everyone and everything he loves crumble around him. Interestingly, his character is essentially [[VeryLooselyBasedOnATrueStory an amalgam of several real-life arms dealers.]]
* The Chamberlain in ''TheDarkCrystal'' infuriates his rivals with a simpering croon, like a mother trying to soothe a child. Though he's stripped of his rank and banished, his guile and persuasion are still impressive, and get [[NightmareFuel downright creepy]] when he meets the Gelflings.
* ''PiratesOfTheCaribbean'' features Lord Cutler Beckett, a CorruptCorporateExecutive played deliberately and with slimy relish. Who'd have thought that a series whose villains thus far were [[NinjaPirateZombieRobot cursed, immortal undead pirates]] would have a stereotypical [[AristocratsAreEvil evil English aristocrat]] as its BigBad? He's so repulsive that he made many viewers ''[[DracoInLeatherPants sympathise with Davy Jones]]'' when the latter was forced into [[TheDragon servitude]]. Evidently the writers felt the same, as [[spoiler: Jones' death is an anticlimactic drop-off-the-deck while Beckett gets a huge, epic SlowMo [[StrollingThroughTheChaos walk through his exploding ship]] complete with OminousLatinChanting.]]
** As a KarmicDeath, though, it appeared to backfire since it made the much more interesting Jones seem even less important...but [[spoiler:the [[KarmicDeath rather appropriate death]] of the SmugSnake's {{Dragon}} at Davy Jones'...er..."hands", makes up for it, since he shared some of the same qualities as Beckett (as well as being a violent borderline psychopath)]]. Over half the fans of the movies wanted [[spoiler:Jones to live]].
** Beckett is actually a great illustration of the difference between a "high-functioning" SmugSnake and a true MagnificentBastard. Beckett's a great Chessmaster, one of the smartest characters in the series, but he fails to earn the audience's respect or admiration because his arrogance prevents him from adapting his plans to changing situations, his personality is so utterly loathsome, and his crossings of the MoralEventHorizon which put him squarely in CompleteMonster territory. In other words, he's not a bastard you hate to love, but one you love to hate.
* ''TheProposition'' has [[MeaningfulName Eden]] Fletcher, played by David Wenham speaking through his nose, and very intentionally meant to inspire the audience's hate. If Cutler Beckett and [[TheUmbridge Dolores Umbridge]] got married and had a baby, and the baby grew up and took lessons at Eton in Being a Hateful Snob, it would still fall far short of Eden Fletcher. Even more infuriating than his cold-blooded perception of justice (100 lashes for a retarded 14-year old? Why the hell not?) is his status as KarmaHoudini.
* The JamesBond film ''TheLivingDaylights'' features [[spoiler:General Koskov]], an effective villain who so ''very'' much wants to be a MagnificentBastard, but doesn't quite make it. In his favour, though, he does come equipped with one of the best {{Xanatos Gambit}}s in Bond movie history.
* TheDragon in ''{{Equilibrium}}'', who seems to be far, far too smug for someone who's supposedly emotionless (a clue that he [[spoiler: isn't taking his Prozium]], and earns himself a suitably anticlimactic Karmic Death for it.
* Theron in Frank Miller's ''[[ThreeHundred 300]]'' (or the movie version thereof, at any rate). A wannabe political manipulator in a city-state full of warriors, Theron's manipulations succeed in delaying Sparta's march to war for a time, but he quickly gets his comeuppance when [[spoiler: Queen Gorgo runs him through with a sword for calling her a whore in front of the Council, which coincidentally exposes his Persian bribe money, thus exposing him as a traitor]].
** Of course, that wasn't ''just'' for [[spoiler:calling her a whore]], which made that pwnage triply satisfying, particularly since [[spoiler: she delivers an IronicEcho of the words that he said to her as he was raping her]].
* The movie ''Divorce, Italian Style'' has the VillainProtagonist Don Fefe (even the name is less than magnificent) who throughout the film plots to lure his ugly wife into adultery so that in keeping with [[MyGirlIsNotASlut traditional custom]], he can kill her and her and her lover with impunity and marry his [[KissingCousins beautiful cousin]]. Outside of the loathsome nature of this plan, he is less than clever in carrying it out (finding himself in an odd position of being jealous of the wife he didn't give a damn for) and the movie ends ironically by implying that his new wife, the cousin, will be begin cuckolding him almost immediately.
* Eddie Brock in ''{{Film/Spider-Man}} 3'' is, at least initially, a slimy, unctuous creep who sucks up to Jameson to advance his own career prospects, is a bit too [[CreepyStalker creepy-stalkerish]] with Gwen Stacy, the 'girl he intends to marry' (although Gwen is quick to point out that they've only ever been out for a coffee once) and ends up manufacturing a photo of {{Spider-Man}} robbing a bank to frame the superhero and secure a staff job at the ''Bugle''. Then Peter exposes his fake, he loses his job, and Gwen breaks up with him -- and then he meets the Venom symbiote...
* Any of the villains from the ''DieHard'' movies, though thanks to TheLawOfBruce being in play, their presence doesn't deter from most fans' enjoyment of the films.
* Colonel Sato from ''IpMan'', who makes leering grins liberally, crosses the MoralEventHorizon not long after his first appearance, dishes out {{No Holds Barred Beatdown}}s liberally and keeps asking to (and getting denied from) [[WhyDontYaJustShootHim Just Shoot]] our hero. His KarmicDeath is much-welcomed.
* Although at first he appears to be on the hero's side, [[spoiler:the gameshow host]] in ''SlumdogMillionaire'' is as smug as can be, and seems absolutely insulted by Jamal's success throughout the movie.
* Bison from ''StreetFighterTheLegendOfChunLi''. Far from the frighteningly unstable OmnicidalManiac of the [[StreetFighter gameverse proper]] (or the LaughablyEvil MagnificentBastard [[Film/StreetFighter as played by the late Raul Julia]]), he comes across in the movie as "Kung-Fu [[{{Series/Heroes}} Arthur Petrelli]] (as played by a Malcolm [=McDowell=] impersonator)."
* Bernie Bernbaum from ''Miller'sCrossing''. DirtyCoward ''par excellence''.
* Paul Sarone from ''{{Anaconda}}''. In addition to being a MagnificentBastard, you could probably count the times that smug smile leaves his face on one hand. If you were missing a thumb.
* Klytus from the 1980 ''FlashGordon''. Also WickedCultured, but with a strong dose of aristocratic snark. Occasionally loses his cool, but always has a bored, sneering dismissiveness for his opponents or a sleazy "with pleasure" for his boss--yet he badly overestimates how cowed Prince Barin is [[spoiler: and gets thrown onto spikes for his trouble]].
* Louis Renault from ''{{Casablanca}}'', although [[spoiler: Louis is really just too cool to remain a bad guy through the whole picture, so he reforms at the end so he and Rick can fight Nazis together.]]
* Both main mobsters in the TheDarkKnightSaga (Falcone and Maroni) are examples of this. They're clever guys who've managed to keep a ''very'' nasty city under their control for a long time, but they're just not competing in the same league as the ''real'' supervillains in town, and both suffer from this. Dr. Jonathon Crane from the same movies is set up like one at first, but then he reveals himself as a straight MadScientist (mad psychiatrist, as the case may be) with a real fondness for NightmareFuel...
* Doctor Emma Temple of ''TheRing Two'', a [[http://usera.imagecave.com/Tokenmaster/captures2005_thering2-0078.jpg smirking]], utterly insensitive psychiastrist. [[spoiler:Samara uses a JediMindTrick on Dr. Temple to make her commit suicide, which on the one hand is the least gory death in the series but may be the most humilating as it imples Temple is so WeakWilled Samara can totally dominate her with a thought.]]
[[/folder]]

