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"Gold... prisoners... I don't care about such things. All I wish to see are humans within a fiery apocalypse. Trying to escape. All I wish to hear is the sound of snapping bones crushed under the hooves of horses. I don't even need an excuse. None at all..."
— The Baron of Koka Castle, Berserk
Man about to be hanged: Sp... Spare us, please... Wh... What wrong have we done that you would hurt us?
Diamond: Why? We don't need a reason, pest! We do as we wish!
Diamond: Why? We don't need a reason, pest! We do as we wish!
"To put it in the simplest possible terms, our 'purpose' is a total absence of purpose! You should be aware, fraulein, that there are some people in this world, some irredeemable louse, for whom the means do not require an end! I speak, of course, of myself."
— The Major, Hellsing Ultimate
All Might: ...What do you want? What did you want? You surpassed your human limits. You might have lived forever with that body... Instead, you squandered your gifts on manipulation. Exploitation. Toying with people. What did you hope to achieve?
All For One: This is hardly a productive discussion. I could tell you, but you'd never accept it. There ware always people who just refuse to understand. We're the same. You and I. You looked up to heroes who stood for justice... while I looked up to the Devil. Simple as that. I held on to my ideals... and acquired the power to embody them. I would have spared no effort to live forever in a world shaped by those ideals.
All For One: This is hardly a productive discussion. I could tell you, but you'd never accept it. There ware always people who just refuse to understand. We're the same. You and I. You looked up to heroes who stood for justice... while I looked up to the Devil. Simple as that. I held on to my ideals... and acquired the power to embody them. I would have spared no effort to live forever in a world shaped by those ideals.
"You want my motivation? Fuck. You. That's my motivation. I make gang members fight to the death and I get scantily clad women to serve me drinks while I watch. Why wouldn't I be doing this?"
— Scorpion, New Cutey Honey
"True evil is often terrifyingly incomprehensible."
— Over Justice, Space Patrol Luluco
Uncle: Monster...Are humans encroaching on your territory? Are humans spoiling your way of life? Why do you attack humans?! Do you have babies that make you extra vigilant? Have humans killed your family? Please, answer me! I... I... I don't want to kill you!
[...]
Killer Hedgehog: I don't like human meat.
Uncle: Really? Then why...
Killer Hedgehog: It amuses me to stab and torture them.
Uncle: ...uh...
Killer Hedgehog: It pleases me to hear the screams of humans in their death throes.
Uncle: [Stunned Silence]
Killer Hedgehog: I like to kill humans in the most painful ways possible—
Uncle: Baraibhut folg bastohl.
[...]
Killer Hedgehog: I don't like human meat.
Uncle: Really? Then why...
Killer Hedgehog: It amuses me to stab and torture them.
Uncle: ...uh...
Killer Hedgehog: It pleases me to hear the screams of humans in their death throes.
Uncle: [Stunned Silence]
Killer Hedgehog: I like to kill humans in the most painful ways possible—
Uncle: Baraibhut folg bastohl.
Comic Books
Carnage: Would you like to know why you're gonna die?
Chip: Die?! B-but, I haven't done anything wrong—!
Carnage: Chiiiip! Chipper! Chiparoonie! That's precisely the point!
Chip: This is nuts! D-doesn't make any sense!
Carnage: Hey, score one for the Chip-meister! NOW you're catchin' on! But you don't get it at all, do you? This ain't a movie, Chip-man! Ya can't run off the set! No white-horse hero's gonna ride in and save your butt in the last reel! Uh-uh! This is reality, compadre! And from reality — there ain't no escape!
Chip: B-but, why? For the love of God, WHY?!?
Carnage: "Why"? 'Cause law's an illusion, Chip-O! An' order's nothin' but a TV fantasy! Why am I killin' you, Cap'n Chips? That's easy. I'm killin' you... [*THUK THUK*] 'cause I CAN!
Chip: Die?! B-but, I haven't done anything wrong—!
Carnage: Chiiiip! Chipper! Chiparoonie! That's precisely the point!
Chip: This is nuts! D-doesn't make any sense!
Carnage: Hey, score one for the Chip-meister! NOW you're catchin' on! But you don't get it at all, do you? This ain't a movie, Chip-man! Ya can't run off the set! No white-horse hero's gonna ride in and save your butt in the last reel! Uh-uh! This is reality, compadre! And from reality — there ain't no escape!
Chip: B-but, why? For the love of God, WHY?!?
Carnage: "Why"? 'Cause law's an illusion, Chip-O! An' order's nothin' but a TV fantasy! Why am I killin' you, Cap'n Chips? That's easy. I'm killin' you... [*THUK THUK*] 'cause I CAN!
