History Main / RedAndBlackKeepBack

[[redirect:RedAdBlackAndEvilAllOver]]

[[quoteright:148:[[StarTrekTheNextGeneration http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/Durass_1648.PNG]]]]
[[caption-width-right:148:Beware the House of Duras.]]

Black and red. In the western world these are the two most sinister colors as red typically conveys the meaning of blood and black of darkness or death. Sticking to these two colors is common for designers who want to create something as sinister as possible.

The favorite colors for villains to dress in. Most {{Ominous Opera Cape}}s are a case of this: Black on the outside, red on the inside. Also common for the covers of {{horror}} books, films and games. It's not uncommon for cases of this to be juxtaposed with a group or characters represented by [[RedOniBlueOni Blue and White.]]

DarkIsNotEvil can also apply with {{Anti Hero}}s and even {{Villain Protagonist}}s heavily using a red and black color scheme as a visual reminder that these people, no matter how much we are supposed to identify with them, are not "good guys".
See also GoodColoursEvilColours, DarkIsEvil and RedFilterOfDoom.

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!!Examples:

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%% When you give an example, please say ''how'' the colors were used and not just that they were used.
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%% "Used in FinalFantasyXII" is not enough information. Don't do this!
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%% "The Judges Magister in ''FinalFantasyXII'' wore a red Archadian seal on their black capes in order to be intimidating." is good. Please give us details!
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[[foldercontrol]]

[[folder: Anime And Manga ]]

* {{Ranma}}'s usual outfit is a red and black chinese martial arts uniform. Red shirt and black pants to show he is a [[FooFu Martial Arts]] BadAss.
* In ''InfiniteStratos'', Laura's IS is also this color scheme, possibly as a ShoutOut to Elzam, as the series likes to reference other mecha anime. And she does a HeelFaceTurn as well (Sort of).
* Takuya's D-Tector and Digimon forms from ''DigimonFrontier'' are red and black, of the badass variant. TheLancer Koji's D-Tector was Blue and White.
** Guilmon of DigimonTamers is a [[DarkIsNotEvil virus-type]] dinosaur Digimon with a striking red and black color scheme in most forms. Though he is the main hero's partner and the most kind-hearted and innocent of the characters in the show, his viral nature comes out during combat.
* Most of the shots of the BigBad in the 4th credit sequence in ''SoulEater'' are coloured Red, Black, Grey, and inspired by insanity.
* This was also done in ''SayonaraZetsubouSensei'' parody of JamesBond to mark the villain.
* Ai Enam from ''JigokuShoujo'' aka "HellGirl" has this twice: She has black hair with [[RedEyesTakeWarning red eyes]] and her standard costume is a black sailor uniform with a red collar. She also happens to be a VillainProtagonist.
* Alucard from ''{{Hellsing}}''. The guy has black hair and red eyes, wears a black suit with a long red coat and hat, and it's all usually drenched in blood.
* Black★Gold Saw from ''BlackRockShooter'', most noticeable in the TV anime version.

[[/folder]]

[[folder: Comic Books ]]

* {{Deadpool}}'s red suit with black stripes and matching red and black hood
* Common amongst NaughtyIsGood kids in British comics. This is partly because they all used to be in [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Duotone duotone]], though.
** DennisTheMenaceUK wears black and red stripes
** Minnie the Minx wears red and black hoops
** Roger the Dodger wears red and black checks
** Beryl the Peril wears a black dress over a red blouse.
** Calvin of ''CalvinAndHobbes'' is an American example.
* {{Superboy}} (Conner Kent) uses this color scheme in regards to [[BroughtToYouByTheLetterS Superman's trademark "S"]]. This is especially true for his [=DCnU=] incarnation, where his costume is completely red-and-black. While Superboy is a hero, the opening issue of his comic (as well as the rebooted ''Comicbook/TeenTitans'' comic) uses the color scheme to make him seem sinister.
* Seems to be popular with ''{{Batman}}''-spinoff characters these days. (While yes, Batman and his protege are heroic, they use the color scheme to appear sinister, intimidating or to achieve VillainCred when they need to.)
** {{Nightwing}} has donned a red-and-black outfit after the reboot to reflect the new, gritter Nightwing.
** Tim Drake (known as "Robin" or "Red Robin" depending on the time period) uses this color scheme.
** {{Batwoman}} also has black-and-red digs.
** [[{{Batman}} The Joker's]] sidekick Harley Quinn wears a black and red playing card motif.