[[folder: Literature ]]

* [[TheUmbridge Dolores Jane Umbridge]] in ''HarryPotter and the Order Of the Phoenix'' is a purposeful SmugSnake. A sugary sweet StepfordSmiler who is [[FantasticRacism biased against non- and half-humans]] and [[ObstructiveBureaucrat uses laws and technicalities to get her way]], Umbridge is one ''very'' nasty lady.
** Plus what she does to students during detention.
** Draco Malfoy.
*** It's almost like this is the very thing that is parodied in ''SluggyFreelance'' with Ralfoy Malfoy. He takes the smug-snakeness to the extreme by acting smug even though his "enemy" is the adult but childish Torg who will inevitably just do something like give him a wedgie (or even tell him to do it himself) and send him scuttling away. Only in the third parody did he actually manage to rise to the status of a real adversary for a while... and even that was at the expense of getting a video put up on YouTube of [[ExactWords him saying]] [[{{Squick}} he thought a ferret was sexy-cute]].
** Draco's dad Lucius is one too (apparently being a SmugSnake runs in the family). He's very smart and has the polish of a MagnificentBastard, but his arrogance and certainty that [[VillainWithGoodPublicity he can get away with anything]] lead to some sloppy mistakes. By the end of the series both Malfoys turn out wierdly pathetic after they are forcibly shown that a CompleteMonster DarkLord does ''not'' a good houseguest make.
*** That very CompleteMonster also qualifies, with an emphasis on the "[[ReptilesAreAbhorrent Snake]]" part of SmugSnake. Voldemort has all the resources a MagnificentBastard could ever want, but his [[XanatosRoulette circuitous plans]] fail utterly at basic logic, he boasts about his cleverness without ever actually being clever, and while he is clearly trying for MagnificentBastard he comes off as a third-rate DastardlyWhiplash.
*** Justified by the fact that his making so many horcruxes left him decidedly... [[AxeCrazy unstable]]. The young Tom Riddle is shown to have been a much more smooth and successful schemer, largely because he knew how to keep a cool head and didn't yet [[ObviouslyEvil look like a mosntrous snake-human hybrid]]. At any rate, whenever anyone talks about any version of Voldemort's genius, they're generally referring to his ''magical'' genius, which is unquestionable, rather than his ''tactical'' genius, which as has been mentioned above is rather lacking.
* Queen Cersei Lannister in ''ASongOfIceAndFire''. Overestimation of her own cleverness is one of her main character traits, and her nasty yet incompetent attempts at manipulation and power-grabbing alienate almost every one of her allies and could well lead her to her just deserts.
** Lord Petyr "Littlefinger" Baelish ''seems'' like a Smug Snake to most of the other characters, [[spoiler:but this is a smokescreen to hide what is actually a subtle MagnificentBastard, who has apparently single-handedly organized the War of Five Kings as well as the assassination of two kings, while simultaneously organizing the rise of a new queen... his protegée Sansa Stark.]]
* In the ''{{Dragonlance}}'' novels, Quarath, the EvilChancellor to the leader of the CorruptChurch fits this model. His own ambitions for power and wealth are compared to the epic confrontation between ''actual'' {{Magnificent Bastard}}s Raistlin and Fistandantilus of which Quarath is completely unaware. Ended up [[spoiler: being squashed by a pillar as his temple collapsed]] when his master pisses off the gods that Quarath had pretty much stopped believing in by this point.
** In the later War of Souls trilogy we get Morham Targonee, [[NamesToRunAwayFromReallyFast Lord of the Night]], who despite his impressively evil sounding title is basically a scheming accountant who happened to be in the right place at the right time to seize power. When the local DarkMessiah shows up and steals his job, she punishes him in what is perhaps the worst way a SmugSnake can experience- by forcing him to realize his own cosmic insignifigance before killing him.
* Cosmo Lavish from the {{Discworld}} novel ''{{Discworld/Making Money}}'' is basically an [[LoonyFan obsessed fan-boy]] of Vetinari, who is an actual MagnificentBastard. He tries extremely hard to be just like Vetinari, trying to get his old clothes and practising his [[CharacterTics eyebrow-raising]]. [[spoiler: He eventually goes crazy, thinking he [[NapoleonDelusion really is Vetinari]], and gets committed to an insane asylum, which apparently has a whole ward dedicated to people who think they're Vetinari.]]
* In the book ''AmericanGods'', Loki goes from MagnificentBastard to SmugSnake once we find out [[spoiler:he's been working for Mr. Wednesday/Odin, the ''true'' Magnificent Bastard of the story, all along]].
** Also, the "new gods" of technology and the modern marketplace and such.
* The emperor of France, NapoleonBonaparte, in ''WarAndPeace''. The characters take up at least a third of the book talking about, predicting the actions of, or plotting against him. When Prince Andrei and later when Balashov, an emissary of the Russian emperor, finally meet him, they're both struck by how disappointing he is compared to his reputation. [[AnAesop He's purposefully portrayed this way.]]
* The title character of ''A Coffin for Dimitrios'' is a good fit, being a clever schemer, but such an unpleasant treacherous thug that he's completely unlikeable. Also notable is that he ends up addicted to the same drugs he sells, something which would never happen to a MagnificentBastard. Interestingly, the character might have been an inspiration for Keyser Soze of ''TheUsualSuspects'', who by contrast is definitely a MagnificentBastard.
* Vidal Vordarian from LoisMcMasterBujold's ''Vorkosigan'' series. He wants to run Barrayar, but is effortlessly and ''unintentionally'' defeated in his attempt to do it legitimately by Aral Vorkosigan. So he tries a coup, but fails to capture the true heir or assassinate the Regent. He gets the ruling council to go along, but only at obvious gunpoint. And then he [[spoiler: loses his head to [[MamaBear Vorkosigan's wife]]]]. His "greatest" achievement is his implied rape of the dowager Empress, who he marries (again, obviously by force). SmugSnake indeed.
** He doesn't actually marry her. He just announces their engagement.
* Frederick Chilton from ''Red Dragon'' and ''TheSilenceOfTheLambs'', who comes across as a bully as head of the Chesapeake State Hospital for the Criminally Insane. In ''Silence'' he makes the key mistake of handing Hannibal Lecter over to people who don't understand how dangerous he can be, which gives Hannibal the opportunity to escape.
* Prince Regal in RobinHobb's ''Farseer'' trilogy. A spoiled, petty, selfish youngest prince, he is obsessed with ruling and having power while being completely incompetent as a ruler. Like the example of Cersei above, he is much less clever than he thinks he is.
* Uriah Heep in Dickens' ''DavidCopperfield'' is one of literature's most notable smug villains; he has the ability to make the term of address "Master Copperfield" seem insincere, and is always wittering on about how "humble" he is. [[spoiler: Naturally, he's planning to swindle everything away from the other characters.]]
* Mr. Collins in ''PrideAndPrejudice'', whilst not exactly a villain, is rather smug and slimy, with a self-regard that makes him believe that Elizabeth Bennet is rejecting his marriage proposal out of some feminine desire to string him along whilst she's rather explicitly stating that no, its because she ''doesn't like him''.
* Duke Telrii from ''{{Elantris}}'' is an example of the "thinks he's a MagnificentBastard" type, though he winds up little more than a pawn of the book's real MagnificentBastard, Hrathen. King Iadon from the same book is also an example- he turns out to be a lot smarter than Telrii ([[ObfuscatingStupidity and a lot smarter than he lets on]]), but his vision is simply too narrow to let him accomplish anything of real signifigance.
* RomanceOfTheThreeKingdoms: Dong Zhuo and Lu Bu are obvious ones, and Cao Cao has shades of it when he's opposing the nominal protagonist, but even Liu Bei has his moments of snake-ness in the eyes of a modern audience. (But that WhatTheHellHero reaction is probably intentional, as the author was suffering from ExecutiveMeddling.)
* Cugel the Clever, of Jack Vance's ''Dying Earth'' books, while he lives on the border between this and being an actual MagnificentBastard, usually leans towards the Smug Snake side, being a complete sociopath, and nowhere near as clever as he imagines himself. ''And he's the protagonist, folks''.
[[/folder]]