— Amazing Spider-Man #361
"Real power lies in taking what you want, if only because you can."
— Eltoreq, Battlecats
Dass Jennir: Why? Why buy a child just to kill her?
Dezono Qua: Because I could. And to eat her, of course. She was delicious.
Dezono Qua: Because I could. And to eat her, of course. She was delicious.
Batman: You took his wife. His unborn child. And his city from him. Why?
The Joker: Why? You need a reason? It's probably the same reason I beat that puppy to death with a kitten last week. When the howling and meowing stops, and all you're left with is a mess of fur and blood and brains — well, you can't beat that warm glowing feeling inside.
Batman: This has always been about us. Why did you do this to him?
Joker: Every time you and I play, I lose. I was getting a bit bored of always losing. I thought I'd try this on easy mode for a bit. And it was easy. It was as easy as beating a puppy to death with a kitten. Someone took it all away from you once too, didn't they, Bats? And look what you became — an all-punching, all-kicking little ball of angst. What do you think Superman will become? He's a god who has deluded himself into believing he's a man. What will he turn into?
Batman: There are some things even you can't corrupt, Joker.
Joker: Ha! Oh, Batsy. You're so cute. You honestly think your friend will still be fun to play with?
Batman: He will grieve. But he will stay one of the best men I know.
Joker: No. I think it's going to be a whole lot funnier than that.
The Joker: Why? You need a reason? It's probably the same reason I beat that puppy to death with a kitten last week. When the howling and meowing stops, and all you're left with is a mess of fur and blood and brains — well, you can't beat that warm glowing feeling inside.
Batman: This has always been about us. Why did you do this to him?
Joker: Every time you and I play, I lose. I was getting a bit bored of always losing. I thought I'd try this on easy mode for a bit. And it was easy. It was as easy as beating a puppy to death with a kitten. Someone took it all away from you once too, didn't they, Bats? And look what you became — an all-punching, all-kicking little ball of angst. What do you think Superman will become? He's a god who has deluded himself into believing he's a man. What will he turn into?
Batman: There are some things even you can't corrupt, Joker.
Joker: Ha! Oh, Batsy. You're so cute. You honestly think your friend will still be fun to play with?
Batman: He will grieve. But he will stay one of the best men I know.
Joker: No. I think it's going to be a whole lot funnier than that.
"Why? Why? Just to see the disappointment on your cornfed, gee-whiz face, Superman. And because a great dark voice on the edge of nothing spoke to me and said you all had to die. There is no why!"
— The General, JLA (1997) #38
"Here's to crime."
Tulip: Whyyy?
Coltrane: Because it's fun. Two years back, I was driving home drunk when I ran a guy over. I got out to help, saw I'd killed him. It was four A.M.: No one around. I got back in the car and drove like Hell, and it was five minutes before I realized I was 'laughing fit to bust — 'cause I'd gotten clean away with it. So I began seeing what else I could get away with, and it just got funnier each time. Why? You were expecting some crap about getting raped by my dad? Or being a wolf that preys on humanity, blah-blah-blah? Anyway, don't scream, or the cops'll come and they'll get Jesse anyway. I'm gonna go tell Bridges about his lucky break. Then we'll head up to my folks' place, and I'll get them out of the freezer... and then I'll show you just how much fun serial killing can be.
Coltrane: Because it's fun. Two years back, I was driving home drunk when I ran a guy over. I got out to help, saw I'd killed him. It was four A.M.: No one around. I got back in the car and drove like Hell, and it was five minutes before I realized I was 'laughing fit to bust — 'cause I'd gotten clean away with it. So I began seeing what else I could get away with, and it just got funnier each time. Why? You were expecting some crap about getting raped by my dad? Or being a wolf that preys on humanity, blah-blah-blah? Anyway, don't scream, or the cops'll come and they'll get Jesse anyway. I'm gonna go tell Bridges about his lucky break. Then we'll head up to my folks' place, and I'll get them out of the freezer... and then I'll show you just how much fun serial killing can be.
— Preacher #7
Bullseye: I once tracked an Eskimo huntsman across 200 miles of frozen tundra on foot and killed him with an icicle made of my own frozen feces.
Kingpin: Who on earth would hire you to do that?
Bullseye: Nobody. I did that for fun.
Kingpin: You're a madman.
Bullseye: I kill people for a living. What did you expect?
Kingpin: Who on earth would hire you to do that?
Bullseye: Nobody. I did that for fun.
Kingpin: You're a madman.
Bullseye: I kill people for a living. What did you expect?
— The Punisher MAX #6
Marsh: Why us, goddammit? Why are you doing this stuff to us? You're going to kill us!
Doctor Destiny: Why? Because I can.
Doctor Destiny: Why? Because I can.
