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A variation on the Insufferable Genius, this character is usually charismatic, incredibly good at what they do, and rather good-looking. Members of the same sex both admire and envy them, while those of the opposite fall all over them (often forming an Instant Fan Club), and the only thing that saves them from being The Ace is their overwhelming arrogance and constant annoyance at being surrounded by people they see as idiots. They'll often make snarky comments on the current situation which show that they know much more about what's going on than anyone else, and answer any questions with the preface, " Are you so stupid you can't see it?"
This doesn't necessarily make them evil, though. (If anything, it's understandable, given the mindless way people often act around them.) They're just not a character who plays well with others and are therefore at risk of becoming an Ineffectual Loner. Their snarkiness is usually brought low not with sarcasm, but a good old Insult Backfire.
Often paired or placed in contrast with an insufferably cheerful, outgoing, nice, and/or idealistic character, and may act as The Lancer. This character is usually responsible for teaching the Tall, Dark and Snarky about The Power of Friendship or The Power of Love, once he or she has enough skill to make the Tall, Dark and Snarky actually respect their opinion. However, this can backfire, with the Tall, Dark and Snarky feeling threatened by the character's newfound power and becoming The Rival instead or, worse, give the idealistic guy a pair of Jade-Colored Glasses to wear.
This archetype is also frequently used as a mentor or older brother type, used as a foil for the protagonist's optimistic and foolish nature. See also Tall, Dark and Handsome for the straight vanilla versions.
Examples:
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Anime and Manga
- Gintama
- Hijikata fits this trope nicely. Dark hair? Check. Popular with ladies? Check. Snarky? Check. Strict? So much so that his nickname is the demonic vice commander.
- His subordinate Okita could also be part of this trope despite not having dark hair, as he is quite snarky (actually, his personality borders on terrible) and acts as a foil for Hijikata. He's also handsome enough that Gintoki once pointed out that, in comparison, Shinpachi was turtle poop.
- Eiri Yuki from Gravitation, despite his blond hair, is a perfect example of this. Not only is he exceedingly aloof on almost all occasions and attracts a lot of female attention (which is parodied in the OVA when he grabs the hand of a female fan at an autograph session and she blushes and actually skyrockets into the sky while he himself remains impassive), but he is romantically paired with Shuichi, who is as energetic and emotional as a Keet can get.
- Sesshoumaru from InuYasha is a particularly deadly example of this trope. Helped along by the fact that he typically punctuates his snarks with incredibly devastating attacks.
- Roger Smith from The Big O is well-behaved, but otherwise fits this trope perfectly. He may be too smooth to say how stupid people are being, but you can see it in his facial expressions.
- Kazuya Shibuya from Ghost Hunt. Mai believes that he's so incredibly full of himself that she starts calling him "Naru" (shorthand for "narcissist") after she first meets him.
- Naoki Shinjyo in Future GPX Cyber Formula. He's The Ace, and he's also moody and a bit of a jerk at first (especially when Kyoko makes a seperate team for Aoi). He softens up in the later OVAs.
- Barnaby Brooks Jr. from Tiger & Bunny graduates at the top of his class before entering the public eye with a bang, rises through the ranks of superheroes in a very short period of time, attracts fans and admirers wherever he goes. And he is in private a kind of a standoffish jerk. He eventually gets better, though.
Comicbooks
- Doctor Strange: Doctor Strange at least in his backstory as Stephen Strange M.D., accomplished young neurosurgeon who was Dr. Jerk and thought only of himself.
Films — Animated
- Scar from The Lion King. It's the voice. Jeremy Irons' voice. Scar's fur is darker that his brother King Mufasa's, and also the lionesses are of lighter tones. The quote "I am surrounded by idiots" is among his most famous ones. It was directed at the incompetent hyenas.
- Beret Girl from An Extremely Goofy Movie is a charismatic, bold, beautiful beatnik, loved by both the resident depressive Shrinking Violet, PJ, and the resident manic Attention Whore, Bobby, and very snarky. She is willing to get into an insult match with the Privileged Rival Jerk Jock, Bradley, whose reputation is significantly higher than her own and to very bluntly reject Bobby's advances, even explicitly calling him a "fool." Her genuine compliments and interest directed at PJ cause him to become significantly less depressive and shy.
Films — Live Action
- Septimus from Stardust. He's tall, dark, a skilled assassin, and thinks he is surrounded by idiots. He's played by Mark Strong
- This trope applies to nearly every character ever played by Alan Rickman, villainous or heroic, unless he's trying very hard to play against type. This may account for much of the aforementioned Draco in Leather Pants directed at Snape from Harry Potter series.
Literature
- Fitzwilliam Darcy from Pride and Prejudice, the Trope Codifier. He's tall and very attractive but intimidating, reserved and disagreeable. However, close reading proves that he actually smiles a lot throughout the novel, and of course, Elizabeth's lively character improves his manners.
- Vidia from the Disney Fairies series is a female example. The fastest of the Fast Flying fairies, her condescending attitude toward everyone else drives them away, which is usually just the way she likes it.
- Heathcliff from Wuthering Heights has very dark physical features and he's capable to charm ladies easily. He counts as a Deconstruction since he lacks the heart of gold and "redemption by the love of a good woman" typically associated with the character.