[[folder: Live Action TV ]]

* This trope describes every single villain from ''[[TwentyFour 24]]'', and surprisingly, a fair number of the good guys as well.
* The Sheriff of Nottingham of the BBC series ''Series/RobinHood'' seems to count himself a great MagnificentBastard, but in practice his evil works tend to be rather too easily foiled by Robin Hood's men to be considered the work of a true evil genius. Furthermore, his 'la-di-da-di-da!' {{catchphrase}}, often uttered as a sign of [[{{Whatever}} impatient indifference]] in response to threats concerning the meddling of Robin Hood and his men, is much too unctuous, awkward, and obnoxious to be a distinctive of a true MagnificentBastard.
* Captain Kevin Darling in ''{{Blackadder}} Goes Forth'', a snotty little creep who, working safely behind the battlelines as General Melchett's adjutant officer, has made it his life's mission to make sure that Blackadder doesn't escape the trenches of WorldWarOne. He's loathed by Blackadder for obvious reasons; however, despite (or because of) all his sucking up, the General can't stand him either, at one point informing Darling that he regards him as a son - just not a particularly well-liked one.
** While he might have been a little git, it didn't stop some from [[AlasPoorScrappy crying for him]] in the [[DownerEnding last five/ten minutes of 'Goodbyee'.]]
* Lilah Morgan from ''{{Angel}}'' was a true MagnificentBastard, but eventually she had to die and be replaced, and that replacement was Eve. As ThePoorMansSubstitute for Lilah, Eve inevitably came off as a SmugSnake, but the writers seemed to realize this, and put her through a series of events that had the effect of [[BreakTheCutie breaking the cutie]]. They were of the opinion that she would be more interesting if she got some CharacterDevelopment that such that she would no longer be driven by slyness and cool disdain (as she started out), but by fear, anger, and a MinionShipping romance with Lindsey.
** Lilah herself only slowly evolved into a MagnificentBastard; for most of her run on show (arguably until as late as the second half of Season 3) she was definitely a SmugSnake, even ending up with a promotion - and thus her life - solely because Lindsey contemptuously tossed it away.
* The Master of ''DoctorWho'' [[VillainDecay devolves]] from his usual MagnificentBastard status unnervingly often, the most [[TVTropesWikiDrinkingGame egregious]] examples being in the MadeForTVMovie, in which his grand evil scheme was to... not die (one of the many reasons it is commonly filed under {{Discontinuity}}), and in the episode "Logopolis" in which he wipes out a large part of the universe and octillions of people because he didn't do his homework.
** In fact, a ''lot'' of serials with the Master as the main villain can be described less as "the Master is trying to take over the world" than as "the Master is up to yet another dumb scheme that's likely to get out of control and cause TheEndOfTheWorldAsWeKnowIt."
*** Spectacularly averted in NuWho, where the Master is... [[LargeHam awesomely crazy.]]
* Pick any villain from any episode of ''{{The A Team}}'', ''any'' villain.
* The Vorta in ''StarTrekDeepSpaceNine'' are a PlanetOfHats of Smug Snakes, with Weyoun as the smuggest. Kai Winn probably qualifies as well.
* G'Kar during the first season of ''{{Babylon 5}}'' and ''especially'' in the pilot movie.
** Also, Mister Morden, with his ever annoying arrogant smile. JMichaelStraczynski points out in the commentary that he specifically loved the actor for how unlikeably smug he made the character come off: "Look at that guy! Don't you just want to hate him?"
*** The audience wasn't the only one who hated him.
---->'''Vir:''' '''"I want to live just long enough to be there when they cut off your head and put it on a pike, as a warning to the next ten generations that some favors come with too high a price. [[CrowningMomentofAwesome I want to look up into your lifeless eyes and wave, like this.]]''
** Alfred Bester was like this in his first number of appeareances as well, both smug and unsuccessful, but JMS noticed the threat of VillainDecay and [[EnemyMine averted]] [[XanatosGambit it]] ''[[MagnificentBastard oh so hard]]'' with his later actions.
* Speaker of the House Haffley from ''TheWestWing'' is an example of the "failed MagnificentBastard" variety. He often tries to use the Republican majority in Congress to be irritatingly obstructionist to Democratic president Bartlet. However, often when he is most confident is when he fails terribly (such as when his attempt to cut the budget leads to the government going broke and Haffley look stupid, or when his pulling a vote on stem cell research to interfere with Democratic campaigning leads to Matt Santos tricking him into thinking the Democrats had left when they didn't).
** The former example almost works; the government shutdown cripples the United States and the public blames Bartlet... until a CrowningMomentOfAwesome where Bartlet walks to Congress to discuss the matter with Haffley - unfortunately for Haffley, he's unprepared for this, his SmugSnake instincts kick in, and he ends up leaving Bartlet sitting in a corridor whilst he tries to figure out what to do. This backfires on him badly when Bartlet merely leaves, making Haffley look incompetent, arrogant and uncaring, causing public opinion to swing into a serious backlash against him and forcing him to eat crow and accept Bartlet's budget terms.
** An infrequent recurring character called Larry Claypool represented the 'slimy-but-low-level ObstructiveBureaucrat meets AmoralAttorney' kind; a lawyer for a right-wing organisation that frequently sought to embarrass the President by muckracking, he often issues subpoenas to the characters requiring them to testify about issues that will cause embarrassment to the President and his staff, and comes off as smugly as possible whilst doing so. He's frequently described as an idiotic, pompous blowhard, but a dangerous one since he has the unerring ability to find things that might cause serious damage to the administration in his muckraking.
* Malcolm Dietrich in season two of ''MurderOne'' was a very, very obvious attempt to replicate the magic the show had with Richard Cross, the MagnificentBastard from the first season. For whatever reason it just didn't work, though undoubtedly at least part of this was due to not being able to score as good an actor as Stanley Tucci, who had played Cross.
* Brad Bellick in the first season of ''PrisonBreak'' practically embodies this trope. As a corrupt correctional officer, he certainly acts all "magnificent-y bastard-y" like. He deals with former mob-boss Abruzzi, has a history of inmate abuse, insults AxCrazy MagnificentBastard "T-Bag" in his face and interrupts Michael's plans quite often. But at the same time he is unattractive, obnoxious, sleazy, importunate, cowardly... You catch my drift.
** Agent Kim from season 2 is another notorious example, lording and sneering over our heroes while being generally inept in almost all of his endeavors, then getting done in by the most unlikely of culprits.
** And let us not forget [[spoiler: Don Self]] after he was revealed to be TheMole. Where Bellick had at least some sense of magnificence, this guy is just too annoying to like.
* Trymon in the TV series adaptation of ''Discworld/TheColourOfMagic''. Ungarnished ambition, oily hair, and being played by TimCurry all result in a decidedly ''un''-magnificent Bastard.
** Almost any character played by Tim Curry qualifies as this. He is to this trope what '''BRIAN BLESSED''' is to [[BoisterousBruiser Boisterous Bruisers]].
* ''Series/{{Heroes}}'': season 3 BigBad Arthur Petrelli: between his ludicrous amounts of power, constant [[KickTheDog dog-kicking]] and smug, smarmy tone throughout it all.
** Eric Doyle, the creepy puppet-master from season 3 also qualifies. Creepy and smarmy, he's the kind of villain audiences just love to hate.
* Grunchlk of ''{{Farscape}}'', a [[VillainousGlutton bloated]], scheming, greedy merchant with a nasty habit of overcharging his clients and betraying them should a better offer appear. In the episodes he appears in, just about every single character despises him with a passion, especially [[MagnificentBastard Scorpius]], who takes great delight in stabbing him in the back of the skull with a MindControl probe and forcing him to eat two of his own fingers.
* Charles Miner from American version of ''TheOffice'' replaces Michael and responds to his eccentricity with realistic exasperation. However, his time in charge is largely characterized by appointing his employees with mismatched roles, [[KickTheDog bullying Jim at any chance he can get]], and being all-around smug.
* Bobbi Barret, the wife and manager of comedian Jimmy Barret, ends up like this in an episode of ''MadMen''. Jimmy had previously insulted the wife of the owner of Utz potato chips, which he was doing a commercial for. Don Draper takes most of the episode negotiating with Bobbi to get him to apologize. After the two end up having sex (don't ask) Bobbi agrees to a dinnertime apology. But Jimmy spends all his time at the dinner hitting on Don's wife. When Don takes Bobbi aside, she says that according to Jimmy's contract he doesn't have to apologize, unless, of course, Don gets them more money. So Don shoves his hand up her dress and says that if he doesn't, he will ruin Jimmy. Jimmy apologizes. One word: OWNED
* Lester from ''{{Primeval}}'' is a curious case, he starts off as an archetypal SmugSnake, but it is revealed that th is is more a JerkAssFacade than anything else, his awesome powers of [[DeadpanSnarker Sarcasm]] really shine through in season 2 when he is given his own SmugSnake nemesis in his [[EvilChancellor assistant]] and [[TheStarscream Starscream wannabe]], Leek and by season 3 his return from a TenMinuteRetirement is given a [[CrowningMomentOfAwesome Standing Ovation]], and yet all the time he retains his aura of smug self-satisfaction. A rare heroic SmugSnake perhaps.
* In ''KamenRiderDragonKnight'', Drew Lansing (a.k.a. Kamen Rider Torque), one of BigBad General Xaviax's liutenants, fancies himself both an expert manipulator and fighter. Eventually, he proves lacking in both areas.
* Strange that no one has yet mentioned Benjamin of ''Jekyll''. His comeuppance was most satisfying.
* The members of the [[CorruptChurch Fellowship of the Sun]] in ''TrueBlood'' tend to follow this trait. Filled with empty smiles and holier-than-thou attitudes, this vampire-hating church isn't above kidnap, murder or rape of ordinary people whose only crime is having a sexual relationship with a vampire, all while declaring their good intentions and other propaganda. Especially annoying, since many (most?) vampires of the show would most definately deserve staking, but you couldn't root for these people to do it even if you wanted to.
* Pretty much every BigBad from PowerRangers has at least one scheming lackey utterly convinced that they are superior to the remainder of the universe and willing to backstab anyone in their way. This usually ends with them [[HeelFaceTurn being converted]] (if brainwashed into snakedom) or, much more often, [[MadeOfExplodium exploding violently]] by either side's hand.
* Justin in WizardsOfWaverlyPlace has tendencies towards this that get dialled right up to 11 in the movie.