"You say you came to us to learn. Very well. We'll teach you. Teach you that it isn't the sex, isn't the power, isn't the cruelty. We are soldiers of darkness, Phillip, gladiators, warriors and gods. And we'll teach you. The Good Doctor likes to skin people alive. Nimrod is a hunter; he can bone, gut and joint any animal in minutes. For myself, I have a penchant for eyes. And you know what we're going to do now, Phillip? We're going to take turns."
—The Corinthian, The Sandman (1989)
Mecha "M" Robotnik: Is there not a more efficient way? Can you not reach your vision in a quicker way?
Eggman: Oh, I'm sure I can. But where would the fun be in that?
Eggman: Oh, I'm sure I can. But where would the fun be in that?
"Good news? That he did this to keep himself 'occupied'? You can't tell me this! You can't tell me that you — you violated, tortured helpless human beings — just for FUN?!"
— Jolt to Arnim Zola, Thunderbolts
"I am not interested in conflicted antagonists. Nor, for that matter, is anyone else. People want a bad guy they can hate unequivocally. Someone whose brutal demise they can cheer without remorse. Life, sadly, rarely treats them to such a luxury. And here are all these actors, trying to muddy things with moral complexity. F-ck that, I say. And I'll not have it. I am not the hero in my own story, I am the bad guy. I have no end in mind that justifies my means. There are no skeletons in my closet, no abusive childhood or inciting misery that might expiate my vile behavior. Nor am I insane. I know the difference between good and evil. And I am fully capable of empathizing with the pain, emotional or physical, of others. No sociopath, I. Rather, I simply prefer bad over good. Wrong over right. Sick over healthy. Untrue over true."
— Contagion, Wolverine
Fan Works
Jango Fett: You don't get it. I don't get it. It's about their Force osik. [The Sith] want a war because it’s war. Chaos, violence, pain — it — it feeds them. It gives them power.
Bail Organa: Power for what?
Breha Organa: Power for power's sake.
Bail Organa: Power for what?
Breha Organa: Power for power's sake.
— Rise and Fall, "Flicker" Chapter 30
First Aid: I won't betray the Autobots.
Vortex: Oh, you don’t have to. You have the honor of being the core of a new device that will harness your living energy into a weapon that will bring the end of the Autobots once and for all, and usher in a new era of Decepticon rule!
First Aid: You can't be serious!
Vortex: [Beat] No, you're right, I'm not. I'm really just doing this for the fun of it.
Vortex: Oh, you don’t have to. You have the honor of being the core of a new device that will harness your living energy into a weapon that will bring the end of the Autobots once and for all, and usher in a new era of Decepticon rule!
First Aid: You can't be serious!
Vortex: [Beat] No, you're right, I'm not. I'm really just doing this for the fun of it.
“You may look like an asshole. You may feel like an asshole. You may be one Piraka; you may be a whole godforsaken gang of them. You may thrive on violence, chaos, and outright treachery. You may have a cavernous fucking mouth full of bioluminescent teeth, razor-sharp serrated spines, and horrific biological doomsday weapons capable of torturing and brainwashing an entire island of innocent villagers. You may activate your questionably overpowered reality-defying vision powers. But it’s not what you’ve got: It’s the mind-boggling, astronomically vile, pants-shittingly cataclysmic scale of physical and psychologic fucking carnage you can unleash purely for the sake of savoring a fleeting microsecond of sadistic euphoria that makes you…an asshole.”
— Transcript of piraka commercial if the piraka directed it
Jovian: Why is it that whenever we can't find somebody, your first instinct is to blow up everything around you?
Jacqueline: Because it's fun.
Jacqueline: Because it's fun.
"Do you wanna know why I did what I did? Why I killed 'Jay Garrick'? Why I framed you? Because I felt like it. I gave the people of my earth hope so I could rip it away from them. I framed you for my murder for kicks. And now, I'm going to take over your earth because my own is getting a little boring for my tastes, and I figured 'Hey, why not take over this earth, too?'"
— Zoom, To Hell and Back (Arrowverse)
Makoto Naegi: I know deep down Mukuro doesn't want to do this, but whatever her sister's holding against her that'll make her go through such agony, all for the sake of seeing us dead, inside and out. Such a reason makes me wanna puke.
Charlotte Katakuri: Where I'm from, my world has countless people like Junko who desire chaos above all else. No money, no reason, no bargaining. Just wanting to see the world burn with everyone screaming is a demon's dream come true.
Charlotte Katakuri: Where I'm from, my world has countless people like Junko who desire chaos above all else. No money, no reason, no bargaining. Just wanting to see the world burn with everyone screaming is a demon's dream come true.