[[/folder]]

[[folder: Film ]]

* Azazel from ''X-Men First Class'' wears black and is red.
* The uniforms, flags, and other props used in IanMcKellen's excellent 1995 film adaptation of ''RichardIII'' are like this, due to the film's use of [[PuttingOnTheReich parallels to Nazi Germany]] in its 1930s-era SettingUpdate.
* The Norsefire Party in the film version of ''VForVendetta'' uses a black and red logo, specifically in order to imply a similarity to the Nazi party.
* The basic color scheme of the neo-Nazis in Pink Floyd's ''TheWall''? Black with red detail.
* Mosts Siths in ''StarWars'' dress in black and use a red lightsabre.
** In ''ReturnOfTheJedi'', The [[http://space-action-hero.blogspot.com/2008/04/star-wars-we-serve-emperor-himself.html Emperor's guards]] wear these colors.
** Emperor Palpatine himself wears black, has red eyes and deathly pale skin.
** Darth Maul, who made the full body red and black Sith-Tattoos popular. You'll find them on lots of Extended Universe characters.
* [[TheVamp Poison Ivy]] in ''Batman & Robin'' adopts this color scheme instead of her regular red-and-green motif in a final effort to seduce Robin into sharing a [[KissOfDeath kiss]] with her, [[BlatantLies for love]]. It works. [[spoiler:Though not as she expected.]]
-->'''Robin:''' "Is your thumb the only part of you that's [[LampshadeHanging green]]?"
-->'''Poison Ivy:''' "You will just '''[[GivingSomeoneThePointerFinger have]]''' [[TheTease to find out]]!"
* The villains of ''{{Tron}}'' and ''TronLegacy'' are all colored black with red TronLines.

[[/folder]]

[[folder: Literature ]]

* The ''Custodes Fidei'' [[hottip:*:"Guardians of the Faith"]] order in the {{Deryni}} works have black robes with red belts and trim. Officially, the red is supposed to suggest allegiance to and protection for the House of Haldane. Guarding the Faith from what? From Deryni and their sympathizers, of course.
** The order's name can also call to mind the famous Latin question, "Quis custodiet ipsos custodes?"[[hottip:*:"Who watches the watchmen?"]] Since they are an aspect of the [[CorruptChurch corruption in the church]], this is justified.
* In ''TheLordOfTheRings'' Sauron's forces use black banners and insignia marked with a red eye.
* In ''{{Heathers}}'', these are the school colors. This makes the antagonistic cheerleaders wear red and black.
* The seventh room in EdgarAllanPoe's ''Masque of the Red Death'' is black with red stained-glass windows.
* In ''The Spiral Labyrinth'' by Matthew Hughes, the magic system is colour-coded; each wizard has a major and a minor colour. The BigBad uses black and red.

[[/folder]]

[[folder: Live Action Television ]]

* [[http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/Terran_Empire_4683.png This]] [[TheEmpire Terran Empire]] logo in ''StarTrek''.
** Black and red are dominant colors of Klingon culture. They use it in buildings, flags, decorations, weapons, ships... basically everywhere!
* KITT, the car with AI in ''KnightRider'' is black and uses red lights for various purposes. It's often found as extremely cool-looking in-universe - in the pilot episode, a pair of criminals tries to repeatedly steal it.
* All of Wrestler/{{Kane}}'s outfits throughout his tenure in the {{WWE}} prominently feature this color combination.
* KamenRiderFaiz' suit is composed of mostly black with red Photon Streams.
* ''BuffyTheVampireSlayer''. Villain turned AntiHero Spike often wears a black BadassLongcoat with a red shirt underneath. CompleteMonster Angelus also uses these two colors.