[[/folder]]

[[folder: Professional Wrestling]]
* [[ProfessionalWrestling Pro wrestler]] Jake "The Snake" Roberts tended to waver between SmugSnake and MagnificentBastard, depending on how cartoonishly evil he was booked. The page quote comes from a point in time where he was firmly in SmugSnake territory.
** [[ProfessionalWrestling Another Pro wrestler]] Triple H calls himself the Cerebral Assassin, and usually tries really hard to come off as a MagnificentBastard, but in full Heel mode, he's always a SmugSnake. He respects nobody, he always loses it whenever he's not in control, and tends to react erratically when things don't turn out the way he plans them. Combine that with the fact that fans believe he uses his RealLife pull to always have things go his way, plus his idolization of the truly [[MagnificentBastard magnificent]] Ric Flair, just accentuates his total [[SmugSnake smugness]].
** [[ProfessionalWrestling Yet another one]] is Dr. Stevie, who uses every trick in the book to either hurt Abyss, or try to turn him into his puppet. While slightly effective, his big flaw is that he keeps pissing off the ''wrong'' people. For example, he bribed Kevin Nash $50,000 to attack Abyss. Nash succeeded, but Dr. Stevie [[{{Too Dumb To Live}} refused to honor their deal]]...
[[/folder]]


[[folder: Tabletop Games ]]

* In ''{{Warhammer}}'', most skaven seem to have this as their [[PlanetOfHats Hat]], with the ones at the top usually being full fledged {{Magnificent Bastard}}s.
** The same can be said about the Dark Eldar in ''{{Warhammer 40000}}'', as well as a majority of Imperial Governers and Chaos Sorcerers.

[[/folder]]

[[folder: Video Games ]]

