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Awesome Ego

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Hail to the King, baby.
Interviewer: Well, what is it about surfing that you love?
Tank Evans: I love being the center of attention, because it's really where I should be.

You all know that arrogant S.O.B. usually pissing everyone off by ranting about how absolutely wonderful they are? This is not that character.

This is the type of narcissist who constantly rants and raves about how mind-blowingly awesome they are, and the fans agree with them.

Maybe it's because they can actually back up their bragging with genuine skill and competence, or maybe it's because they're just so damn entertaining in their rants, or maybe it's because they can express their arrogance in a way that doesn't belittle others. But whatever the reason, it's this character's ego that makes them so charismatic.

Often a trait of the Magnificent Bastard, the Memetic Badass, and the Insufferable Genius. These characters constantly spout a Badass Boast. Contrast the Small Name, Big Ego and Smug Snake, who may have an ego, but in their case, it's more annoying than entertaining, and the Boisterous Weakling, who tries to brag even though their weakness is painfully obvious to everyone. Also contrast the Humble Hero, who plays down their awesomeness.


Examples:

    open/close all folders 
    Anime & Manga 
  • Baccano!: At least a couple characters fit this trope, with the Rail Tracer being one of the most noteworthy.
    • How big is the Rail Chaser's ego? He thinks he's God. How awesome is he? There legit might be some truth to that. Also he thinks that since only the strong can show compassion as it's a weakness, and he's the stronger there is!
  • Code Geass: Lelouch Lamperouge. At the time of writing, he provides the page image for the Smug Smiler trope, and quite justifiably. He proclaims himself "the man who makes miracles", and that he (single-handedly) will "destroy the world and make it anew". Why does he come across as a Magnificent Bastard rather than a suicidally overconfident Smug Snake? Because his arrogance is, to a large extent, justified.
  • Death Note: Light Yagami, the God of the New World. Also more subtly, L, who is the world's greatest detective; all three, in fact, all of whom are aliases of his; and has his own L screensaver.
  • Dragon Ball:
    • Vegeta in Dragon Ball Z, who possesses almost legendary amounts of arrogance, manages to be this, rather than insufferable or annoying. From the way he mocks and belittles his foes, to the way he's always ready to fight guys much stronger than him, it all combines to make him a fan favorite.
    • Vegito, being a fusion of Vegeta and Goku. The guy is a Showy Invincible Hero, and he's fully aware of it and makes a point to hammer it into the head of Big Bad Majin Buu.
    • Just about all the villains (especially Frieza, Cell, and Super Buu) are mostly loved by fans and are considered downright awesome, earning their bragging rights. Just look at the Ginyu Force!
    • Goku as a kid. He had no problem bragging about how powerful he was and allow his opponents to hit him just to show that it had no effect on him. And the audience enjoyed it since he was a Showy Invincible Hero for almost half of the original Dragon Ball. This is downplayed as an adult, but it still pops up at times. Like after becoming a Super Saiyan, Goku taunted and mocked Frieza about losing to a monkey. He even allows Frieza to power up to his max just to show that he never had a chance. And he succeeded.
  • Senku of Dr. STONE might act arrogant and bossy quite a lot, but that's just because he truly is smart enough to deserve to act that way. Each of his boasts about how he can make awesome scientific inventions is backed up by him actually making the things (and often plenty of other, equally awesome things along the way as a byproduct). No wonder the fans love him so much.
  • Duel Masters: Kokujo never misses an opportunity to remind everyone that he is an "Evil Genius" (That's Genius, not Evil Maniac). He more than lives up to this claim.
  • Fate Series:
    • Fate/kaleid liner PRISMA☆ILLYA: Gilgamesh (or just 'Gil'). He's still full of himself, but he's now a shota from the get-go. The audience of the Fate franchise obviously loves him.
    • Fate/Zero: Rider seriously believes he can convince everyone else involved in the Grail War to become his new army and help him conquer the world. It never occurs to him that anyone would object to being his subject even when it's pointed out that the other Servants include Kings and Demigods (including the aforementioned Gilgamesh in his adult form).
  • Girls und Panzer: Pravda's commander Katyusha. She's extremely full of herself but is a good enough strategist to back up her boasting. She's also incredibly beloved by the fans.
  • HappinessCharge Pretty Cure!: Oresky. In just his first episode, he loudly and proudly advertised his fan club in front of an Intrepid Reporter. He quickly backs it up by proving to be quite the Wake-Up Call Boss for Cures Lovely and Princess by being smart enough to create not one Monster of the Week, but two of them from four Innocent Bystanders, with one of them kept back for an ambush! It got so bad for our main duo that Cure Fortune had to step in and deliver a Curb-Stomp Battle! There's a reason why his fan club transcends the Fourth Wall.
  • Hetalia: Axis Powers: Prussia actually has an Image Song called "My Song That Is Written By Me, For Me" that is as much of an ego trip as it sounds. He's one of the biggest Ensemble Darkhorses in the fandom.
  • Inuyasha: Sesshomaru has an enormous ego, and remains one of the most popular characters.
  • JoJo's Bizarre Adventure:
    • Dio Brando is a good contender for the biggest Jerkass in manga history, and it shows... but he's so charismatic, it doesn't really matter.
    • From Diamond is Unbreakable, mangaka Rohan Kishibe is an Anti-Hero of the highest caliber. With the exception of Koichi Hirose, who he sees incredible potential in for storytelling, he sees every other resident of Morioh as a lowly peasant who isn't worth his time. It isn't until he reunites with the ghost of Reimi Sugimoto, his old babysitter who saved his life, that he decides to assist the heroes in tracking down Yoshikage Kira, and even when he's reluctant to assist them, he's incredibly resistant to the demands of Stands like Highway Star and Cheap Trick, knowing how to outwit his way out of desperate situations.
  • Jujutsu Kaisen: Satoru Gojo constantly boasts how strong and unstoppable his powers are, like how he is the strongest ever and can probably kill whoever he wants whenever and probably get away with it. And since the manga is yet to introduce anyone who is remotely on his level aside from Ryomen Sukuna, he definitely has a point about it.
  • Lupin III: Lupin the 3rd is adored by the fanbase and the biggest ego in the cast. He's proud of his success and has relied on his notoriety since his introduction.
  • Mobile Suit Gundam AGE: Woolf Enneacle. Arrogant? Check. Badass? Also check. "A key component of the G-Exes' superior abilities is that I'm its pilot!"
  • My Hero Academia: All For One is a narcissistic psychopath who aims to be the greatest villain of all time. However, it's not hard to see why he might believe that he is. He plays everyone around him like pawns, curb-stomps several high-ranking heroes with little effort, and is single-handedly responsible for forcing All Might into retirement. Not to mention his incredibly useful ability to both give and take away Quirks.
  • Negima! Magister Negi Magi:
    • The fandom does not appear to mind Jack Rakan's self-aggrandizing statements about his power and abilities (To quote him, "I have no weaknesses!") - probably because he more or less lives up to his claims, and then some. It eventually takes using the power of a veritably-Reality Warping MacGuffin to put him down by "rewriting" him out of existence outright... and he still manages to come back from that. The man is a Memetic Badass for a reason.
    • Evangeline McDowell has an ego rivaling Jack Rakan, boasting how she is the most powerful and evil monster in the world. Minus the evil, she's right on the money: in the show's huge cast, only about three, including Jack, have any chance of beating her.
  • One Piece:
  • Garou from One-Punch Man is this way for most of the Human Monster Saga as he continuously beats hero after hero; fans just love his unrepentant evil and being powerful.
    Garou: Stop me if you can! Until then, I'll stay this cocky!
    • And then subverted: Turns out he suffers from an Inferiority Superiority Complex. Despite his growing strength and skill, he cannot beat Saitama, and indeed, his new monstrous forms just make him a bigger target. Saitama spells it out that despite all of Garou's posturing over evil and being a fan of monsters, he actually wanted to be a hero and his disdain for other heroes was for not living up to his expectations for what an Ideal Hero is (though he isn't wrong there.) Saitama even tells him being a monster was perfect for "someone with no confidence" before flat-out saying that he'd never win against Saitama because ultimately, Garou's half-assing it and against Saitama, who's giving it his sincere all, he'll never win.
  • Pokémon: The Series: Gary Oak. His whole fanbase is built upon how awesome he is and all of his achievements, most noticeably being the only known trainer in Kanto to have ten badges. (Kanto only has eight Gyms.)
    • His counterpart in Pokémon Generations may not have ten badges, but he is even more arrogant, and even more of a badass.
  • Escanor from The Seven Deadly Sins is known as "The Lion's Sin of Pride". In his daytime form, he more than lives up to it AND has the power to back it up.
    Escanor: Of course it has no effect. I've no reason to feel hatred toward those beneath me. All I feel toward them is pity.
  • Seven Mortal Sins has Lucifer, Demon Lord of Pride. She's got a huge ego, but the talents to back it up, and if she comes up short then by thunder she will improve herself until she's number one.
  • Soul Eater:
    • Black Star in all his hamminess. His first appearance almost pisses off the whole fanbase, but just moments later, he makes us regret it.
    • FOOL! Excalibur's legend began in the twelfth century! The guy is so arrogant that even characters who take being around Black Star can't stand him, and it's hilarious.
  • Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann has Kamina, a deliciously complicated example. He presents a ludicrously egotistical image, to the point that many fans believe both his act and his hype - how could someone who tried to threaten a Humongous Mecha on foot with a katana not be this trope? In actuality, he's both completely ineffective at everything and fully aware of that - he's as scared and panicky as Simon but trusts Simon's heroic abilities, so he puts on the ego act in order to inspire Simon.
    Kamina: Who the hell do you think I am?!
  • Yu-Gi-Oh!:
    • If there's one aspect/characterization/etc. that isn't exaggerated or otherwise meddled with in the Abridged Series, it's the very real fanbase of Seto Kaiba. Dueling skills? Check. Computer skills? check. Kung fu? Check. An industrialist that could put Tony Stark to shame? Double check. Massive sense of pride? Oh yes. And he always wears the best outfits to match. To make it even more ridiculous, at one point in Yu-Gi-Oh! The Dark Side of Dimensions, Aigami tries to teleport Kaiba away. It doesn't work, do you know why? Because his ego was so big it exceeded the magic powers of dimension travel!
    • Making it even more ridiculous, they even point out that his new Duel-Disk amplifies his ego.
    • Kaiba's ego is so important to him, that when all attempts to bring back the Pharaoh fail, just to beat him in a Duel, Kaiba somehow eventually settles on the second-best option: Travelling 5000 years back in time to Ancient Egypt, just to fight his rival again.
    • Other rivals may even exceed him. The 'Kings' (Jack's) Ego is the most notable example. It helps that Jack isn't that much of a jerk in comparison to Kaiba and can show off his arrogance without needing to look down on other people, post-Dark Signer arc onwards.