[[/folder]]

[[folder: Music ]]

* TheWhiteStripes had black, white, and red as their official color scheme. Jack white said in an interview it was the most striking color combination he knew of.
* Kraftwerk's Man Machine video and album art.
* The band AlkalineTrio make heavy usage of this colour scheme, even lampshading it in the lyrics to their song "Bloodied Up".
* Slovenian art-rockers Laibach [[PuttingOnTheReich love their red and black]].
* The {{Blue Oyster Cult}}'s first three albums had "budget" sleeve designs appropriate to a new and unproven act on whom the record company did not want to spend a great deal. These were monochrome illustrations with restrained flashes of red, evoking Escher designs on faraway alien planets. While the band refer to this trilogy as ''The Black and White Years'', the sleeve designs succeed in evoking the strange, sinister, and somewhat alien preoccupations of the band's early music.
** They even did a sinister song called ''The Red and the Black'', and their second album, ''Tyranny and Mutation'', eschewed the conventional Side One/Side Two for a Red side and a Black side. The labels on the vinyl LP matched this concept too: one red script on black, but flip it over, and you got the reverse, black script on red.
** The band returned to red-and-black record sleeves in their declining years, with the rather grim ''Revolution By Night'' album.

[[/folder]]


[[folder: Sport ]]

* The Essendon Bombers in AustralianRulesFootball. The St Kilda Saints are red, white and black.
* The Melbourne Renegades in Twenty20 {{Cricket}}'s Big Bash League.

[[/folder]]

[[folder: Tabletop Games ]]

* ''MagicTheGathering'': Black and red together generally combine fear and violence, as the Cult of Rakdos in Ravnica is eager to show.
** In older sets it was used more like "Violent Death". Red for violence (typically burn spells) and black for death (typically life draining spells). Black/Red decks specialized in dealing massive damage to everything and everyone. The trick was to kill them before you kill yourself.
* The Red-Eyes Black Dragon in ''YuGiOh'' was one of the most powerful cards when first released. Typically matched up with the Blue-Eyes White Dragon.
* ''Warhammer40K'': Two loyalist chapters of SpaceMarines use red and black extensively, the BloodAngels and BloodRavens. Blood Angels use a black winged sword on their red armor, Blood Ravens a black stylized raven on red armor.
** Several Khornate (followers of the Blood God) chapters use black designs over ([[RunningGag you guessed it]]) red armor.

[[/folder]]

[[folder: Video Games ]]