* In an actual good guy example, strange as it sounds, Advocat from ''GrimGrimoire'' could probably manage being a MagnificentBastard if he really tried. He is, however, well aware that he has little to gain from either side winning and so spends most of the game [[HandsomeLech flirting with the female students]], [[TallDarkAndSnarky throwing around pithy comments]] and generally remaining smug and condescending. Amazingly, he still manages to be the most helpful character in the game, mostly out of vague amusement at the main character's own faltering steps into {{Magnificent Bastard}}hood.
* Zetta from ''MakaiKingdom'' is another good guy example, though far less sympathetic and PlayedForLaughs. Despite declaring himself the "Most {{badass}} freaking overlord in the universe" about once a scene he spends most of the game totally powerless, surviving mostly on the charity of people he regularly insults. The game levels things out by making him a regularly mocked ButtMonkey.
** King Drake III, however, is played mostly seriously. His smugness could probably clog up a black hole.
* Rosencrantz from ''VagrantStory'' is a smug bastard all the way, who ''thinks'' he has the secret of Lea Monde all figured out...and then Ashley whips his ass, and hardly anyone seems to care. Rosencrantz has to yell yield, and even [[TheStoic Ashley]] mocks him for it.
** Not only that, but the game's real MagnificentBastard gets a shot. After Rosencrantz [[spoiler: has ambushed Sydney and Ashley, Rosencrantz demands Sydney name him his heir. Sydney calls him a "worm", and Rosencrantz chops off Sydney's arm. Sydney, bleeding BlackBlood, stands up and ''[[YouCallThatAWound reattaches his arm]].'' He then demonstrates to Rosencrantz that not only is the man not immune to Sydney's magic like he thought (by making him think he was holding Sydney's severed hand), but Sydney had been manipulating him the entire time. And in the end, Sydney doesn't even kill Rosencrantz. He lets a giant six armed statue of Kali do it for him.]] Truly, in case you had forgotten the real {{Chessmaster}} and LargeHam in the story, Sydney does not fail to remind you that [[FeedMe he was eating the scenery first.]]
* Dahlia Hawthorne from the third ''PhoenixWright: AceAttorney'' game counts. Sure, she's [[{{Yandere}} beautifully scheming]] and leaves a trail of bodies in her wake, but ''none'' of her [[XanatosGambit plans]] actually succeed. [[spoiler:Dahlia's equally evil mother, Morgan Fey]] has the the same problem.
** Dahlia's status as this was likely intentional, given that [[spoiler: Mia and Phoenix actually get rid of her by pointing out what a failure she is.]] Ironically, she actually did more harm than some of villains who are closer to qualifying as {{Magnificent Bastard}}s, like [[spoiler: Matt Engarde.]] It could be argued that this is TruthInTelevision. The chances of being caught for a crime exponentially increase every time a murder or similar crime is committed. Expert criminals will want to avoid this by minimising the targets, causing less harm. An example follows: [[spoiler:Manfred von Karma used someone to kill a person just to wreak revenge on Miles Edgeworth. On the other side of the scale, Joe Darke had no real criminal plans whatsoever and became a mass murderer.]]
* [[spoiler:Stratos]] from ''{{Sacrifice}}'' is close, ''so'' close to being a true MagnificentBastard, summoning a [[OmnicidalManiac plane-eating demon]] and using him to sow discord between the gods of the realm, unravelling their ancient ties and compounding their mutual distrust by worming himself into their graces and playing them up against each other before [[ChronicBackstabbingDisorder switching sides and stabbing them in the back]] (and being voiced by TimCurry also helps, if only for the VA cred). Unfortunately, unless the player allies with him in the end (by which point you should ''know'' [[XanatosSucker he's playing you as well]]), his lack of control over said plane-eating demon [[HoistByHisOwnPetard comes back to bite him in the ass]]. [[spoiler:His appearance of an inflatable balloon with a smiley face on it and his rather overt aspirations of monotheism also deduct somewhat.]]
** [[spoiler:Stratos]] will be offed by [[spoiler:Marduk]] if you side with [[spoiler:Persephone, James or Charnel]]. If you side with [[spoiler:Pyro]]... you barge in to his realm and [[spoiler:pop 'is head off]].
* [[spoiler:Kevin]] from ''{{Xenosaga}}'' not only supplies (and initiates in others) epic quantities of angst, he does this while [[ShirtlessScene taking his shirt off a lot]] and speaking in a measured, patronising tone that assumes everyone but him is very, very stupid. As a result, the moment when [[spoiler:weedy UnluckyChildhoodFriend Allen]] finally stands up to him is definitely a CrowningMomentOfAwesome.
* [[spoiler:Shuji Ikutsuki]] from ''{{Persona 3}}'' manages to pull off a months-long XanatosGambit that sets in motion TheEndOfTheWorldAsWeKnowIt, and does it all behind a façade of [[spoiler:dorky jokes and friendly smiles]]. After TheReveal, though, it turns out he's just a NietzscheWannabe whose MotiveRant is delivered [[DullSurprise with all the enthusiasm and energy of a news reader]]. He also botches the ensuing YouHaveOutlivedYourUsefulness by making the classic mistake of underestimating ThePowerOfFriendship (and [[DogsAreDumb the dog]]). If he had [[CrucifiedHeroShot crucified the dog]] as well, it would have pushed the scene into {{Narm}} territory. The awkwardness of the MotiveRant might be attributable to [[Horrible/VoiceActing mediocre voice acting]], as there was something definitely "off" about most (if not all) of his lines in the game.
* Zexion from ''KingdomHearts: Chain of Memories''. He is very overconfident in his strategic and manipulative abilities, but none of his schemes work out like he wanted them to. Appropriately enough, he winds up being done in by the game's ''real'' MagnificentBastard, Axel.
* With a few exceptions, pretty much every villain from the ''{{Atelier}} Iris'' series, the biggest example being Mull. His {{Expy}}, Crowley, was thankfully a lot closer to being a MagnificentBastard, but still didn't quite make it.
* Most of the non-[[spoiler: and post-]]{{Dracula}} villains in the ''{{Castlevania}}'' series, such as Graham Jones in ''Aria'' and the cult leaders in ''Dawn'', come off as {{Smug Snake}}s vainly attempting to fill the Count's shoes o' evilness. Also, Walter in ''Lament Of Innocence'', primarily because his motivation for doing evil was ''being a bored, unkillable vampire asshat''. Can't get much more smug than that. They all have a distinct tendency to get [[HijackedByGanon effortlessly manipulated by Dracula and pro-Dracula minions such as Death]]. Mostly-averted by tragic-backstory-vamp Brauner, and Isaac, who's far too...entertaining (read: [[FlamboyantGay flamboyantly gay]] and [[PsychoForHire bat-shit-insane]]) to qualify.
** Dmitrii Blinov from ''Dawn of Sorrow'' at least makes an effort, pulling of a combination of ISurrenderSuckers and MyDeathIsJustTheBeginning, before coming back to life and successfully copying Soma's Power of Dominance in a surprisingly successful gambit. He was more of a "MagnificentBastard in the making", right up until he ended up dying again.
** From ''Order of Ecclesia'' comes another partial-aversion: [[spoiler: Barlowe does a fine job of hiding his true allegiance to the Dark Lord, effortlessly manipulating Shanoa into obtaining Dominus so that, by using it, she can resurrect Dracula. And, when he reveals his true colors, he isn't that smug about it, just [[AxCrazy real effin' crazy.]] Not to mention that he ends up resurrecting Dracula anyway even after being defeated.]]
* Nicholai from ''[[ShadowHearts Shadow Hearts: Covenant]]'' tries ''so'' hard to be a MagnificentBastard. He's charismatic, scheming and utterly selfish, and loves to taunt you from just outside your reach. He sets up deals with every evil faction in the game so that whoever remains standing at the end, he should achieve his goals. He even [[spoiler:contracts the power of a ''god'']]! Unfortunately for him, he doesn't quite count on Yuri kicking the crap out of everyone, his sudden romantic infatuation with Karin [[RomanticPlotTumor makes him look dorky]], his plan to [[spoiler:release the Malice of Apoina Tower]] comes off as petty revenge, and he ends up getting completely outmanoeuvred by someone even ''more'' scheming. Not to mention the completely undignified way in which he finally bites the dirt.
* Shinji Matou ''FateStayNight''. In all three routes ("Fate", "Heaven's Feel", and "Unlimited Blade Works") he's shown as an overconfident idiot who tries to win through manipulating more powerful characters such as his servant Rider, [[spoiler:Gilgamesh and Sakura]] and it ''always'' [[EvilerThanThou turns out badly (and sometimes bloodily) for him]].
* Anyone with the "Naive Puppet Master" trait in ''CrusaderKings''.
* Seth in ''CommandAndConquer'', in contrast to Kane, his MagnificentBastard of a boss.
** Another would be Anatoly Cherdenko in ''Red Alert 3'', the Soviet Premier. Unsurprising as he's played by TimCurry.
* Zant, the Usurper Twilight King, in ''TheLegendOfZelda: Twilight Princess''.
** Any Zelda villain that gets {{Hijacked By Ganon}} tends to end up as Smug Snakes
** Vaati in ''Minish Cap'' comes off as a Smug Snake as well, with his digitialized "Mmmhm mhm" laughter, it doesn't help when one realized [[spoiler: He used to be an itty bitty Minish, taking away a good chunk of his 'evil aura' - Minish Vaati is just too cute!]]
* Dr. Wallace Breen of ''{{HalfLife}} 2'' fame. Acting as the puppet governor for the Combine, Breen keeps spouting out propaganda about the good intentions of "our benefactors" throughout the game (despite overwhelming evidence to the contrary) as well as making disparaging remarks on how Dr. Freeman "has created nothing". He is not even above threatening the transhuman Combine soldiers with "permanent off-world assignment" as a punishment for failure or, for that matter, the ''entire human race'' with extinction if they do not comply. He also seemingly betrays his own [[{{TheMole}} Mole]] within {{La Resistance}}, [[spoiler:Dr. Mossman]], refusing to make a bargain for [[spoiler:Dr. Vance]]'s life. Breen keeps [[{{EvilGloating}} gloating]] about how Freeman will be "destroyed in every way possible and even some ways that are essentially ''im''possible" even when he is about to escape through the Combine portal. [[spoiler: He is apparently killed as Freeman damages the dark fusion reactor, causing the portal to collapse.]]
** AlternateChatacterInterpretation suggests he genuinely believes that sucking up to the Combine is the only thing that will stop them from wiping out mankind. The resistance believes ''Gordon'' is the only thing that will stop them.
* Grand Maestro Mohs from ''TalesOfTheAbyss''. A half-baked manipulator and a VillainWithGoodPublicity (even amongst some of your party members), whose ability to come back time and time again to frustrate you is only matched by his ability to worm his way out of it again by [[ObstructiveBureaucrat hiding behind legal subtext]] and the fact that your party members carry the IdiotBall and let the [[FanNickname butterball]] escape time and time again. Even after he [[KickTheDog kicks the dog]] ''bigtime'' by [[spoiler:[[PlayerPunch killing Ion]]]] the party ''still'' [[WallBanger lets him get away with it for some contrived reason]], and he eventually [[spoiler:dies most unsatisfying after pulling a OneWingedAngel act and becoming too insane to be fun to kill -- and some of the party members have the audacity to ''feel sorry for him'' afterwards]].