    Comic Books 
  • Batman: Lady Shiva is the deadliest human being alive, and she knows it. The fact that she can boast that death is afraid of her and not have the reader question it should demonstrate this.
  • Fantastic Four: Doctor Doom, so much. The guy considers himself to pretty much be better than anybody in the entire universe, but he is so charismatic, brilliant, and badass you actually feel like he lives up to that boast. In fact, his ego is practically a superpower in and of itself given that it’s let him casually shrug off psychic attacks on multiple occasions.
  • The Flash: Wally West is the fastest speedster in the DC Multiverse and he is VERY aware of that fact. Expect any fight to consist of as many verbal jabs as physical ones.
  • Green Lantern: The Boisterous Bruiser Guy Gardner and Magnificent Bastard Sinestro both claim to be the best Lantern, and neither unfoundedly.
  • The Incredible Hercules: Hercules is a very rugged, boastful, and irresponsible Manly Man, with the ego to back it up.
  • Iron Man: Tony Stark, especially after he started to get closer to his Marvel Cinematic Universe counterpart. He is one of the most brilliant men on the planet, and he knows it.
  • Lobo: Lobo is the self-identified Main Man and best bounty hunter in existence. Not many would disagree.
  • Lucifer: As to be expected, Lucifer is a smug, sociopathic bastard who only cares for a very small group of people and treats everyone and everything else as lesser. Unlike most other versions of the Devil, both in doctrine and other media, he absolutely has the intelligence, charisma, and power to back this up. After all, he is the second-most powerful being in the multiverse even when fallen, and in any Internet Hypothetical Fight Debate involving him, he's 99% of the time agreed to absolutely dominate his opponent.
  • The Mighty Thor: Thor Odinson. He's proud and extremely boastful, and a Large Ham, but nonetheless heroic, and he's unarguably one of the most badass heroes in the Marvel Universe.
  • New Gods: Darkseid is a proud God of Evil that personifies Evil Is Cool and is a master of the Badass Boast.
  • Spider-Man: Superior Spider-Man to his fans as well as himself, but to his detractors (both in-universe and out) he's more of a Smug Super.
  • Superman: Lex Luthor. Just read his page quote. Managed to get the better of some of the smartest and toughest beings in the DCU and is well aware of it.
  • Wolverine: Wolverine has been alive a long time and picked up a lot of skills, so he is very confident in his abilities.
    Wolverine: "I'm the best there is at what I do."
  • Wonder Woman: Artemis, as you've got to be a bit full of yourself to look at Wonder Woman and decide that not only could you do better but that she doesn't even deserve the title. Artemis was also popular enough to carry her own spin-off miniseries and be brought back from the dead and from being retconned out of existence in the New 52.
  • X-Men: Supporting character Doctor Nemesis almost never appears on-panel without making a ridiculously over-the-top boast about his own genius. This is never an exaggeration.
    Doctor Nemesis: "I self-evolved a laterally superior intellect at age sixteen and rigorously conduct a preventative stupidectomy every fortnight."

    Fan Works 
  • All For Luz: All For One is a narcissistic psychopath who aims to be the greatest villain of all time. However, it's not hard to see why he might believe that he is. He plays people like pawns, got into a 14-year long war with Emperor Belos nearly ruining his plans, acts as a helpful Evil Mentor for Luz, and is single-handedly responsible for forcing All Might to go into retirement, albeit at the cost of his own life. His incredibly useful superpower to both give and take away Quirks, and the way he passes that knowledge to Luz. Not to mention that, he's not gonna let something like death stop his Evil Plan and get back to his home world and take over The Multiverse.
  • Cheating Death: Those That Lived: While Jack can barely go a chapter without referring to himself as a "master thief," it's a boast that he's fully capable of living up to.
  • Chaos from the Tamers Forever Series is outrageously cocky, but he's so damn charismatic and funny that this only serves to enhance his appeal.
  • Harry from Harry Potter and the Methods of Rationality is this trope in spades.
    Hermione: I'm getting tired of hearing people talk about the Boy-Who-Lived like you're — like you're some kind of god or something.
    Harry: Same here, I must say. It's sad how people keep underestimating me.
  • Tempest of Fuzzy Memories. An arrogant little spider who has trained all her life to be the strongest due to a hostile environment, and constantly claims herself to be the most dangerous slayer in the land...And it's surprisingly accurate! She's easily the strongest character in the series, constantly hunts creatures in order to claim personal rewards, and when she's determined, nothing can stop her!
  • Child of the Storm:
  • Ash's Pokédex in Pokémon Reset Bloodlines has a very high opinion of itself, often using the words "awesome" and "amazing" to describe itself. However, given that he's an absurdly useful and competent Do-Anything Robot with such a degree of autonomy Ash finds unnerving (being able to crack passwords and hack protected or restricted databases on its own volition), and possessing a vast wealth of general knowledge...well, nobody really contests that he has the right to make those boasts (out of universe, at least).
  • Seto Kaiba in Yu-Gi-Oh! The Abridged Series: "I am on a drug: its called SETO FREAKING KAIBA!!!" In fact, his focus episode in The Cancelled Series season (parodying the Virtual World arc) has the highest view count of all the episodes on CardGamesFTW.
  • Sword Art Online Abridged: Abridged!Kirito is every bit The Ace his Canon counterpart is, but unlike him, this version of Kirito absolutely revels in being the best player in SAO. It's implied this is because he's more of a loser in real life, so the newfound power goes a bit to his head.
  • Yvonne Maxa in Between My Brother and Me: Mors Omnibus is loud, brash, snarky and a Troll. Her Stage Name is "Grand Lorde Guignol" (a combination of the Grand Guignol, aka the church/theater that was genesis of Surreal Horror and Peter Lorde, one of the most well-known directors of said theater) and she backs up her claims of being grand by being capable of murdering Academia students with a knife and delivering a Curb-Stomp Battle onto Sora Shiunin in an Action Duel without losing a single lifepoint. When faced by the likes of Zarc and Yuya Sakaki, she makes lots of remarks that make it seem like dueling them is like a normal Tuesday for her. It's no surprise that she's so popular.
  • Rainbow Dash from Sunset of Time is tempted by the Tempest Crown claiming that it will make her the greatest flyer of all time and millions will cheer her name. She resists the temptation because she's already so confident that she doesn't need a magical artifact to make herself awesome, and doing so would just be cheating.
  • The Tokimeki PokéLive! and TwinBee Original Character Azure Kashiwagi Kousaka, Elesis's/Ellie's older sister, is described as being prideful about herself on occasion. Downplayed since she's still a Nice Girl otherwise.

    Film — Animated 
  • Gaston, from Beauty and the Beast, was written to seem incredibly egotistical and self-absorbed. The viewers loved this. (See also his Memetic Badass status, especially in YouTube Poop)
  • The Emperor's New Groove: Emperor Kuzco. He has an ego that dwarfs his empire, but he's so entertaining that it's hard to fault him for it.
  • From The Great Mouse Detective we have Basil of Baker Street, a dangerously eccentric mouse that's fully capable of being a Jerkass but has the smarts to back up his ego. And then we have Professor Ratigan, a villain who certainly knows it and embraces his evil like there's no tomorrow. It helps that he's just as brilliant as Basil.
  • The Incredibles has the imperious genius fashionista Edna Mode:
    Bob: E, you're the best of the best!
    Edna: Yes, yes, I know darling. I know.
  • Kai from Kung Fu Panda 3 has one hell of an ego on him, constantly boasting about his accomplishments (and getting annoyed when they aren't recognized), along with having way too much fun in the villain role for his own good. The fact that he does all of this while still being very competent has made him quite endearing to the fandom.
  • The LEGO Movie's version of Batman is full of himself and nowhere as skilled as his other incarnations. But it doesn't matter, he obviously enjoys showing off his tools, Cool Car, and his plans go off without a hitch. The LEGO Batman Movie lays even more focus on Batman's arrogance and hilarious ego thanks to him being the main character this time.
  • Moana:
    • Maui's entire song is all about how awesome he is and saying "You're Welcome!" for all that he's done. Yet it's completely justified, as he's responsible for many godly feats that allow regular humans to live good lives as they do. This includes stealing the Heart of Te Fiti which started the problems with the ocean in the first place — he admits he did it so he could give humans the power of creation, so they would love him even more.
    • Tamatoa gets a song entirely devoted to how spectacularly amazing he is, (and how inferior the others are), which many consider to be the best song in the movie. When he sings "because I'm beautiful, baby", many viewers are inclined to agree with him.
  • My Little Pony: Equestria Girls – Rainbow Rocks:
    • The Dazzlings sing two different songs about just how great their singing is. They don't disappoint.
    • Even for her, Rainbow Dash is surprisingly cocky and arrogant in this film. This reaches critical mass with "Awesome as I Wanna Be", where she showboats around the stage with a smug grin getting in her friends' faces as she sings about how awesome she is and no one can compare to her. However, the showboating is so hilarious, the song so great, and combined the two are so overblown, that you just might agree with her.
    • Trixie's song, a borderline Boastful Rap about how great she is. Considering she's one of the most prominent Ensemble Dark Horses of the franchise, part of the fandom is nodding in agreement with the lyrics.
  • The Nightmare Before Christmas: Jack Skellington. All hail the Pumpkin King.
  • The titular character of Robin Hood (1973) knows damn well that he's the best archer in Nottingham (if not all of England). He's also a really good actor and a master of disguise. He's sometimes shown to be a little bit overconfident, but by and large he fully lives up to his mildly inflated ego, and it helps that he's a genuinely Nice Guy who truly wants to help the downtrodden citizens.
  • The Super Mario Bros. Movie: Donkey Kong is a total show-off who revels in the glory, but combining his competence as a fighter, his desire to make Cranky Kong proud, and his great dynamic with Mario, it's not hard to respect just how ego-driven Donkey Kong is.
  • Tom and Jerry: Back to Oz: Calvin Carney spends about 90% of his screen time singing about how awesome his carnival is and refers to himself as a "showman extraordinaire." As he whisks the heroes through the place, they (and the audience) have ample reason to agree with Calvin.
  • Turning Red: Mei's sassy and confident attitude has won over a lot of fans who weren't expecting her to be an nerdy extravert.

    Film — Live-Action 
  • Jack Burton from Big Trouble in Little China. Ok, he may not be as badass as he thinks he is, in fact, most of the time he's a dork. However, his confidence, determination, fearlessness, and the occasional moment of actual badassery (stabbing a guy with a knife while it's still in his boot, catching a knife that was being thrown at him, and throwing it right back at the villain) make him a prime example.
  • Madmartigan from Willow frequently brags about being the greatest swordsman who ever lived. It takes him a while to get his hands on a proper sword, but when he does, he proves he may actually be right.
    Willow: (watching Madmartigan effortlessly cut his way through a half-dozen enemy soldiers) You ARE great!
  • In The Hobbit, Smaug. He has a penchant for boasting about how much of a badass he is, and fans love him for it. The fact that he can back his claims, coupled with Benedict Cumberbatch's performance, probably helps.
  • Marvel Cinematic Universe:
    • Tony Stark, just as in the comics. "I've successfully privatized world peace" is such an audacious and narcissistic thing to claim; but not only is it partially true, but he's also just so awesome for daring to say it. In The Avengers, he successfully figures out where Loki plans to make his move by realizing that Loki is no different from him in that regard.
      Tony: And Loki, he's a full-tilt diva, right? He wants flowers, he wants parades. He wants a monument built to the skies with his name plastered— [realizing that Loki is at Stark Tower, the monument to Tony's greatness] ...sonuvabitch.
    • As evidenced by their interactions in Avengers: Infinity War, Doctor Stephen Strange is the one person whose intelligence and confidence surpass Tony's, being the cool, calculating Blue to Tony's neurotic, annoying Red. Even Tony is visibly intimidated by Strange, who is not even remotely impressed by Stark's attempts at asserting dominance.
According to the novelization, that line "was spoken not as a boast, but as a matter of fact by one who knew it to be so."

    Jokes 
  • There are jokes about a narcissist and their spouse going to Couples' Counseling:
    Counselor: Why don't you tell me something good about your spouse?
    Spouse: Well, I like his/her taste in music.
    Narcissist: And I also like my taste in music. So we have that in common.
    [...]
    Counselor: When did you realize that you were first in love with your spouse?
    Spouse: It was the first time s/he looked at me and I saw love in their eyes.
    Narcissist: When I looked in his/her eyes and saw how well my reflection looked.

    Literature 
  • Older Than Radio: Life and Opinions of Tomcat Murr by E. T. A. Hoffmann features the titular Murr, a self-proclaimed genius cat who taught himself how to read and write.
  • Beowulf is the antithesis of the Humble Hero and does not hesitate to brag about his superhuman feats in battle.
  • When Dante in The Divine Comedy meets the great poets (a group composed of Homer, Horace, Ovid, Lucan, and Virgil) in Inferno Canto 4, he is welcomed into their group as its sixth member. This could come across as extremely egotistical, as Dante is essentially equating himself with the greatest poets in human history. Except his work is just as well-known and widely-read today as any of their works, if not even more so. Thus, he comes across less egotistical and more prescient.
  • Hercule Poirot is smart. The smartest there is, he might say. And, regardless of how much you may think that he cannot possibly back up all of his conceited arrogance, you better believe he can back it up or he'll completely Out Gambit you. It won't save you from being completely Out-Gambitted, mind you, but that way you may at least have some dignity left at the end of it... Agatha Christie herself considered killing off Poirot several times, but every time she came up with a way to kill him off, she'd hear his voice in her head, berating her for thinking he'd not be smart enough to anticipate and foil her carefully laid out plans.
  • Smaug the Golden of The Hobbit. He lives up to his epic Badass Boast (essentially "I am mass destruction incarnate") both before and during the story. It's only because of a series of (for the heroes) very lucky coincidences that he doesn't just kill everyone.
  • Journey to the West features Sun Wukong, the Monkey King. He manages to go toe-to-toe with dragons, the Judges of Hell, and Heaven itself. And BOY does he brag about it.
  • Zaphod Beeblebrox of The Restaurant at the End of the Universe. It's how he survives the Total Perspective Vortex... at least until it's revealed shortly that it was sabotaged. As Zarniwoop tells him, "You would never have survived the real one." Still, Zaphod is one hoopy frood. The fact that someone went out of their way to create a virtual reality, identical to the real reality, specifically for Zaphod's benefit, just so Zaphod could survive said Vortex, should tell you something.
  • Skulduggery Pleasant, in-universe. His partner, Valkyrie Cain describes him as "hugely vain and narcissistic but endearingly so."
  • Sherlock Holmes goes on at length about his skills as a detective, and the effectiveness of his methods, all while continually mocking Inspector Lestrade and the rest of the official police for their ineptitude. Of course, Holmes consistently matches his bragging with his successes.
  • Esmerelda "Granny" Weatherwax from the Discworld series is the greatest witch on the Disc and assumes her superiority as naturally as anyone else breathes. She repeatedly proves it by taking down anyone who steps up to her, be they elf queens, vampire clans, or her own sister. One thing that makes Granny so beloved in spite of her massive ego is that she very rarely punches down and bullies those below her — no one is Beneath Notice and she'll help anyone who asks or take any challenge seriously, no matter how trivial the issue or how badly outmatched they are.
    Nanny Ogg: If there ain't no water in the sea, it ain't the sea. It's just a damn great hole in the ground. Thing about Esme is... she's all pride, see? She ain't just a proud person.
    Letice Earwig: Maybe if she learned to be more humble...
    Nanny Ogg: What's she got to be humble about?

    Live-Action TV 
  • The Big Bang Theory: Sheldon Cooper has an ego so big that it would take more than the entire universe to fill it, but his expertise in science sort of makes up for it.
  • Lord Flashheart from Blackadder is a womanizing braggart who views himself as better than God and makes sure to be in the spotlight in every scene he's in while being so entertaining about it that he's one of the most popular characters in the series, despite only appearing in two episodes.
  • Avon in Blake's 7 is a fan favorite based largely on his high estimate of his own intelligence, his low estimate of everyone else's, and his acerbic way of making this clear to everyone.
  • Possibly the only reason anyone roots for Walter White later on in Breaking Bad. He may Kick the Dog several times an episode at least, but he throws out awesome moments and bombastic speeches just as frequently. The best example of this would be his exchange with (and subsequent dominance over) rival drug dealers from Phoenix at the beginning of "Say My Name".
    Walt: I'm the cook. I'm the man who killed Gus Fring.
    Declan: Bullshit. Cartel got Fring.
    Walt: You sure about that?... Go ahead, say my name.
    Declan: Ha, I don't have a damn clue who you are.
    Walt: You know who I am. You all know EXACTLY who I am. Say my name.
    Declan: ...Heisenberg.
    Walt: You're GOD DAMN RIGHT!
  • Stephen Colbert in-character on The Colbert Report. The man has a portrait of himself in which he's looking at another portrait of himself, and spins every news story or interview so everything agrees with him and the world generally revolves around him. It's hilarious.
  • Doctor Who:
    • The titular Doctor's traveled across nearly all time and space, and saved the world more times than they can likely count, is an egotist that often likes to inform people of awesome they are, especially if they DARE to doubt them. Their Evil Counterpart, The Master, is a villainous example, who makes no effort to hide how highly they think of themself from anyone, including The Doctor. Thing is, they are that good, having single-handedly taken over entire worlds, among other things. They also like to boast that they'll never die, and, they won't.
    • Illustrated by one incarnation with the Doctor's idea of a threat:
      Eleventh Doctor: I'm the Doctor. Basically... run.
    • Further, the villains agree with them, and more than once they have headed off a confrontation by simply informing them of who they were dealing with.
    • Another good example: The Doctor's idea of a Badass Boast. (It works.)
      Tenth Doctor: I'm the Doctor, and you're in the biggest library in the universe. Look me up.
    • Deconstructed in the episode "Midnight", where the Doctor is trapped on a bus with a bunch of Muggles with a monster trying to get in. Everyone's panicking, and here's this bloke who turned up out of nowhere claiming to have experience in dealing with invisible alien monsters (which, in fairness, he does). He gives his name as "John Smith" and takes authority on the basis of "Because I'm clever!" Needless to say, it backfires and very nearly gets him killed.
  • Don't Hug Me I'm Scared: Duck is much more self-important and condescending than he is in the web series, but the fact that he equally serves as Only Sane by Comparison and has both Yellow Guy's naïveté and Red Guy's Deadpan Snark to bounce off of makes his egocentricity more endearing than it is annoying.
  • In Game of Thrones, as the seasons progress, Daenerys Targaryen becomes increasingly fond of trying to cow others into bending to her will by listing her deeds and accomplishment. As those accomplishments include reviving the previously extinct race of dragons — which involved walking into a raging fire and emerging unscathed, rearing those three dragons as her devoted children to kill for her and let her ride on their backs, massacring a cruel empire of slavers with the army of slave-soldiers that they sold her, and taming the most feared culture of bloodthirsty barbarians in the world — which involved assassinating their leaders by burning down their hut, with her still inside of it, then walking naked out of the flames and demanding their followers submit to her... well, most fans relish every time that she does so.
  • Frank Pembleton from Homicide: Life on the Street has a truly massive ego, but he quickly became the Breakout Character because he could back it up, was a quite funny Deadpan Snarker, and thanks to Andre Braugher's Emmy-winning performance.
  • Horrible Histories portrays some of its historical characters as having a huge ego, but also being fun and able to back up their boasts. Most notably, Charles II of England, who has a whole Boastful Rap about how the people love him and what he achieved in the Restoration. William Shakespeare is also an Awesome Egotist who brags about his plays and the words and phrases he invented.
  • House would be half as long and nowhere near as amusing if the title character didn't spend most of every episode showing off how brilliant he is:
    Wilson: You're quite impressed with yourself right now, aren't you?
    House: Who wouldn't be?
  • House of Cards (US): Congressman Frank Underwood. He views God as a Worthy Opponent and has several conversations (not monologues) with the audience explaining just how brilliant his plans are.
  • Jane the Virgin's father Rogelio de la Vega. The man's ego is the size of Florida, but so is his heart.
  • Kamen Rider: Oftentimes a feature of an Ensemble Dark Horse.
    • Kamen Rider Kabuto: Souji Tendou is all built around being perfect, so it's no wonder he has perfect ego too. Also, he loves to monologue and gift his surroundings with piece of wit usually starting with "My grandmother said...". The story also loves to spoil his spotlight with someone else's fumbling.
      • Tsurugi Kamishiro is almost as good at everything as Tendou, and more comedic as he plays it up. (Once an Episode, he tells us that he's the man who stands at the top of... something new every time. When he decided to see how the common folk live, the catchphrase became hilarious, because now it's "I am the man who shall stand at the top of waiting in line!")
    • Kamen Rider Decade: Tsukasa Kadoya adores monologuing and (mostly rightful) gloating about his genius. Unless it's taking photos, which he loves but sucks at. His pompous atitude lives up to his past as the Great leader of Daishocker, which presumably requires ego and Large Ham as an artform.
    • Kamen Rider Ex-Aid: Kuroto Dan, the narcissistic, raving lunatic that kicked off the main plot of the story because he was angry at an eight-year old, who sent him fan mail praising the video games he created and suggesting new ideas. You know, like a child might do when writing to their idol. His antics usually put him straight into Too Funny to Be Evil, so it's dangerously easy to pass up his plans as anything else but a genuine act of bioterrorism.
    • Kamen Rider Build: Sento Kiryu, the second coming of Kuroto Dan, absolutely has to gloat about being an amazing, handsome Insufferable Genius. Ruining his moment or depriving him of spotlight can ear his ire very quickly. Especially if he is insulting everyone in the room, polishing ego and proclaming love to his Dumb Muscle sidekick Ryuga Banjo all at the same time. The catchphrase given to him by his family sums it up thusly: "Narcissistic, conceited hero of justice."
    • Kamen Rider Zi-O: Woz, the bombastic herald of Oma Zi-O. Always on top of everything, usually in control and in possession of a great supply of acerbic quips on everyone's behalf, even his overlord's past self. Everyone on all sides knows he is a Devil in Plain Sight, but that's easily covered up by how funny, polite (in a passive-aggressive way) and delightful to watch he is.
  • Lucifer, naturally. And he's not shy about declaring who he is to everyone, but, of course, no one believes him. So one can imagine how he feels about someone pretending to be him in order to get into high-end parties and seduce women, whom he leaves unsatisfied. However, he will be the first to say that he most assuredly does not have a "god complex", although this has more to do with his Daddy Issues than his ego. After Chloe gets gun-shy regarding him, they're working a case in which two of his hookups were murdered, and Chloe determines they'll need to talk to anyone else he hooked up with recently. Lucifer thinks it will help for Chloe to hear what a fantastic lover he is. Chloe scoffs at the thought that they'll rate him positively, but cue a parade of people rhapsodizing about having the best sex of their lives with him.
  • NTSF:SD:SUV::: The President of the Navy is one of the most amusing characters on the show because he acts so much like an over-the-top douchebag that it becomes funny instead of annoying. They even gave him his own Voice Clip Song.
  • Dr. Perry Cox of Scrubs is the definition of ego, yet backs it up time after time with genuine skill.
  • Star Trek: The Next Generation: The entire cast/crew could be incredibly arrogant and smug in their superiority in the first two seasons. But they had enough awesome moments to carry the show through, and only got better while losing most of their less likable traits, winning themselves a devoted fanbase.
  • Star Trek: Deep Space Nine: In the episode "Second Sight," Professor Seyetik is a cocky, arrogant blowhard who is (a) perfectly, cheerfully aware of this and (b) deserves to be because he discovered how to reignite dead stars, so he inspires grudgingly amused admiration from most everyone around him. Except his wife, who he finally sets free by choosing to die in the course of his greatest triumph.
  • Lucifer from Supernatural regards everyone else as inferior to him. He's also wiped the floor with a roomful of gods, can destroy the planet when at full power, and is one of only five things the Colt can't kill.
  • Uchu Sentai Kyuranger: Tsurugi Ohtori/Houou Soldier has got one hell of an ego and doesn't spare a moment to brag about his incredible power to the other characters. Destroying an entire fleet of spaceships without the use of the mech and his finisher destroying the biggest ship in just one blow (All of this in his debut) backs up that claim quite a bit.

    Manhwa 
  • Tania and Tarras Doberg from Witch Hunter refer to themselves with the respectful title of -nim, encourage others to lavish praise on them, and are so powerful that even other people of mass destruction in the World of Badass acknowledge or fear their power. Tarras was originally intended to be a no-name background character, but he was entertaining enough that he eventually became part of the Unnamed Team along with the protagonist.

    Music 
  • The protagonist of The Charlie Daniels Band's "The Devil Went Down to Georgia": "My name's Johnny, and it might be a sin, but I'll take your bet and you're gonna' regret 'cause I'm the best there's ever been."
  • Sabaton's song "Carolus Rex" presents Charles XII of Sweden in this way, as he claims that he is the divine king of Europe and that his time has come and launches The Great Northern War. Of course, this is exactly what Charles XII was like in real life.
    I was chosen by heaven
    Say my name when you pray
    To the skies,
    See Carolus rise!
  • Civil War's I Will Rule the Universe, which is about Napoléon Bonaparte, exaggerates it with Napoleon proclaiming himself greater than God.
  • While the truth of Gene Simmons from KISS' self-centered personality has been a turn-off for some fans, others see it as a charming extension of the band's bombastic presentation, especially given that despite how unabashed he is about it, Simmons is pretty earnest about it all the same, which makes it hard to be completely mad with him.
  • Puff Daddy/P. Diddy/Puffy/Diddy (Sean Combs) might be one of the most egotistical and arrogant celebrities to ever exist, but he sure looks cool doing it.
    • To a lesser degree, Jay-Z is another perfect example. Both men are worth over $500 million apiece, which certainly plays into their egos.
    • Let's be honest: any legitimately successful rapper has an overly awesome ego. Except Eminem.
  • In Australia, Skyhooks had a hit in the 70s with "Ego (Is Not A Dirty Word)".
  • Steve Strange from Visage was this to his copious followers (and seeing how big the New Romantic scene was in the early 80's, he had plenty of them); he was almost certainly a prima donna, given how so many single covers solely featured his face, his stealing of the glory from the real artists in the band like Midge Ure despite having no musical talent, insisting on being the vocalist despite his lack of singing abilitynote , and the fact that he once rode a camel to a press conference in New York City. He even made delusions of grandeur-dripping statements like "I'm not a person who loves being in a studio. As soon as my work is done, I want to be out of there and off to the next party." with absolutely zero self-awareness. And yet, due to his charmingly queer, High-Art clothes and makeup, as well as his sheer charisma (the Visage video alone just exudes retro-chic whilst showcasing his blustering arrogance), he had and still has many fans to this day. It helps that many Visage songs were far deeper than what they seemed to be on the surface (The lyrics of "The Damned Don't Cry" lament his shallow party-obsessed lifestyle, yearning for something more), and his talent for creative fashion was unmatched.

    Pro Wrestling 
  • MIIISTEEEER!!!!!!! KENNEDY!!!!!!!: His gimmick of doing his own introductions was supposed to make the fans hate him, but he's just so damn charismatic that it's made him a fan favorite. Followed him a bit into TNA when he became Mr. Anderson.
  • CM Punk. Almost every attempt to make him a heel ended up making him a god among fans.
  • IF YA SMEEEEELLLLLL!! WHAT THE ROCK! IS COOKING!
  • Ric Flair, the limousine-riding, jet-flying, wheelin', dealin', kiss-stealin' - WOOOOO! - sonofagun!
  • Dolph Ziggler has endeared himself to many fans because of his never-say-die attitude, despite having an ego larger than the Big Show.
  • The Miz. When he first busted out his "AWESOME" persona, he slowly but surely got enough momentum behind him from the audience to shoot him to the WWE title.
  • "Stone Cold" Steve Austin. When he says he's the world's toughest son of a bitch, fans loudly agree.
  • Christopher Daniels has a hard time being a heel - he's so well-respected as an athlete and so deliciously hammy on the mic that fans can't help but chant "FALL-EN AN-GEL" out of respect.
  • Curt Hennig, aka Mr. Perfect, so dexterous and talented that fans, to an extent, always admired him, whether heel or face.
  • AJ Styles is "The Phenomenal One".
  • When getting the fans to boo Becky Lynch proved impossible in the wake of her Face–Heel Turn against Charlotte Flair, her character took a different direction where she doesn't even try to get Cheap Heat or shut down the people chanting her name. If anything, she loves being cheered, because, in her mind, it vindicates everything she says about how she's the best wrestler in WWE and everyone else in the locker room is beneath her.
  • Maryse calls herself "the sexiest of the sexy" and few disagree.
  • Hulk Hogan often bragged about the power of Hulkamania and the power of his "24-inch python" arms and asked his opponents what they were going to do when those things ran wild on him. It made him one of the biggest pop culture icons of the 1980s and one of the highest drawing wrestlers of all time. It even continued with his Face–Heel Turn and founding the New World Order...at least until that angle was run into the ground.
  • Triple H was never afraid to brag about how tough or brilliant he was. It usually made the fans Love to Hate him, but it occasionally became this, especially on the night he returned from his Game-Breaking Injury.

    Roleplay 
  • Panopticon Quest: Christos Barberis is abrasive, egoistic, and insufferable, with the skills magic and mundane to back all of it up, so much of a thorn in the Technocracy's side that they have specific Conditioning triggers for his presence.

    Tabletop Games 
  • Leonardo de Montreal, Nightmares' Angel, in Chuubo's Marvelous Wish-Granting Engine. One quote from him consists of an epic A God Am I speech explaining why he drank all the milk and didn't buy any more. Those who can pull off this character type well are also advised to consider Fist-Shake XP.
  • Magic: The Gathering: Nicol Bolas is a draconic Evil Sorcerer, one of, if not the most ancient and powerful beings in The Multiverse, a Complete Monster... and he damn well knows it. Every quote from him is the epitome of Smug Super, every time he appears in the lore he absolutely dominates anyone who isn't his Good Twin Ugin (and even Ugin got outsmarted by him in the past), and his plans span thousands of years and multiple universes. He has the greatest ego of anyone in the setting, but damned if he doesn't deserve it.
  • Princess: The Hopeful: this trope is, in a nutshell, the entire reason Princesses of Mirrors are huge fan-favourite despite being mostly disliked in-universe. They are all egomaniac, narcissistic Royal Brats... but their Charms include some of the best Status Buff in the entire game, meaning they actually can back up their huge ego.
  • Warhammer: Settra the Imperishable is one of the most popular characters in the setting for not only being so full of himself that his list of titles takes two hours to recite but for being strong enough to back it up. And he carried this power and arrogance to the very end, down to spitting in the faces of Nagash and the four Chaos Gods when they dared try to offer him anything, everything, to work under them. Six words: "SETTRA DOES NOT SERVE! SETTRA RULES!"

    Video Games 
  • The titular character of Bayonetta is a cocky, self-assured witch who taunts building-sized angels, demons, and gods with the self-assurance of a dominatrix. Aside from a few O.O.C. Is Serious Business moments, she blithely torments and toys with her foes in combat. And that's all part of her appeal.
  • Kane from Command & Conquer refers to himself as "a close second" to God. However, being a Magnificent Bastard, he could make a case for that being official. Over the Tiberium series he's gone from "reports suggest that he's much older than he looks" to "he somehow survived being at ground zero of an Ion Cannon strike with nothing more than scarring" to "he doesn't age and can't be permanently killed, and it's not due to a trick like cloning."
  • Cyberpunk 2077: Despite being narcissistic, snarky, brash, and often hypocritical, Johnny is beloved by most of the fanbase. The fact that he's a multi-layered character with understandable motivations and is capable of change certainly helps. Having Keanu Reeves as your Ink-Suit Actor can't hurt either.
  • Death Stranding: Higgs calls himself "The particle of God that permeates all existence". He's the second most popular character in the fanbase, rivaling Sam and Cliff.
  • Dante from Devil May Cry is an egoistical Deadpan Snarker that will openly taunt the Legions of Hell, and has taken them on more than once and come out none the worse for wear.
  • Both versions of the Wizard class in Diablo III speak very highly of themselves and their abilities, and their personalities are beloved by players because they're so proud of themselves.
    "I'm so good, I astound myself!"
    "If only my masters could see me now!"
  • Duke Nukem is a self-centered, politically incorrect chauvinistic bastard. And the fans love him for it, both in and out of universe due to the fact that he does have a personality (in contrast to most other shooter protagonists) and his general badassery for saving the world multiple times by himself. How narcissistic is he? In multiple games, he doesn't have a Life Meter—he has an ego meter. And looking at yourself in the mirror gives it a permanent boost. He has written at least one book, titled "Why I'm So Great".
  • The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim:
    • J'Zargo, your Khajiit classmate in the College of Winterhold. Arrogant, light-fingered, and eager to solve any and all issues put before him with arcane destruction. But he's also funny, affable once you've earned his respect... and he lacks in a level cap, allowing him to keep up with even the awesome potential of the Dragonborn.
    • Master Neloth in DLC expansion Dragonborn steals the show with his over-the-top haughtiness and magical experiments of dubious safety. He'll also go surprisingly hands-on for a Telvanni mage-lord when attempting to find a MacGuffin with you.
    • Marcurio, the mage for hire in Riften. Most of his dialogue is either creatively boasting about his arcane prowess, sarcastically commenting on his surroundings, or complaining about anything he considers beneath him. However, he does live up to his own hype in combat, and his random commentary in dungeons is often hilarious (such as calling the player character out on Kleptomaniac Hero tendencies.)
  • The Elder Scrolls Online has the Breton knight Darien Gautier (who incidentally shares a voice actor with the aforementioned Marcurio), who won't miss a chance to tell you how popular with the ladies or how great of a fighter he is. Nevertheless, he's a fan favorite character thanks to a) being a legitimately hilarious Deadpan Snarker, b) always putting the mission objectives and civilian lives first despite his bluster, and c) being one of the few Guest-Star Party Member NPCs who actually kicks major ass when you meet him again in Summerset. It doesn't hurt that he's also Mr. Fanservice (and he knows it).
  • The Horatio from Endless Space and Endless Space 2. He may be kind of a dick, and his ego is completely out of bounds by any measure, but there is something to be said about a man that can find himself gazing at the stars, cloning vats at his side, and think "You know what this galaxy needs more of? Me.", and went on to form a faction that can stand against every other empire in the game composed entirely of clones of himself. And he can be reasonable; just because you're never going to be as beautiful as him doesn't mean you aren't beautiful enough to stand by him (though if your species has a trait he wants, he's going to demand a few thousand of your people to hand it over).
  • Fate/EXTRA:
    • There's the playable Saber, a.k.a. Emperor Nero. She almost certainly has the biggest ego in the cast and is beloved for it. Her ego actually fuels her powers; she can give herself skills simply by declaring that she has them, fully confident that as Roman Emperor reality will bend to her decrees. It does.
    • Gilgamesh. The King of Heroes was included in Fate/Extra CCC for a reason, after all.
  • Fate/Grand Order:
    • This game has Leonardo da Vinci as a Magitek Omnidisciplinary Scientist in the form of The Mona Lisa. She brags about her looks and brains pretty much all the time.... except it ain't bragging if it's true, and she really is as much of a genius as she says. She hams it up, gets huffy if she isn't getting enough attention, and... is actually a really good, caring friend to the protagonist.
    • Gilgamesh, yet again, this time in the Babylonia chapter. Here he's in his Older and Wiser Caster form, so his (still ginormous) ego is tempered by wisdom and emotional maturity that his Archer incarnation lacks. The end result is someone who manages to win over even fans who dislike his less mature version. And then the climax comes along, where he deliberately reincarnates himself in his Archer form, but retains his wisdom and experience. In this form, he helps bring down a progenitor god.
    • Ozymandias. He loves to hear himself talk (and since he's voiced by Takehito Koyasu, the fans love it just as much), regards himself as the greatest pharaoh that Ancient Egypt ever had and an unparalleled general, warrior, and sorcerer, and he proves repeatedly that he is indeed incredibly strong. Yet he also holds his fellow pharaohs (Nitocris, Cleopatra, and Iskandar) in very high regard, observes Sacred Hospitality, and considers Arash to be a Worthy Opponent.
  • Gilgamesh of the Final Fantasy series is one of the most popular characters, which is largely due to his huge ego. In-Universe, it's sometimes portrayed as empty bragging and always with a healthy dose of humor, but for players, he's rarely a pushover, and sometimes he's among the Optional Bosses.
  • Lute in Fire Emblem: The Sacred Stones constantly goes on about what an amazing mage prodigy she is. Her stats back her up on this.
  • Chowder Man from Hypnospace Outlaw, portrayed by and with songs written by Hot Dad. He's an aging egotistical rocker turned corporate jingle writer whose rock career is mostly songs about how awesome he is, but he can back up that ego by being the in-universe writer of some of the catchiest music in the game.
  • The King of All Cosmos from Katamari Damacy. Normally, he'd go down as one of the worst fathers in history, but he gets a free pass for sheer Refuge in Audacity alone. He wears outlandishly garish clothing, he always uses the Royal "We", he constantly makes bizarre non sequiturs, and he always makes spectacular presentations. He may be a pompous, self-entitled asshole, but it's impossible to hate him.
  • HK-47 from Knights of the Old Republic, due to essentially being the Star Wars equivalent to Bender.
  • League of Legends:
    • Draven. In a game boasting a huge cast, he's in his own League.
      Draven's Biggest Fan: DRAVEEEEN I LOVE YOU
      Draven: Me too, kiddo. Me too.
    • Aurelion Sol, too - although, when you're a star-forging dragon-entity, an obscene degree of egotism may fall under the heading of "accurate self-assessment".
      Aurelion Sol: Your demise will be sung about for ages to come - only thanks to its proximity to me, of course.
  • Legacy of Kain: Kain rivals Vegeta in terms of his ambition, arrogance, and (in his younger years) explosive temper, but because he combines it with genuine cunning, personal fearlessness and a willingness to take on any challenge (including the agents of destiny itself), he remains awesome. The Gambit Pileup plotline, excellent faux-Shakespearian script, and truly spectacular voice acting play no small part in this.
  • The Legend of Zelda:
  • Overlord Zetta from Makai Kingdom will proudly and hammily boast that he's the "Most badass freakin' overlord in the Cosmos", and the fans love him for it.
  • Sovereign from Mass Effect. You get a grand total of one conversation with him in the game, which consists entirely of him bragging about himself and how the Reapers will destroy galactic civilization. And it's quite one of the best moments of the games.
  • John, of the New Yankee in King Arthur's Court series, comes across as a bit of a blowhard with an exaggerated sense of self-importance. He's also occasionally prone to boasting about the magic skills of his wife Mary, and Mary does likewise about his sword arm. But there's a reason that King Arthur keeps calling on them for assistance - they really are that good.
  • Pyrrhon, the "self-proclaimed" Sun God from Kid Icarus: Uprising, is starting to become this. His Tumblr page is all about how awesome he is and why there can be no one as awesome as Pyrrhon.
  • Sonic the Hedgehog:
  • Gig from Soul Nomad & the World Eaters is an arrogant jerk with the overall demeanor of a delinquent teenager who has no respect for anybody, and it's hilarious. Plus he's every bit as much of badass as his constant bragging claims; in fact, he's likely the game's most popular character.
  • Starcraft II Legacy Of The Void gives us Alarak, the First Ascendant (later Highlord) of the Tal'darim). He is a megalomaniac, arrogant jerk who treats his allies and minions as slaves, constantly boasts about his fighting skills, and constantly mocks allies and enemies. However, he is genuinely powerful, is brave enough to yell at Amon to come and face him, and is entertaining to listen to, helped by his voice actor.
  • Mortal Kombat 9: Johnny Cage is at his douchiest best in the reboot, and this is the game that turned him around into a huge Ensemble Dark Horse. His massively inflated ego that nonetheless hides a heart of solid gold leads him to several hilarious moments, and in the sequel, he backs up the bravado by embarrassing none other than Shinnok.
  • Street Fighter II: Vega is about as narcissistic as you can get, but does have his fans.
  • Super Mario Bros.:
    • Bowser. He's a massive ham with an equally massive ego, but he can back every claim. When pitted against another threat, he'll stomp it to pieces and burn it to ashes. His massive armies follow him not out of fear, but out of respect and admiration. Against anyone other than Mario and Luigi, he's unstoppable, verging on The Juggernaut.
    • Wario. He's a greedy, selfish Jerkass who cares for nobody except himself (and beats up everyone in his way), but that's exactly why his fans like him. There's something admirable about how honest the guy is about his ambitions and motivations. In his "Crowdfarter" video meant to promote Game & Wario, he outright says "you give me your money so I can make my dreams come true".
    • Wario's partner in crime, Waluigi, has shades of this in his more recent portrayals, which showcase his skill at dancing and sports, whilst maintaining a massive petty ego, similar to Wario's.
    • Pauline's showiness first established in Super Mario Odyssey has reached full-blown Attention Whore levels in Mario Kart 8 Deluxe, with her Waxing Lyrical with lines from "Jump Up, Super Star" when being launched from a cannon or winning a race, and whipping out her stand microphone and pyrotechnics when performing a trick jump. But considering how likable of a character she's been since Odyssey, it's hard to take all this as bad sportsmanship and more as pure joy, and it makes Pauline all the more fun to play as.
  • Touhou Project:
    • Mima, an evil spirit from the early games, is a chronic liar who falsely claimed to be a deity while talking to the goddess of a demon world, yet she backs her arrogance up with the power to defeat said goddess. In the eyes of the fandom, she can do stuff like the "Twilight Spark" despite not possessing any similar attacks in the games.
    • Also, Miko from later in the series. Known for making herself available just in case people feel they need an immortal God-Emperor to lead them to prosperity. But until then she'll just work on achieving enlightenment and ascending bodily into heaven. Even the Boss Subtitles seem to agree, labeling her the Almighty Taoist Ruler of the Universe.
    • There is also Marisa, one of the playable characters. A chronic liar note , perpetual thief note , snarky (just like Alice), loves explosions and superior firepower note  and has the power to back up her various claims like how she's the only person to rival Reimu when it comes to youkai hunting and incident solving. She's also directly related to Mima above, who is either her mother or mentor, possibly even both. Unlike Reimu however, Marisa achieved everything through strict training and can be surprisingly humble, so overall it's no wonder why she is so popular.
  • Undertale: Papyrus is a self-assured egomaniac skeleton with delusions of adequacy and is quite possibly the funniest thing in the game because of the sharp contrast between said ego and his lovably enthusiastic and helpful demeanor. Helps that he doesn't put down anyone else either: He's very convinced you're an awesome person, just like he is. Add that to his "fabled Blue Attack", and probably the only reason he's easy enough to be fought so early in the game is that he's just too nice to actually try to hurt you.
  • Xenoblade Chronicles:
    • Xenoblade Chronicles 1: Lord Zanza is what happens when A God Am I is taken too literally. Granted, he's not technically a god, as he was the broken-off spirit of a god-seeking scientist named Klaus, but he did create the World of the Titans, and boy, does he wear it on his sleeve. The other, peaceful goddess of the World of the Titans, Lady Meyneth, only wanted her, Zanza, and all life on Bionis and Mechonis to live in harmony, but Zanza saw himself as above it all, seeing Homs as vessels, Nopon as food, and High Entia as vestiges for the genocidal Telethia. He controls this cycle all whilst retaining a deeply stoic demeanor and a large amount of Cold Ham.
    • Xenoblade Chronicles X has the one and only Hector Birtwistle, H.B. for short. Valedictorian of his class, convinced of his own superiority, has ladies fawning over him with one referring to him as "Dreamy McGlasses", and prefaces his called attacks with "superior". Throw in his good looks and the innate humor in his dialogue, mix in some Character Development to allow him to respect your Player Character as a worthy rival, and season with capable battle AI for an Ensemble Dark Horse.
    • Xenoblade Chronicles 2 has three notable examples.
      • Zeke von Genbu, the deposed prince of Tantal, is Small Name, Big Ego incarnate. Whenever meeting anybody new, he immediately plays up the theatrics, seeing himself as Alrest's best Driver and deserving of a Blade as legendary as the Aegis. That said, he was also Born Unlucky, so the ivory is knocked off his tower enough times to keep it from being grating when initially encountering him, but once he becomes a party member, he lightens up immensely and becomes one of the biggest Nice Guys of the group.
      • The main villain of the main campaign, Malos, is an interesting case study of this. He sees himself as superior to all life forms on Alrest, but he doesn't necessarily brag about his accomplishments, as he intends on exterminating all life. That said, he's incredibly boastful about his goals, is an expert at Mind Rape, and treats his comrades from Torna as if they were his family, while also instructing them to take the most pragmatic approach.
      • An optional Rare Blade that can be pulled from a Core Crystal, Dagas is a Blade who views himself as a king of an unknown country, despite the fact that Blades don't retain memories of their previous lives with Drivers when they revert back into Core Crystals. Of course, Dagas sees himself as above such a notion, and expects whoever his Driver is to live up to his outrageous expectations, but is also surprisingly capable in combat. Oh, and did we mention that he carries around a portable throne?
    • Xenoblade Chronicles 3: Of the six Ouroboros members, Eunie is the one who acts the most high and mighty, with her initially viewing everyone besides Noah to be below her and often needing of her assistance. As the game progresses, though, it's shown that Eunie's haughty behavior is a way for her to quell her prior trauma, making her bloated ego something to sympathize with, especially when she has to confront that trauma.

    Visual Novels 
  • Klavier Gavin from Apollo Justice: Ace Attorney prides himself on his dual rockstar/prosecutor career, and loves the attention he gets from fans; during one witness testimony, the witness is staring at him (though more out of anxiety and confusion than admiration), and to Klavier, being stared at is business as usual. He's also a very popular character, especially amongst female fans. It helps that despite his ego, he's one of the most competent, nicest, and least corrupt prosecutors in the series.
  • In Fate/stay night, Gilgamesh, much like the epic he is based on, can't go two sentences without boasting about how incredible he is and how all his opposition are a bunch of "mongrels" who should count themselves lucky to bask in the glory of a King of Heroes such as himself. Unfortunately for our heroes, he is everything he hypes himself up to be.

    Web Animation 

    Webcomics 
  • In Kurami, Bree Kay has massive amounts of self-confidence, and the friendbase love her.
  • Admiral Leonardo van Ostrand from Clockwork is plenty full of himself, introducing himself to the protagonist as "Owner of the world's finest airship! And the world's most handsome face." His confidence and warm, friendly demeanor are so infectious, though, that it's hard to mind his ego too much.
  • Grrl Power has antagonist Deus, of Ex Machina Industries, who prefers the term Megalomaniac because it "sounds cooler". But he then elaborates:
    Deus: Unfortunately, I don't have it. Megalomaniacs are defined as having unwarranted feelings of self-importance. The key word being unwarranted.

    Web Original 
  • Ilivais X: Mille Chanteau is nothing short of cool, and she knows this, and it's assured that she'll generate at least one Badass Boast a day.

    Web Videos 

    Western Animation 
  • Bender from Futurama.
    Amy: Us? How can you possibly blame us?
    Bender: It wasn't easy. It just proves how great I am.
  • Gravity Falls:
    • Bill Cipher is astonishingly popular among the fanbase with the fact that he's so confident in his master plans while having fun with it. He's a seemingly omnipotent being who has his grand apocalyptic plan completely mapped out from the start, has been putting the pieces into place for years, and doesn't allow any apparent defeat to be a setback, only a delaying of the inevitable. Bill is fond of making deals with people in which he gives them something they want or thinks they need, and in return, they can be used and likely screwed over by him later so that he can reap even better benefits. As it's said, he would use or possess anyone in order to get what he wants, shown clearly when while possessing the time traveler Blendin, he takes advantage of a distraught, emotional Mabel and tricks her into giving him a dimensional rift belonging to their uncle, and then smashes it, creating the tear between the two worlds, bringing about Weirdmageddon. He only appears in a few episodes, but his presence is felt even when he's gone, and while undeniably diabolical and sadistic, he's also hilarious and great fun to watch and speculate about.
    • Same with Probabilitor the Annoying in "Dungeons, Dungeons & More Dungeons." He's got a bit of an ego for playing a game where he is the main villain, but you have to admit that he's fairly competent.
  • Invader Zim has Professor Membrane, the man without whom this world falls into chaos and the inventor of SUPER TOAST.
    Membrane: Power is restored to the Earth once more. It's a good thing I exist!
  • The Mask: The Mask is very much a confident man who thinks that he is the greatest trickster of all and it is shown as despite his quirks he is very genuinely smart and can do a great job of posing as someone else even getting everything about them completely right and he uses his ways of being a Troll to trick his enemies into thinking he is dead or defeated until at the last moment he reveals to them that he is neither dead nor defeated which proves how clever he can be and use his bizarre and outlandish ways to defeat the supervillains who attack Edge City and the people who live there and with success as well. The Mask also knows how to break his enemies egos and does a magnificent job of doing it as he leaves them to be completely broken and comes out on top of it all showing that The Mask is the most powerful and dangerous being on the planet as despite being a Cloudcuckoolander he has enough sanity to keep his mind in check so that he can protect anyone who lives with him in Edge City.
  • Chloé Bourgeois from Miraculous Ladybug at one point shows off her dancing in a very conceited way. She is great at it, of course. In no other case does she fit this trope, though. Or not until her egotistical belief that she's the ultimate superhero allows Chloé to reject akumatization despite experiencing some of the most powerful negative emotions she'd ever had and despite the akuma having already hit her. Previously it seemed that this was impossible and that the only way to avoid akumatization was to calm down and let the negative emotions dissipate before the akuma got to you. But as Queen Bee, Chloé simply refuses to let her status be lowered from hero to villain.
  • Moon Girl and Devil Dinosaur: The Beyonder is flamboyant and braggadocious to the nth degree, and it is awesome. It helps that he can back up every single one of his boasts.
    Lunella: Beyonder! We were just talking about you.
    Beyonder: Of course you are. I'm fascinating.
  • My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic:
    • Even though Trixie is an arrogant egotist, her hamminess has earned her quite a few fans.
    • Rainbow Dash and Rarity can both be arrogant as well, but their respective abilities and ties to their friends make this an endearing trait rather than a crippling inability (though there are certain episodes that are built around deconstructing these aspects of their personalities). Rainbow's Establishing Character Moment in the first episode has her claim that she isn't slacking off because she can finish her job (cloud-clearing) in ten seconds flat — and when Twilight is skeptical, doing it (and in an aversion of Magic Countdown, said sequence does indeed take 10 seconds).
    • Discord also qualifies. Granted, he's certainly quite malicious, and his overconfidence is one of the big reasons he's defeated at the end of his two-episode appearance. However, he's amassed a very large fanbase due to how fun he is to watch, and due to the fact that he can certainly back up his cockiness. He eventually returns in Season 3 and agrees to nix the "malicious" part while nevertheless retaining said ego — i.e, Reformed, but Not Tamed.
  • Sardonyx from Steven Universe certainly thinks very highly of herself due to the confidence boost Pearl has while being fused with Garnet. She clearly loves being herself and has a bit of an ego while doing a mission, and her fans love her for it.
  • Tiny Toon Adventures: Montana Max. Already being Yosemite Sam's counterpart is a plus, but in spite of acting so high and mighty thanks to his excess wealth, he provides some really good comedic moments and has his bouts of sympathetic moments, even if some weren't intentional.
  • Transformers (G1): Sky Lynx is supremely full of himself but he actually is as good as he says he is. While his attitude and self-aggrandizement might seem obnoxious, he has a better track record than most other big Transformers in that his sheer durability and strength don't get overshadowed by new big toys that get introduced, instead choosing to show them as "merely" being near his level. He's the size of a combiner and hence a Humongous Mecha among Humongous Mecha due to the fact that he's made up of a full-sized Space Shuttle and crawler carrier rather than a shrunk-down version like other shuttle-bots, and he doesn't shrink in robot mode either — his various beast modesnote  are all as big as they would be expected to be. All this adds up to a kaiju-sized mechanical monstrosity who knows just who magnificent he is.
    Sky Lynx: Save your ammunition, Autobots! Superior forces are taking over!
    Springer: Well, well, Commander Modesty's here!
    Rodimus Prime: As long as he delivers, I don't care about his ego.
  • Lord Hater, judging by how popular he is with Wander over Yonder fans, especially on Tumblr. The fact that his ego and insecurities are incredibly hilarious helps.
  • Apocalypse's incarnation in X-Men: The Animated Series is a heartless megalomaniac with a MASSIVE god complex who sees the world as it is as unfit to exist and needs to be wiped from existence and created anew in his vision, scoffs at morality besides his own, and views himself as invincible (he's on the money with that one). But, the fans found the bragging he does so epic, which along with his ability to easily back up the MANY Badass Boasts made him such an appealing villain.

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