* Caleb from ''{{Blood}}'' dressed in a black BadassLongcoat and has brilliant red glowing eyes. Most people remember the eyes and coat first about him.
* The [[http://www.mobygames.com/game/blackthorne/cover-art/gameCoverId,26863/ cover]] of ''{{Blackthorne}}''.
* The [[http://www.mobygames.com/game/resident-evil-4/cover-art/gameCoverId,85381/ cover]] of ''ResidentEvil4''.
* The Brotherhood of Nod in ''CommandAndConquer'' wear black and red uniforms.
** Similar to the above example, Soviets in ''RedAlert'' also often wore these colors.
* All the Judges Magister in ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyXII'' wore a (red) Archadian seal on their (black) capes. Suitably imposing? Oh yes.
* Shadow the Hedgehog, Black Doom, and the Black Arms from the ''SonicTheHedgehog'' series are all black with red accents. Sonic is Blue and has WhiteGloves and socks.
* Shivan ships in ''{{Freespace}}'' are painted red and black.
* In ''RuneScape'', red and black are the colors of Zamorak, the evil god of chaos.
* Associated colors of the Inferno faction (which is essentially hell) from ''HeroesOfMightAndMagic V'' were black and red.
* The Vampiric Ghouls from the online RPG, ''{{Dragonfable}}'', have corrupted evil versions of the heroic Guardian armor of the "good guys" with SpikesOfVillainy and a Black And Red Color Scheme instead of the normal white/silver and gold.
* ''TheSaboteur'': All nazi controlled areas are in [[DeliberatelyMonochrome black-and-white]], except for the red from the blood or the swastikas.
* ImpossibleThief extraordinaire CarmenSandiego frequently pairs her striking red coat and NiceHat with an all-black getup underneath.
* As part of being a CharClone, Elzam of ''SuperRobotWars'' paints his robots black with red bits (Along other tweaks). He eventually gets his own robot, the Aussenseiter, which is also in this costume. He eventually does a HeelFaceTurn, though.
* Most of [[AntiHero Haseo]] outfits in ''.hack//Roots'' and the ''DotHackGUGames'' are these colors.
* In ''KatamariDamacy'', [[MeaningfulName Kuro]] wears black and red. He's the most [[IneffectualLoner standoffish]] of all the Cousins, so it makes sense he'd use these colors as a visual warning.
* Team Rocket from ''{{Pokemon}}'' is often associated with the colors red and black. Their logo is even a red "R" on a black background.
** Team Magma is also associated with Red and Black. In contrast Team Aqua is Blue and White.
** Subverted with Darkrai, whom despite its sinister appearance and mostly black and red coloration, actually has no malicious intent at all (usually, that is). Played straight in the ''PokemonMysteryDungeon'' games however.
* OdaNobunaga from ''SengokuBasara'' is characterised by red and black, and has a black banner with a red insignia on it. ToyotomiHideyoshi takes after him by wearing a red and black outfit, and having a red banner with a black insignia.
* The Black Knight From FireEmblemTellius wears Black armor and a Red OminousOperaCape. In the sequel he gets a Red Inside/Black Outside Opera Cape instead. TheHero Ike is typically associated with Blue, and White also in his Vanguard Costume.
** [[spoiler: Also The Black Knight's Alter Ego Zelgius wears a full suit of Red Armor. So it can be said that the character is both a Red and Black Knight.]]
* Although he himself is colored green, many of [[SuperMarioBros Bowser's]] insignias are a red face on a black background.
* In {{Lego Adaptation Game}}s, red and black objects can only be manipulated by evil characters.
* [[ProudWarriorRaceGuy Split Dynasty]] ships in the ''{{X}}-Universe'' games have rust-red armor panels with gray/black unarmored sections. The Split aren't particularly ''evil'', but they have a [[FantasticRacism burning hatred]] for the peaceful Boron Kingdom.

[[/folder]]

[[folder: Web Original ]]

* In ''{{Drowtales}}'', the resident LivingDollCollector, [[http://www.drowtales.com/mainarchive.php?id=627 Kharla]], seems to like the Red / Black combo.
** These are also the colors most often worn by Syphile, Ariel's [[AbusiveParents abusive caretaker]].
* [[OrderOfTheStick Rich Burlew]] uses red/black word balloons for several demonic characters.
** Redcloak's most distinguishing features are his well, red cloak and black armor.
* The uniforms of DoctorSteel's Army of Toy Soldiers are black with red (and some yellow) accents. (Although since Dr. Steel's retirement, red is still an official color but liberal use of it is discouraged, possibly to avoid their being [[PuttingOnTheReich confused with Nazis]].)
* Fan art for ''RedVsBlue'' always has Tex with red hair, for exactly this reason.

[[/folder]]

[[folder: Western Animation ]]

* Jafar from ''{{Disney/Aladdin}}'' wears black with red trim.
* The whole army of the One-Eye from ''TheThiefAndTheCobbler'' [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YdJbo-4rg1k&feature=related uses these colors to overkill]].
* The main colors of the generally antagonistic Fire Nation in ''AvatarTheLastAirbender'' are red and black. Subverted though, since they're shown to be mostly ordinary people like any others.
* [[BigBad Megatron]] from ''{{Transformers}}'' is usually associated with the colors black, red, and gray.
* Shen, the villain of ''KungFuPanda2'', is an evil black, white, and red peacock. His wolf henchmen all have black fur and predominantly wear dark red armor.
* The Cyclonian empire in ''StormHawks'' is associated with these colours.
[[/folder]]

[[folder: Real Life]]
* The Nazi flag is a particularly sinister example
* Many technology products, such as [[http://i1-news.softpedia-static.com/images/news2/GPUs-Good-for-Gaming-Hacking-Routers-Too-2.jpg AMD's Radeon HD]] graphics cards are red and black to be "intimidating".
* Female black widow spiders are black with red hourglass shaped markings on their abdomens. She rears up and shows her underbelly as a warning.
[[/folder]]