* Previously, there's also Saleh from ''TalesOfRebirth''. To sum it up, this guy is presented as a {{Badass}} member of the Kingdom's Elites, but all he does is approach the heroes, taunt them, and basically do nothing. Later on, after being lectured by Tytree, he comes in denial that there is no way that the human heart can defeat him. So what does he do? Taunt the team even more rather than kicking their ass. Add to the fact that he's all doing it ForTheEvulz, he's as smug as you can get. This troper is surprised why when he taunts the team, Veigue and company doesn't just go straight and kick him in the ass, throwing the taunts back to him. The party's IdiotBall is big.
* Duminuss, as depicted in the ''SuperRobotWars: [[SuperRobotWarsOriginalGeneration Original Generation]]'' series, has had a number of grand schemes blow up in her face due to not thinking them all the way through.
* Gary Smith from ''{{Bully}}'' is the Failed Magnificent Bastard + VillainSue type of Smug Snake. For his Smug Snakery to work, it requires 1) that everyone in the game [[VillainsNeverLie take everything that comes out of his mouth at face value]], 2) putting aside the fact that he has a reputation as a sociopath and common sense says ignore him, 3) that protagonist Jimmy spends most of the game insisting that going after Gary "has to wait" rather than going after him. And then, most importantly, 4) whenever Gary makes an appearance, all protagonistic figures must lose all ability to take action, period, and devolve into a stuttering stammering mess until Gary is done talking and has left the area.
* Sakaki from the ''[[DotHack .hack//G.U.]]'' trilogy is a classic {{Smug Snake}} who has moments of true Magnificent Bastard-hood (notably his [[BreakTheCutie complete and total manipulation]] of [[LoveFreak Atoli]]), but he has more arrogance than skill, failing to comphrend how dangerous it is to use AIDA, and managed to get ''[[ZeroPercentApprovalRating the entire population of an MMORPG]]'' out for his blood after he somehow managed to convince CC Corp to give him Administration rights, and decided to host a Player Killer Tournament to trap Haseo.
* Sengoku from ''Yakuza 2'' is an epic Smug Snake, from his [[DressedToKill gold suit and retro sunglasses]] all the way to his totally {{camp}} personality and permanent toothy smile. Spending his time blackmailing your contacts and minor allies into turning on you, he proves so irritating that he eventually ends up being taken out by his own [[TheDragon Dragon]] and thrown off a building. You can't help but thank him for the service...
* While he pulls off {{Xanatos Roulette}}s with the best of them, Gongora from ''LostOdyssey'' is pretty much a straight up jerk lacking anything approaching style. It doesn't help that most of the people he manipulates are amnesiacs, [[TooDumbToLive inbred royals]] and [[ChivalrousPervert money grubbing alcoholic skirt-chasers]]. When he actually has to manipulate someone with a brain, he tends to use [[FateWorseThanDeath cruder]] [[ColdBloodedTorture methods]]. It also doesn't help that he, you know, [[ObviouslyEvil radiates evil]], his attempts against the amnesiacs amounts to "[[WhatIsEvil I'm not the bad guy]], ''[[WhatIsEvil you are]]'', he [[KickTheDog kicks dogs]] for fun, and he indulges in [[EvilLaugh maniacal laughter]] ''before'' checking to see if his plan actually worked...while his TooDumbToLive allies watch, which triggers their danger senses.
* Both Waylon and Admiral Greyfield in ''AdvanceWars: Days of Ruin''. Waylon fights on Greyfield's side against your army just because he feels like it, and Greyfield's fully convinced that anyone who doesn't conform to his worldview doesn't deserve to live anyway.
** ''AdvanceWars 2: Black Hole Rising'' has the appropriately-named Adder, who fights dirtily, has utter contempt for most of his enemies (and tries to persuade the one he does respect to join Black Hole) and revels in the crushing of civilians. Every defeat you inflict upon him is wonderfully cathartic. Contrast with his superior, WorthyOpponent Hawke, who tempers his villainy with competence and a healthy respect for his opponents.
**''AdvanceWars: Dual Strike'' has RichBitch Kindle.
*** The Mayor from Days of Ruin is pretty much a walking, talking embodiment of this trope, and it's clearly intentional.
* Alfonso from ''SkiesOfArcadia''. Even Galcian, a pretty EvilOverlord in his own right, holds Alfonso in contempt after he [[YouHaveOutlivedYourUsefulness callously kills off and scapegoats his own vice-captain]] when his airship is taken over by Dyne's band at the beginning of the game -- although mostly this is just because Alfonso is so utterly useless.
* Megumi Kitaniji from ''TheWorldEndsWithYou''. He doesn't just bend and push [[ScrewTheRulesIMakeThem the guidelines set by the Composer]], his counterattack [[spoiler:[[{{Instrumentality}} mass imprints everyone in the RG and UG to do his bidding]] via the Red Skull Pins.]] Even his Noise form [[spoiler: is [[ScaledUp a snake]]]].
** Konishi has a fair number of KickTheDog moments, especially with regards to [[spoiler:Rhyme]], but she never succeeds in her machinations.
* In ''{{Starcraft}}'', Sarah Kerrigan, the so-called Queen of Blades, hasn't done anything to earn the accolades with which she constantly presents herself. Born into the Swarm as a supersoldier who would probably [[YouHaveOutlivedYourUsefulness be replaced the instant they got their hands on the Protoss]], she sits out the invasion of Aiur and gains free will when the Overmind dies. Things get really bad in ''Brood War'', when we hear her shlicking to her own ego over and over again throughout the entire Zerg campaign, despite the fact that all of her military victories have been given to her by her enslaved Cerebrate.
* In the WorldOfWarcraft expansion 'Wrath of the Lich King', Arthas at several points in the storyline is exactly this. He has a constant, constant habit of walking two feet in front of you, taunting you about how incredibly awesome he is, how trivial you and your efforts to oppose him are, how you're better off serving him in undeath, and then he simply walks away when he could have easily annihilated you with a single stroke and [[JustShootHim be done with it]]. This is yet another symptom of his chronic VillainDecay (and there are several).
* He gets little development or even screen time, but Angelo from ''BaldursGate'' probably qualifies based on the one scene. He's [[BigBad Sarevok's]] lackey who takes over the local law-enforcing mercenary company when Sarevok's plans to get its real leaders out of the way go into motion. When you are arrested for murders you were either framed for or goaded into actually committing by Sarevok, he's more than happy to glibly pronounce you the death sentence for a list of imaginary charges besides murder, clearly enjoying the abusing of power. He even gets a potential KickTheDog moment in that if you mouth off to him in a way that manages to actually annoy him, he'll have a random party member killed on the spot. He's even annoying in the final battle, as he charges you and starts somehow exploding in fireballs repeatedly.
** Even more so, Isaea Roenall in the next game. He oozes it. "Don't take it so hard, I'm just... better than you. Oh, and feel free to lodge a complaint with the proper authority. That would be... me." He too abuses his military position to get away with anything, including kidnapping one of your party members when she doesn't want to go trough with their arranged marriage.
* Ramon Salazar from ''Resident Evil 4'' fits this trope to a tee. He's a smug elfish character, who constantly condescends Leon Kennedy by calling him by his last name and ensuring that the next trap will surely kill him. The further Leon gets into the castle, Salazar [[VillainousBreakdown starts to lose his smug sarcasism, and yells "JUST DIE YOU WORM!".]] Hell, the last battle with him is so annoying and delibrate, several players(including this troper) simply use the one-hit kill rocket launcher to be rid of his irritating ass.
* Duke Snakeheart from ''FinalFantasyTacticsA2''. As if his name didn't give it away, he's a smug bastard who thinks he has it all planned and tries to do things his way, in spite of the other Duelhorn members objecting his actions. In the end, [[spoiler: he admits to being the one that leaked Duelhorn's battle strategy and poisoned the girl Maquis saved for no apparent reason. In fact, during the fight, he says that he trusts no one but himself. He only questions the error of his ways once you defeat him]].
* "Queen" Valentina from SuperMarioRPG shows many traits of your classical SmugSnake, including an over-inflated ego as well as a penchant for treating her underlings (specially her fat, feathered punching bag of a [[TheDragon dragon]] Dodo) and just about everyone she encounters with as little respect as possible.
* Everybody not on the Tokugawa side in SamuraiWarriors sees Ieyasu as a Smug Snake.
** In the crossover series WarriorsOrochi, Masamune becomes one, and his fans screamed CharacterDerailment (despite his story in the earlier series basically involved [[ChronicBackstabbingDisorder siding with whoever was more convenient for him]] at the time). Ironically, the series BigBad, a literal [[{{Orochi}} demonic snake]], gets the DracoInLeatherPants treatment and a genuinely interesting and sympathetic RageAgainstTheHeavens backstory.
* Vincent SilentHill3 skirts the line: not quite magnificent enough to qualify as a true [[MagnificentBastard bastard]], but damn is he charming and one of the more fun characters to interact with.
* Just about every significant villain in Baten Kaitos Origins, with the exception of Baelheit himself has a tendency to trip over this trope at one point or another, mainly because of their tendency to rely on advanced weapons/magic as a crutch to take out people far stronger than them, then act completely flabbergasted when it finally doesn't work. Pretty much all arma-users also seem motivated exclusively by arrogance, until their various [[HeelFaceTurn heel face turns,]] and even Wiseman seems totally convinced that his magic is the most powerful force in the universe until the very end of the game.
* Prince Lacroix from ''[[VampireTheMasqueradeBloodlines Vampire: The Masquerade: Bloodlines]]''. Arrogant, smug and power-hungry; Lacroix condescends to you and sends you on suicide missions at every opportunity. He wants you dead for political convenience, so every mission is a XanatosGambit - Further his aims or be out of his way. [[TheChessmaster He plots and schemes, playing key characters against each other to get what he wants]]. Whenever things don't go his way, he'll throw a childish temper tantrum.
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[[folder: Web Comics ]]