Film — Animated
It feels so good to be bad!
So delicious to be a despicable cad!
It's just so thrilling
And so fulfilling
To give somebody the worst time they've ever had!
It feels so good to be bad!
So delicious to be a despicable cad!
It's just so thrilling
And so fulfilling
To give somebody the worst time they've ever had!
It feels so good to be bad!
— Red's Villain Song, All Dogs Go to Heaven 2
"Men who kill without reason cannot be reasoned with!"
— Stoick the Vast, How to Train Your Dragon 2
Jack: You know, I never had much as a kid. Just loving parents, stability, and a mansion... and a thriving baked goods enterprise for me to inherit. Useless crap like that. But once I get my wish, I'll finally have the one thing that will make me happy.
Ethical Bug: Oh, well, what's that?
Jack: All of the magic in the world... for me! And no one else gets any. Is that so much?
Ethical Bug: YES!
Jack: Agree to disagree.
Ethical Bug: Oh, well, what's that?
Jack: All of the magic in the world... for me! And no one else gets any. Is that so much?
Ethical Bug: YES!
Jack: Agree to disagree.
Film — Live-Action
"Mommy didn't beat me. Daddy didn't rape me. I'm this way because I am. There's no mystery. Things I do, I do them because I like them! Because I want to!"
— Machine, 8mm
Robin Hood: Come now, Sir Guy. You would not kill a man for telling the truth, would you?
Sir Guy of Gisbourne: If it amused me, yes!
Sir Guy of Gisbourne: If it amused me, yes!
"I didn't do it for science. I didn't do it for glory. I'm just mean!"
—Willum, Chopper Chicks in Zombietown
"What we were after now was the old surprise visit. That was a real kick, and good for laughs and lashings of the old ultra-violence."
— Alex, A Clockwork Orange
"Greed is for amateurs. Disorder, chaos, anarchy: now that's fun!"
— Top Dollar, The Crow
"I want you to set a fire so goddamn big, the gods'll notice us again, that's what I'm sayin'. I want all of you boys to be able to look me straight in the eye one more time and say: ARE WE HAVING FUN OR WHAT?"
— Top Dollar, The Crow
Quentin: Why put people in it?
Worth: Because it's here. You have to use it, or you admit it's pointless.
Quentin: But it — it is pointless.
Worth: Quentin... that's my point.
Worth: Because it's here. You have to use it, or you admit it's pointless.
Quentin: But it — it is pointless.
Worth: Quentin... that's my point.
— Cube
Alfred: A long time ago, I was in Burma, my friends and I were working for the local government. They were trying to buy the loyalty of tribal leaders by bribing them with precious stones, but their caravans were being raided in a forest north of Rangoon by a bandit. So we went looking for the stones, but in six months, we never met anyone who traded with him. One day, I saw a child playing with a ruby the size of a tangerine. The bandit had been throwing them away.
Bruce: So why steal them?
Alfred: Well, because he thought it was good sport! Because, some men aren't looking for anything logical, like money. They can't be bought, bullied, reasoned or negotiated with. Some men just want to watch the world burn.
Bruce: So why steal them?
Alfred: Well, because he thought it was good sport! Because, some men aren't looking for anything logical, like money. They can't be bought, bullied, reasoned or negotiated with. Some men just want to watch the world burn.
"Now I'm gonna shut you in again, Wade, not because I need to, because I want to."
— Ajax, Deadpool (2016)
Billy Costigan: You're seventy fucking years old. One of these guys is going to pop you. As for running drugs, what the fuck? You don't need the pain in the ass, and they're going to catch you. And you don't need the money.
Frank Costello: I haven't "needed the money" since I took Archie's milk money in the third grade. Tell you the truth, I don't need pussy any more either... but I like it.
Frank Costello: I haven't "needed the money" since I took Archie's milk money in the third grade. Tell you the truth, I don't need pussy any more either... but I like it.
Harry Callahan: You know, you're crazy if you think you've heard the last of this guy. He's gonna kill again.
District Attorney Rothko: How do you know?
Harry Callahan: 'Cause he likes it.
District Attorney Rothko: How do you know?
Harry Callahan: 'Cause he likes it.
"People are killed every day for no reason at all."
— Radish, Final Exam
Ming: Klytus, I'm bored. What plaything can you offer me today?
Klytus: An obscure body in the S-K system, Your Majesty. The inhabitants refer to it as the planet... Earth.
Ming: How peaceful it looks.
[Ming activates a console that causes natural disasters to ravage the planet, much to Ming and Klytus' amusement]
Klytus: Most effective, Your Majesty. Will you destroy this, uh, Earth?
Ming: Later. I like to play with things a while... before annihilation.