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* Takuya's D-Tector and Digimon forms from ''{{Digimon Frontier}}'' are red and black, of the badass variant. TheLancer Koji's D-Tector was Blue and White.
** Guilmon of DigimonTamers is a [[DarkIsNotEvil virus-type]] dinosaur digimon with a striking red and black color scheme in most forms. Though he is the main hero's partner and the most kind-hearted and innocent of the characters in the show, his viral nature comes out during combat.
* Most of the shots of the Big Bad in the 4th credit sequence in ''{{SoulEater}}'' are coloured Red, Black, Grey, and inspired by insanity.

DarkIsNotEvil can also apply with {{Anti Hero}}s and even {{Villain Protagonist}}s heavily using a RedAndBlackColorScheme as a visual reminder that these people, no matter how much we are supposed to identify with them, are not "good guys".

* ''BuffyTheVampireSlayer''. Villain turned AntiHero Spike often wears a black BadassLongcoat with a red shirt underneath.

* Azazel from ''X-Men First Class'' wears black and red.
** Specifically, he wears black, and is red.

** Don't forget Darth Maul, who made the full body red and black Sith-Tattoos popular. You'll find them on lots of Extended Universe characters.
*** In contrast, Jedi wear White and brown robes and wield Blue or green lightsabers.

[[folder: Real Life ]]

* The [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Flag_of_the_NSDAP_(1920–1945).svg flag]] of Nazi Germany.
** Though in all fairness, Black-White-Red and Black-Red-Yellow have been the color of almost all German flags since the 14th century. The Nazi flag is particularly sinister, though.
* Many technology products, such as [[http://i1-news.softpedia-static.com/images/news2/GPUs-Good-for-Gaming-Hacking-Routers-Too-2.jpg AMD's Radeon HD]] graphics cards are red and black to be "intimidating".
* Female black widow spiders are black with red hourglass shaped markings on their abdomens. She rears up and shows her underbelly as a warning.

[[/folder]]

** Don't forget Darth Maul, whose entire ''face'' is red and black.

* {{ProudWarriorRaceGuy Split Dynasty}} ships in the ''{{X}}-Universe'' games have rust-red armor panels with gray/black unarmored sections. The Split aren't particularly ''evil'', but they have a [[FantasticRacism burning hatred]] for the peaceful Boron Kingdom.

* {{Superboy}} (Conner Kent) uses this color scheme in regards to [[BroughtToYouByTheLetterS Superman's trademark "S"]]. This is especially true for his DCnU incarnation, where his costume is completely red-and-black. While Superboy is a hero, the opening issue of his comic (as well as the rebooted ''Comicbook/TeenTitans'' comic) uses the color scheme to make him seem sinister.

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[[AC:AnimeAndManga]]

[[AC:ComicBooks]]

[[AC:Film]]

** Don't forget Darth Maul, whose entire ''face'' is red and black.

[[AC:Literature]]

[[AC:LiveActionTelevision]]

[[AC:{{Music}}]]

* The {{Blue Oyster Cult}}'s first three albums had "budget" sleeve designs appropriate to a new and unproven act on whom the record company did not want to spend a great deal. These were monochrome illustrations with restrained flashes of red, evoking Escher designs on faraway alien planets. While the band refer to this trilogy as ''The Black and White Years'', the sleeve designs succeed in evoking the strange, sinister, and somewhat alien preoccupations of the band's early music.

[[AC:RealLife]]

[[AC:Sport]]

[[AC:TabletopGames]]

[[AC:VideoGames]]

* OdaNobunaga from ''SengokuBasara'' is characterised by red and black, and has a black banner with a red insignia on it. ToyotomiHideyoshi takes after him by wearing a red and black outfit, and having a red banner with a black insignia.

** [[spoiler: Also The Black Knight's Alter Ego Zelgius wears a full suit of Red Armor. So it can be said that the character is both a Red and Black Knight.]]

[[AC:WebOriginal]]

[[AC:WesternAnimation]]

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