Live-Action TV
- Angel: Angel. He's overall moody and brooding but has frequently shown a dark sarcasm and taunting, snarky behavior to those he disliked.
- Blake's 7: Kerr Avon. Not so big on the tall part, especially when compared with the likes of Blake or Gan, but he makes up for it with a triple helping of snark.
- Game of Thrones:
- Tyrion (Peter Dinklage) fits the description mentally, if not the name and by his appearance, being both extremely short, as a dwarf, and blonde, as a Lannister, but he has a very captivating, snarky personality.
- Horatio Hornblower:
- Sir Edward Pellew is an ace of a captain (later an ace of an admiral), and he's generally very much respected and admired. He's not arrogant, though, but he loves dry humour and mercilessly teases and chews out his crew. Priceless moments come when his favourite Sarcasm-Blind midshipman/ lieutenant/ captain Horatio does not get his snarky remarks and it takes him forever to figure out that Pellew is joking.
- Mr Bush (appeared in Series Two and Three) is a fine specimen of Tall, Dark and Handsome, but his lines involve a fair share of snarky remarks and sneering comments. He can appear intimidating especially to young officers, such as midshipmen Hammond and Orrock.
- House: Dr. Gregory House. Almost all women in the show want him at some point. He can't bear idiots. He's got the nice, cheerful friend too, in Dr. Wilson, who tries to teach him humanity and caring.
- Kamen Rider Kabuto: Tendou Souji is superhumanly skilled and superhumanly arrogant. But he's the main character, so we're presumably supposed to like him.
- M*A*S*H: Hawkeye Pierce is a brilliant surgeon, charming and very good-looking, and he seduces women extremely easily. Younger characters look up to him and envy him — which is shown especially with Radar. However, he's pretty messed-up and drinks heavily. He deals with the war and all the killed and badly injured kids he encounters by being a Stepford Snarker.
- Revolution: Miles Matheson. He seems taller than most of the characters, he is dark-haired, and most of his sentences are aimed at snarking at the current state of affairs. Then again, he has been a soldier practically his entire life, and he has little patience with people who just don't seem to listen to his mostly sound advice.
- Sanctuary: Nikola Tesla is quite good looking and never hesitates to remind everyone that he's a genius and they're not.
- Benedict Cumberbatch from the 2010 BBC series. He probably picked it up off his Aloof Big Brother Mycroft, who's raison d'etre seems to be to turn up and be snarky in a mysterious fashion. And Martin Freeman's Watson is utterly the "nice and/or idealistic Lancer" described above.
- The Vampire Diaries: Has Damon. He has a sarcastic personality. Much of his sarcasm is often used as a defense mechanism used in order to keep people at a distance.
Video Games
- Jake from Resident Evil 6. Tall and definitely snarky, he may not have dark hair, though he wears dark clothes.
- Jade Curtiss from Tales Of The Abyss is the king of Snarking; friends, enemies, and random people on the street are not above his Whips of Wit!
- Advocat from Grim Grimoire, a devil of a teacher who charms the female students and makes snide comments at almost every opportunity. And yes, he's one of the good guys. It should be noted that while he tried many times to charm Amoretta, he failed every time. Since she's an Artificial Human Human, it's not all that surprising.
- Garret, from Thief. Kind of tall, dark for sure, and all kinds of snarky. No matter who he's dealing with, he has a witty line to deliver.
Visual Novels
Web Animation
- Freelancer York fits this in Red vs. Blue. Incredibly good-looking, very good at what he does, and every other word out of his mouth is in the form of snarkily commenting on other people's quirks and flaws. Oddly he's still a Nice Guy, as he frequently delivers the snark in a manner that suggests he's more affectionately teasing than actually trying to be mean.
Webcomics
- Girl Genius's Ardsley Wooster is increasingly this trope, what with being tall, dark, British, the Servile Snarker as Gil's manservant, and spy for Her Undying Majesty's British government, prone to Bad Ass stunts like foiling Dolokov's plan to sway the Jaegergenerals and departing with a Bond One-Liner. Out the window of an airship.
- Zombie from Hanna Is Not a Boy's Name counts. He's one of the tallest of the cast, a gentle but still pronounced snarker, and not too bad-looking for a green-skinned reanimated corpse. Especially in his living form.
Web Originals
- Oblivion from Shadowhunter Peril is a villanous example. It was more apparent when he briefly joined the Resistance as he would constantly made snide comments to EVERYONE, and use his powers on them without warning for his own amusement. He is also incredibly attractive, and always clad in black. He has Red Eyes, Take Warning, except they don't stop his fangirls. And the fact that he is now a villain just makes him more of a Draco in Leather Pants. His foil is Umbra—to an extent. Both of them have blonde hair and dress in black, and both are tall and muscular, but whereas Oblivion is selfish, consumed by anger, and is incapable of loving, Umbra can open his heart to anyone, and he cares more about others than himself.
- Tim from Marble Hornets becomes increasingly snarky throughout season 3, even engaging in the occasional Snark-to-Snark Combat with Jay. His distrust and irritability, however, are perfectly justifiable.
Western Animation
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