Klytus: An obscure body in the S-K system, Your Majesty. The inhabitants refer to it as the planet... Earth.
Ming: How peaceful it looks.
[Ming activates a console that causes natural disasters to ravage the planet, much to Ming and Klytus' amusement]
Klytus: Most effective, Your Majesty. Will you destroy this, uh, Earth?
Ming: Later. I like to play with things a while... before annihilation.
Veronica Sawyer: Heather, why can't you just be a friend? Why do you have to be such a mega-bitch?
Heather Duke: Because I can be.
Heather Duke: Because I can be.
— Heathers
"There was this boy I sent to the 'lectric chair at Huntsville here awhile back. My arrest and my testimony. He killed a 14-year-old girl. Papers said it was a 'crime of passion' but he told me there wasn't any passion to it. Told me that he'd been plannin' to kill somebody for about as long as he could remember. Said that if they turned him out, he'd do it again. Said he knew he was going to hell: 'Be there in about fifteen minutes.' I don't know what to make of that. I surely don't."
— Sheriff Ed Tom Bell, No Country for Old Men
"Listen, kid, I'm not gonna bullshit you, all right? I don't give a good fuck what you know, or don't know, but I'm gonna torture you anyway, regardless. Not to get information. It's amusing, to me, to torture a cop. You can say anything you want cause I've heard it all before. All you can do is pray for a quick death, which you ain't gonna get."
— Mr. Blonde, Reservoir Dogs
"Why? WHY! Did you hear that, Stu? I think she wants a motive. Well, I don't really believe in motive, Sid. I mean, did Norman Bates have a motive? No. Did they ever really decide why Hannibal Lecter liked to eat people? Don't think so! See, it's a lot scarier when there's no motive, Sid."
— Billy Loomis, Scream
James Bond: You're a hard man to kill, Blofeld. [looks at Franz Oberhauser's scar] Ouch. I do hope that doesn't hurt too much.
Franz Oberhauser/Ernst Stavro Blofeld: [shrugs] My wounds will heal. What about yours? Look around you, James — look. This is what's left of your world. Everything you ever stood for, everything you believed in — a ruin.
Bond: Why are we here? Did you miss me?
Oberhauser/Blofeld: No. [blows into the glass and makes a heart sign, indicating that he's taken Madeleine Swann hostage] But I know someone who does.
Bond: Where is she?
Oberhauser/Blofeld: That's for you to find out. In three minutes, this building will be demolished. I can get out easily, but you have a choice. Die trying to save her, or save yourself and live with the pain.
Bond: You're bluffing.
Oberhauser/Blofeld: Am I? [snickers smugly] I've really put you through it, haven't I? Oh, well, that's brothers for you — they always know which button to press!
Franz Oberhauser/Ernst Stavro Blofeld: [shrugs] My wounds will heal. What about yours? Look around you, James — look. This is what's left of your world. Everything you ever stood for, everything you believed in — a ruin.
Bond: Why are we here? Did you miss me?
Oberhauser/Blofeld: No. [blows into the glass and makes a heart sign, indicating that he's taken Madeleine Swann hostage] But I know someone who does.
Bond: Where is she?
Oberhauser/Blofeld: That's for you to find out. In three minutes, this building will be demolished. I can get out easily, but you have a choice. Die trying to save her, or save yourself and live with the pain.
Bond: You're bluffing.
Oberhauser/Blofeld: Am I? [snickers smugly] I've really put you through it, haven't I? Oh, well, that's brothers for you — they always know which button to press!
— Spectre
"I like being bad. It makes me happy."
— Eddie Brock, Spider-Man 3
Kristen: Why are you doing this to us?
Dollface: Because you were home.
Dollface: Because you were home.
Superman: Is that how a warped brain like yours gets its kicks? By planning the death of innocent people?
Lex Luthor: No. By causing the death of innocent people.
Lex Luthor: No. By causing the death of innocent people.
Wyatt: What makes a man like Ringo, Doc? What makes him do the things he does?
Doc: A man like Ringo's got a great hole right through the middle of him... and he can never kill enough, or steal enough, or inflict enough pain to ever fill it.
Wyatt: What does he need?
Doc: Revenge.
Wyatt: For what?
Doc: ...Being born.
Doc: A man like Ringo's got a great hole right through the middle of him... and he can never kill enough, or steal enough, or inflict enough pain to ever fill it.
Wyatt: What does he need?
Doc: Revenge.
Wyatt: For what?
Doc: ...Being born.
"You want to know why we picked on him? We were bored, he was a spaz. You do the math."
— Tasha, Tormented (2009)
Collins: Why don't you come over here, darlin'. Don't worry. Promise I'll make it quick.
Tian Xiao Xian: Do you remember the first time you felt your soul slipping away?