* Daimyo Kubota of ''TheOrderOfTheStick'' is an always plotting, GenreSavvy [[AristocratsAreEvil aristocrat]]. Almost everything he does to try to usurp Hinjo's position is just plain hateful, culminating in him [[spoiler: ordering the asassination of a pair of former commoners who were promoted to nobility. The wife is pregnant]]. When the plan fails, he [[spoiler: murders his own number two with poison just to give himself time to escape]]. When [[spoiler: he's captured, he plans to use his [[VillainWithGoodPublicity good publicity]] to avoid justice and humiliate Hinjo]]. Fortunately, [[spoiler: right after he outlines the above plan, Vaarsuvius, not wanting any more distractions from the main plot, [[CrowningMomentOfAwesome disintegrates him]] ]]. His status as a Smug Snake is cemented by the fact that he [[EvilFrogWhoWantsToBeAnOx just doesn't stack up]] against BigBad and CompleteMonster Xykon and his long-term planning henchman Redcloak. He's also horribly naive, and thinks taking the city back from Xykon will be a trivial matter.
** Likewise, [[CardCarryingVillain Nale]], leader of the Linear Guild and Elan's EvilTwin, isn't nearly the MagnificentBastard and evil mastermind he likes to think he is; Vaarsuvius points out that most of his plans, which he likes to think of as works of genius, are in fact rather trite and cliched (if nevertheless somewhat effective), and he has the tendency to come off as being rather smug rather than magnificent.
* The [[CorruptCorporateExecutive slimy, manipulative businessman]] Serk Brakkis in ''DominicDeegan: Oracle For Hire'' is a walking embodiment of this trope. He uses his power to utterly ruin people's lives, [[ScrewTheRulesIHaveMoney takes their money and then hides behind byzantine laws]]. In the end, however, he is trampled under a ''[[CrowningMomentOfAwesome very]]'' [[CrowningMomentOfAwesome satisifying]] HumiliationConga, beginning with a fencer flicking his wig off ("''Toupee!''"). Much later, when it looks like he's going to [[KarmaHoudini beat the rap]] after another foiled scheme, [[spoiler:Celesto shows up and turns him inside out.]]
* Faz in ''[[WalkyVerse Shortpacked]]'' is a toadying, [[AmbitionIsEvil nakedly ambitious]] sycophant with a permanent smug expression and a tendency to openly plot against and undermine the people he works with. Absolutely no one in the store, including his boss, particularly gives a damn about his continuing existence or welfare.
-->'''Faz:''' Your '''thoracic diaphragm''' heaving in anger is not unlike how I picture your anatomy during our inevitable lovemaking.
** If you need ''even more'' evidence of his SmugSnake status, just read his entry on the cast page: "Shortpacked!'s most annoying recruit has an infuriatingly smug grin you'd love to remove with a grenade launcher."
*** It doesn't help that he also comes off as a slimier {{Leisure Suit Larry}} when trying to convince [[GenkiGirl Robin]] to sleep with him, including pulling out the Kinsey Graph when Robin said she was a lesbian (Long story)

