alt title(s): Magnificent Bitch; Magnificent Bastards
Dominic: You played a good hand, ma'am.
DeWitt: I played a bad hand very well. There's a distinction.
We all know the
Chessmaster: cold, intelligent, calculating. His catspaws moving to shape events to his liking while he pulls the strings, the whole time secure in his fortress, never getting his hands dirty.
And then there is the Magnificent Bastard.
The
Magnificent Bastard is what happens when you combine the
Chessmaster, the
Trickster, and the
Manipulative Bastard (
Large Ham is optional): bold, charismatic, independent, and audacious. Unlike the
Chessmaster, who seeks to control every single minute aspect of a situation, the
Magnificent Bastard plays the odds and wins regularly. Another difference is the Bastard's willingness to step onto the playing field in person. The risks are obvious, but the strategic advantages are numerous. With charm, style, and an understanding of the human psyche, the
Magnificent Bastard can
play people's emotions like a piano and often come up smelling of roses afterwards. As a
Trickster, he or she can easily adjust strategy on the fly;
Xanatos Speed Chess is the Bastard's signature technique.
The
Magnificent Bastard can be at any level of the villainous hierarchy - the
Big Bad,
The Dragon, or a
Wild Card trusted by neither side. Also, the
Magnificent Bastard is likely to appear as a
Villain Protagonist or dark
Anti Hero, whose nature allows more of an emotional investment in his or her chess pieces than many other types of
Villains (though if the Bastard ever moves completely out of the 'evil' spectrum, he becomes
a different trope).
The term was first used by General Patton in reference to Erwin Rommel in the film
Patton. It acquired its current meaning courtesy of Lionel Luthor of
Smallville, who was given this nickname by the
Television Without Pity boards.
Compare and contrast
Smug Snake, who is a similar archetype but who allows his ego to overtake his awesome. Can overlap with
Crazy Awesome if the crazy has a strong element of cunning (although
Crazy Awesome is more often a specifically heroic trope, one that relies on more improvisation than the Bastard). Contrast the
Complete Monster, whose acts fill the audience with hate and revulsion. For just the villainous charm, see
Affably Evil,
Evilly Affable, and
Wicked Cultured. For just the ingenious planning, see
The Chessmaster (events) and
Manipulative Bastard (emotions). The
Magnificent Bastard is often a beneficiary of
Jerkass Dissonance.
Has nothing to do with
Heroic Bastard, which is about literal bastards. The
Guile Hero is the heroic analogue to the
Magnificent Bastard. Please confine heroic examples to that page.
Please confine discussion to the
discussion page.
Now divided into:
