Heroes aren't the only ones who enjoy bonding in groups of five. Villains do it, too! This isn't necessarily done to mirror the heroes or provide any sort of advantage; in fact, many Five Bad Bands are in place even before the
Five Man Band is. Note also that Five Bad Bands are more fluid than Five Person Bands, open to more roster changes, and there may not even be five of them, though there's never less than four.
The roles in a Five Bad Band are:
- The Big Bad - Counterpart to The Hero. Large and in charge, with an inner circle of mooks to do their bidding and often also an Evil Army as well. Often will be more difficult to identify early on because of the very nature of a Bigbad. Occasionally pulls double duty as the Evil Genius.
- The Dragon - Counterpart to The Lancer. Usually more physical than their boss, and commonly the most trusted member of the bunch. Good for leading Mooks, and sometimes the most 'classy' looking. Much like The Lancer, in the absence of a Sixth Column, The Dragon is the most likely to betray the team (especially if they're The Starscream), and may bear their share of resentment towards the Big Bad. More likely to be The Hero's Evil Counterpart or Worthy Opponent within the context of the story than the Big Bad is.
- The Evil Genius - Counterpart to The Smart Guy. Operates the weapons or acts as Mission Control for the others. Often essential to the evil scheme; their screwing up could mean the entire thing falls apart. Most likely of this group to be Bad Boss'd for this very reason. Ironically, being less manically evil doesn't make them a better candidate for a Heel Face Turn, as they are often just completely amoral. More prone to insanity or other quirks then others.
- The Brute - Counterpart to The Big Guy. If the Dragon doesn't lead the Mooks, they will. While likely not better in a fight then The Dragon, is often the most physically powerful. Likes to fight, and is usually second best to the Dragon at doing so. Oh, and they are big, and sometimes (but not always) pretty dim.
- The Dark Chick - The counterpart to The Chick, they can vary quite significantly, and is chiefly defined by looking or acting wildly different from the other members, adding color to the group. It's this member that stands out for one reason or another, and may be considered the "freak" or loose cannon of the group, particularly by her own members. If in an optimistic setting, she will be the mostly one to be redeemed and not die horrifically. If not, then she becomes a one part Dominatrix and one part Yandere for The Hero (if male) if she holds any type of romantic interest towards him at all. Or just one or the latter.
Also frequent is for the group to get a
Sixth Ranger or
Sixth Column of its own. Just like with the
Five Man Band, the former can either be a
Face Heel Turn or just simply a third entity that eventually joins them and the latter is a member that undergoes a
Heel Face Turn (although the member doesn't necessarily have to join the heroes opposing the organization). It's extraordinarily rare for a
Five Bad Band to get a
Team Pet, though. However, when they do, it will be out on the field of battle trying to ream redshirts of the team to death or is seen consuming mooks like treats.
In general this team is the ultimate enemy to defeat, being
equal and opposite their enemies. However, if they are a group sent out by the
Big Bad and have a leadership structure but are nothing more then a
dangerous group to cause trouble then it is a
Quirky Miniboss Squad. A Five Bad Team can double as
The Psycho Rangers, the collective
Evil Twin of a
Five Man Band.
When adding entries to this list, please follow the order as listed above. Also remember, the individual character tropes are very specific character types. It is tempting to match one or two possible characters and then shove other characters in a
Quirky Miniboss Squad to fit this trope. Like the
Five Man Band, they have a team dynamic, not just vague personality quirks.
Similarly, neither all evil Five Person Bands nor all groups of
The Psycho Rangers are necessarily Five Bad Bands.
Examples:
Comic Books
- The original Brotherhood of Evil Mutants
- The Flash Rogues
- The Big Bad - Captain Cold, the unequivocal leader
- The Lancer - Heat Wave, the only one who ever challenges Cold's authority
- The Evil Genius - Weather Wizard, a histrionic scientist who developed his own equipment
- The Brute - Mirror Master, easily the most powerful of the lot and the most brutal killer
- The Dark Chick - The Trickster, a relative newcomer still earning his keep in the group
- The Archie Sonic The Hedgehog comic's Suppression Squad
- The Crime Syndicate of Amerika
- The Masters of Evil (Original)
- The Masters of Evil aka Thunderbolts
- Neron's big 5 in Underworld Unleashed
- The leaders of the Sinestro Corps in Green Lantern: Sinestro Corps War
Live Action TV
ProfessionalWrestling
- The Main Event Mafia from TNA Wrestling
Webcomics
Web Original
Real Life