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[[folder: Web Original ]]

* The [[spoiler: Game Genie]], from ''The New Adventures of Captain S'', could well be the smuggest snake who ever smugged. Pretentious use of the royal we? Check. Unseemly obsession with squirrels? Check. Annoying laugh? Check. Having to be [[spoiler: rescued by [[TheDragon NES]]]] after finding out the hard way that [[spoiler: he isn't all-powerful outside of Videoland]]? Check. And finally, meeting what is possibly the most undignified end ''ever'' [[spoiler: (being trapped in a cartridge, then being drowned inside said cartridge by a can of soda)]]? Check.
* Edward Salinas, the evil politician in ''{{lonelygirl15}}''.
* The Alphas in the ''Whatelyverse'' (especially their leader Don Sebastiano) qualify, as they tend to rely on mutant powers, ridiculous amounts of money, and hiding behind authority rather then actual schemes. Team Kimba throws them into a pretty big HumiliationConga by the end of the first month, and it gets worse and worse. (Tansy Walcutt + Don Sebastaino get it BAD).

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[[folder: Western Animation ]]

* [[TheStarscream Starscream]] in all of his incarnations. Fancied himself the smartest, most cunning and handsomest Decepticon. When he wasn't complaining to Megatron about how he would've defeated the Autobots eons ago, he was openly plotting ways to top the slag-maker. All of his schemes failed miserably with at least one or two nearly destroying the earth. He was far more interested in becoming the Decepticon leader than leading them effectively in the rare moments when Megatron was out of the way.
* Both Prince John and his ''actual snake'' servant, Sir Hiss (who is pictured above) from Disney's ''Film/RobinHood'' are prime examples of this trope.
** Hiss's voice-actor Terry Thomas was [[TypeCasting born to play this sort of role]].
* Gladstone Gander in the ''DuckTales'' cartoon. See the comics section.
* Plankton from ''SpongebobSquarepants'' fits this mold to a T, much to his chagrin.
** As does Squillum Fancyson, who is wealthy and successful, yet seems to spend most of his time finding new ways to rub it in the face of Squidward.
* Phantom Limb from ''TheVentureBros''. The effect is almost certainly intentional.
* The nudist aliens from the ''{{Futurama}}'' movie ''Bender's Big Score''. You'd think that scamming the entire Earth and forcing its population to the outskirts of the solar system would make them {{Magnificent Bastard}}s, but no. Maybe if they didn't do everything, ''everything'', in the most profoundly annoying way possible (and also if they didn't look the way they do, eeuuuugh). But that's spammers for you.
* Slade from ''TeenTitans''. He's a creepy guy, but his manipulations leave a lot to be desired (such as telling Robin that he enjoyed fighting his friends.) It's mostly because [[EvilCannotComprehendGood he can't understand or control the heroes as much as he'd like to.]] And the fact that he's widely perceived to be a pedophile doesn't help. He has his moments of magnificence though, especially after becoming Trigon's henchman.
** It is worth noting that unlike some other Smug Snakes, Slade does learn from his mistakes. After getting his butt kicked by the whole team, he makes sure that he never winds up fighting them all at once again (at least until he gets superpowers of his own) and after his manipulations of Robin failed because they hinged only on their being NotSoDifferent, he systematically deconstructed the mind of his next apprentice, Terra (and turns her into [[PeoplePuppets a person puppet]] without her knowledge if that fails). Unfortunately, he's never able to lose the old VillainBall (sometimes being a sadistic sociopath is a problem), and therefore never crawls out of full Smug Snakehood, though he does get better towards the end (see his CrowningMomentOfAwesome against Trigon's demon warrior.)
*** Other ''TeenTitans'' main villains, such as Brother Blood from Season 3 and The Brain from Season 5, also count. Both are very threatening, but their inflated egos prove to be their undoing in the end.
* Admiral Zhao from ''AvatarTheLastAirbender''. While he ''was'' capable of great feats of firebending power and brilliant tactical decisions, his lack of self-control and anything resembling humility just made the viewership wish that Aang and/or Zuko would pile drive him into the nearest hard surface. Repeatedly.
** Seriously, the asshole ''tried to kill the moon'' for no reason other than to assuage his own vanity. And even if his plan had actually worked, it's fairly likely that it would have just gotten him offed by Ozai, as killing the moon hurts the Fire Nation as much as it does everyone else.
* Prince Phobos and Cedric from ''[[{{WITCH}} W.I.T.C.H.]]'' Though both are certified {{manipulative bastard}}s, their egos and tendency to fail at their evil plans make them fall short of [[MagnificentBastard mangnificence.]] Oh, and in Cedric's case, SmugSnake is meant [[ScaledUp quite literally]].
* Eric Raymond from ''JemAndTheHolograms.'' If you could rate smugness on a scale from 1 to 10, Eric Raymond's smugness would test at 178.
* Scar from ''TheLionKing'' certainly ''tried'' to be a MagnificentBastard, but he was just too arrogant and overestimated himself. He gets off to a good start killing Mufasa and manipulating Simba, but once he gains control of the pride he grows lazy and acts like a [[SpoiledBrat spoiled child]] whenever he doesn't get his way. In the end, he's [[HoistByHisOwnPetard torn apart by his own henchmen]] for being a {{Jerkass}} to them.
* How did this page make it so far without mention of [[{{Disney/Aladdin}} Jafar]]? His staff is a snake, his visual design represents a snake, and he's constantly smirking and slithering about.
* Lavor, the {{Dragon}} to BigBad Magmion, from ''GormitiTheLordsOfNatureReturn''. Even his ImageSong denounces him as a vain, overconfident scoundrel. He's also quite a [[DirtyCoward coward]], and happily [[WeHaveReserves throws his men into battle with the heroes]] to get himself away from trouble and gauge his opponents' strength.
** And just to hammer the point home, the kids even got GenreSavvy about his smugness. One episode had Lucas, Nick and Jessica mess up his plan by simply pointing out how painfully obvious it was, which caused him to lose his head and attack.
* ''LooneyTunes'' mainstay Wile E. Coyote had a handful of cartoons where he faced off against Bugs Bunny, and not only [[SuddenlyVoiced talked]] but took to smugness like a fish to water. His outlook on life is best summed up by his speech to Bugs in their first outing together, "Operation: Rabbit."
-->'''Wile E.''': Allow me to introduce myself. My name is Wile E. Coyote, genius. I am not selling anything nor am I working my way through college, so let's get down to basics: you are a rabbit and I am going to eat you for supper. Now don't try to get away, I am more muscular, more cunning, faster and larger than you are, and I am a genius, while you could hardly pass the entrance examinations to kindergarten, so I'll give you the customary two minutes to say your prayers.
* [[VainSorceress Lydia]], the villain of ''BarbieAndTheDiamondCastle'' believes herself to be the only one worthy of being a muse, and treats everyone else accordingly.
* Eddy of ''EdEddNEddy'' would fit into this category, being a slimeball schemer for the most part.
* Alluro in {{Thundercats}} is so smug, he'll lounge on his enemies' tank waiting for them to return, and his actual method of combat is to attempt to psyche them out into thinking they can't possibly win against him. As he's taller, broader-shouldered, and more muscular than any other cast member, he could probably handle himself quite well in a fight, [[WhyDontYouJustShootHim but he never actually gets physically involved]], and so his psyche-out attempts always wind up backfiring.
* Seen literally in an RAF ColdWar instructional film shown to this troper, warning of the dangers of HISS (Hostile Intelligence [=ServiceS=]) represented by a smug cartoon snake with a FakeRussian accent. All his [[strike:spies]] dupes were naturally caught by the vigilant RAF police, but the evil HISS would just go on to the next victim.
* The Allmighty Tallest Red and Purple of InvaderZim. Being, well, the tallest of the Irkan people, they're both very smug and full of themselves. Unfortunately for their credibility, the only reason Zim is "invading" Earth is because their attempt to get rid of him backfired.
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