Collins: My soul? [laughs] No, there's no souls here, sweetheart. Just a bunch of blokes doin' our jobs like everybody else. Now granted, [killing people] wasn't exactly what I wanted to be doing when I was all grown up, but you know what? Turned out I was pretty bloody good at it.
Tian Xiao Xian: Do you remember the first time you felt your soul slipping away?
Collins: My soul? [laughs] No, there's no souls here, sweetheart. Just a bunch of blokes doin' our jobs like everybody else. Now granted, [killing people] wasn't exactly what I wanted to be doing when I was all grown up, but you know what? Turned out I was pretty bloody good at it.
Dracula: Why do you torment that thing so?
Igor: It's what I do.
Igor: It's what I do.
Il-Gwang: Even among other demons, he's a master of evil.
Jong-Goo: If that's true, why did it have to be...
Il-Gwang: ...your daughter? What sin did that young girl ever commit?
Jong-Goo: Yes.
Il-Gwang: If you go fishing, do you know what you'll catch?
Jong-Goo: No.
Il-Gwang: He's just fishing. Not even he knows what he'll catch. He just threw out the bait, and your daughter took it.
Jong-Goo: If that's true, why did it have to be...
Il-Gwang: ...your daughter? What sin did that young girl ever commit?
Jong-Goo: Yes.
Il-Gwang: If you go fishing, do you know what you'll catch?
Jong-Goo: No.
Il-Gwang: He's just fishing. Not even he knows what he'll catch. He just threw out the bait, and your daughter took it.
Swan: Why'd you do it? Why'd you waste Cyrus?
Luther: No reason. I just like doing things like that!
Luther: No reason. I just like doing things like that!
"It didn't eat them. It's killing for sport."
— Owen Grady, Jurassic World
Literature
Edie had assumed that Shem Shem Tsien would be occupied with rebuilding his citadel, licking his wounds and looking for another genius.
He did nothing of the kind. Before he had been Khaygul of Addeh Sikkim, she realized, he had been the Opium Khan, master of the heroin trade in Europe and Asia. The nation he had usurped had been little more than an amusement park for him; his own personal Brighton Pier. He had killed his family because they were in the way - not of some great unfulfilled desire, but of a whim.
He did nothing of the kind. Before he had been Khaygul of Addeh Sikkim, she realized, he had been the Opium Khan, master of the heroin trade in Europe and Asia. The nation he had usurped had been little more than an amusement park for him; his own personal Brighton Pier. He had killed his family because they were in the way - not of some great unfulfilled desire, but of a whim.
"Why do you hate us?" I whispered aloud, gasping. "Why do you attack us?"
"Malice is its own reason... Malice needs no justification."
"Malice is its own reason... Malice needs no justification."
It was Hugh Farnham, the Monster. Joe McCarthy had got all the contemporary press coverage and had an ism named after him, and Richard Nixon had used the hearings as a springboard into grown-up politics. Even Roy Cohn, the legal eminence grise who had died of AIDS a few years back, was comparatively well-remembered. But Farnham was Something Else. The others were in it for patriotism, self-advancement, megalomania, paranoid self-justification, and financial gain. Halfway through his delicate dissection of Martin Ritt, Anne realized with a dizzying rush of vertigo that Farnham tormented people because it was his idea of fun. It met a need in him he could not slake any other way.
I am not more sure that my soul lives, than I am that perverseness is one of the primitive impulses of the human heart — one of the indivisible primary faculties, or sentiments, which give direction to the character of Man. Who has not, a hundred times, found himself committing a vile or a silly action, for no other reason than because he knows he should not? Have we not a perpetual inclination, in the teeth of our best judgment, to violate that which is Law, merely because we understand it to be such?
Vihaela: Someone at White Rose once brought me a boy who'd tried to escape. He was quite popular and one of their higher earners, but he'd managed to injure a guard and so Marannis insisted I make an example of him. So I made him beg for me to amputate his body parts, one at a time. Toes first, then fingers. Then his left foot, then his right, then what was left of his hands, then his genitals. When there wasn't anything left of his arms or legs, I started on his face. It's really quite a challenge keeping a body alive when the mind wants so desperately to die. I made him plead quite creatively before agreeing to remove the eyes. I left his tongue for last, but he didn't really have anything to say by then in any case. Once I was done, they brought the other children out to watch and had what was left thrown to the sniffers. You wouldn't believe the sounds it made.
Alex: I don't understand you. Why do you do this?
Vihaela: Why not? I decide how I live. Not the Council. Not other mages. Just me. I can do whatever I like, and this... is what I like.
Alex: I don't understand you. Why do you do this?
Vihaela: Why not? I decide how I live. Not the Council. Not other mages. Just me. I can do whatever I like, and this... is what I like.
— Bound
What he thought of as the black worm couldn't make him do anything against his will. Sure, it could use pain to force him into a certain course of action, but it didn't control him. He still had his own freedom of choice.
No, the reason why Buddy didn't pull the trigger that night was at once simpler and infinitely more complex than mind control. Buddy didn't pull the trigger, because Buddy liked what he was doing. Passing on to others some aspect of the disease that had colonized his own body gave him not only release, but pleasure. He enjoyed it. He relished the sense of power it gave him, the ability to decide who lived and who died. It was godlike.
No, the reason why Buddy didn't pull the trigger that night was at once simpler and infinitely more complex than mind control. Buddy didn't pull the trigger, because Buddy liked what he was doing. Passing on to others some aspect of the disease that had colonized his own body gave him not only release, but pleasure. He enjoyed it. He relished the sense of power it gave him, the ability to decide who lived and who died. It was godlike.
— The Cancer Cowboy Rides, by John Connolly
"Don't try anything, Angua," said Wolf, grinning happily. "Or else I'll break [Carrot's] arm. Oh, perhaps I'll break his arm anyway! Yes!"
— Wolfgang Von Uberwald, The Fifth Elephant
Skipper: He worked for you, and you melted him?!
Masked Mutant: I'm a villain, remember? I do very bad things to people.
Masked Mutant: I'm a villain, remember? I do very bad things to people.
"The point?" said Mr. Weasley, with a hollow laugh. "Harry, that's their idea of fun. Half the Muggle killings back when You-Know-Who was in power were done for fun. I suppose they had a few drinks tonight and couldn't resist reminding us that all lots of them are still at large. A nice little reunion for them."
Magnus: Ratatosk...
Blitz: Yeah. His bark is literally worse than his bite. He... He's the most destructive creature in the World Tree. He spends his time running up and down the trunk, carrying insults from the eagle who lives at the top to Nidhogg, the dragon who lives at the roots.
Magnus: Why would a squirrel do that?
Blitz: To damage the tree. Ratatosk keeps the eagle and the dragon whipped into a frenzy. He tells them lies, rumors, nasty gossip about each other. His words can... well, you know what his words can do. The dragon Nidhogg is always chewing on the roots of the World Tree, trying to kill it. The eagle flaps his wings and creates windstorms that rip the branches and cause devastation throughout the Nine Worlds. Ratatosk makes sure the two monsters stay angry and in competition with each other, to see which one can destroy their end of Yggdrasil faster.
Magnus: But that's... crazy. The squirrel lives in the tree.
Blitz: We all do, kid. People have destructive impulses. Some of us want to see the world in ruins just for the fun of it... even if we're ruined along with it.
Blitz: Yeah. His bark is literally worse than his bite. He... He's the most destructive creature in the World Tree. He spends his time running up and down the trunk, carrying insults from the eagle who lives at the top to Nidhogg, the dragon who lives at the roots.
Magnus: Why would a squirrel do that?
Blitz: To damage the tree. Ratatosk keeps the eagle and the dragon whipped into a frenzy. He tells them lies, rumors, nasty gossip about each other. His words can... well, you know what his words can do. The dragon Nidhogg is always chewing on the roots of the World Tree, trying to kill it. The eagle flaps his wings and creates windstorms that rip the branches and cause devastation throughout the Nine Worlds. Ratatosk makes sure the two monsters stay angry and in competition with each other, to see which one can destroy their end of Yggdrasil faster.
Magnus: But that's... crazy. The squirrel lives in the tree.
Blitz: We all do, kid. People have destructive impulses. Some of us want to see the world in ruins just for the fun of it... even if we're ruined along with it.
— Magnus Chase and the Gods of Asgard: The Sword of Summer
"I was not unacquainted with blood. I am sometimes a coyote, after all. I've killed my share of rabbits and mice. Last winter I killed two men-werewolves. But this death was different. Evil. He hadn't killed her for food, revenge, or self-defense. He'd killed her, and four other people, because he liked it. And I hadn't been able to stop him."
— Mercedes "Mercy" Thompson on Cory Littleton, Mercy Thompson: Blood Bound
"You can be good for the mere sake of goodness. You cannot be bad for the mere sake of badness. You can do a kind action when you are not feeling kind and when it gives you no pleasure, simply because kindness is right. But no one ever did a cruel action simply because cruelty is wrong, only because it was pleasant or useful to him."
— C. S. Lewis, Mere Christianity
People always thought in terms of souls, and of course he would take as many of those as he could when he closed his shop; they were to Leland Gaunt what trophies were to the hunter, what stuffed fish were to the fisherman. They were worth little to him these days in any practical sense, but he still bagged his limit if he possibly could, no matter what he might say to the contrary; to do any less would not be playing the game.
Yet it was mostly amusement, not souls, that kept him going. Simple amusement. It was the only reason that mattered after a while, because when the years were long, you took diversion when you could find it.
Yet it was mostly amusement, not souls, that kept him going. Simple amusement. It was the only reason that mattered after a while, because when the years were long, you took diversion when you could find it.
O'Brien: You understand well enough how the Party maintains itself in power. Now tell me why we cling to power. What is our motive? Why should we want power? Go on, speak.
Winston: You are ruling over us for our own good. You believe that human beings are not fit to govern themselves, and therefore— [O'Brien electrocutes him]
O'Brien: That was stupid, Winston, stupid! You should know better than to say a thing like that. Now I will tell you the answer to my question. It is this. The Party seeks power entirely for its own sake. We are not interested in the good of others; we are interested solely in power. Not wealth or luxury or long life or happiness: only power, pure power.
Winston: You are ruling over us for our own good. You believe that human beings are not fit to govern themselves, and therefore— [O'Brien electrocutes him]
O'Brien: That was stupid, Winston, stupid! You should know better than to say a thing like that. Now I will tell you the answer to my question. It is this. The Party seeks power entirely for its own sake. We are not interested in the good of others; we are interested solely in power. Not wealth or luxury or long life or happiness: only power, pure power.
"Power is not a means, it is an end. One does not establish a dictatorship in order to safeguard a revolution; one makes the revolution in order to establish the dictatorship. The object of persecution is persecution. The object of torture is torture. The object of power is power. Now do you begin to understand me?"
— O'Brien, Nineteen Eighty-Four
"Here last week they found this couple out in California they would rent out rooms to old people and then kill em and bury em in the yard and cash their social security checks. Theyd torture em first, I don't know why. Maybe their television was broke."
—Sheriff Bell, No Country for Old Men
"What say you, Empress of Praes?
Here you lie upon the blood-soaked ruins of your dominion, surrounded by the corpses of the legions that once swarmed over the world. Hundreds of thousands dead for the sake of your wretched ambition, your mad design to bring to heel the kingdoms of man. In all the history of Creation no one woman has been so wicked as you, and I will have my answer.
Why, o Empress of Ruins?"
She shrugged.
"Why not?"
Here you lie upon the blood-soaked ruins of your dominion, surrounded by the corpses of the legions that once swarmed over the world. Hundreds of thousands dead for the sake of your wretched ambition, your mad design to bring to heel the kingdoms of man. In all the history of Creation no one woman has been so wicked as you, and I will have my answer.
Why, o Empress of Ruins?"
She shrugged.
"Why not?"
— Last lines of the "The Fall of Empress Triumphant, First and Only of Her Name", A Practical Guide to Evil
"This plan involves making an enemy of one of the most dangerous men on this continent for no tangible gain," Anaxares said. "It is not a good plan."
"Don't be foolish, advisor," Kairos said. "Making an enemy of one of the most dangerous men on this continent is the point of the plan, not a side-effect."
"Don't be foolish, advisor," Kairos said. "Making an enemy of one of the most dangerous men on this continent is the point of the plan, not a side-effect."
"He did it because he liked it. Still does. Dr Lecter is not crazy in any common way we think of being crazy. He did some hideous things because he enjoyed them. But he can function perfectly when he wants to."
— Will Graham, Red Dragon
Live-Action TV
Beastmaster: Destruction sometimes is its own reward.
Angelus: Hey, man, you're preaching to the guy who ate the choir.
Angelus: Hey, man, you're preaching to the guy who ate the choir.
— Angel
"I-I thought you did it for the money, but now, it's so clear. Screw the money, you did it for fun. You get off on it. You're like Leopold and Loeb. Two sociopaths. No, you know it's true, you just don't have the guts to admit it."
— Howard Hamlin about Saul Goodman and Kim Wexler, Better Call Saul
"I know what it's like to take a life. To feel a future, a world of possibilities, snuffed out by your own hand. I know the power in it. The exhilaration. It was like a drug for me."
— Angel, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, "Consequences"
"I see on the news, on the TV, that people question. They question why — why people do this. It's the same reason people do anything, 'cause, 'cause they feel like it, they like the way it feels. When I was a kid, my dog, Poppy, running across the grass. When I hit her, I liked that feeling. That has not changed."
— Ben Bradstone, Criminal Minds, "Proof"
Doctor: I still don't see why you want to help them. What can you possibly gain?
The Master: The pleasure of seeing the human race exterminated, Doctor. The human race of which you are so fond. Believe me, that'll be a reward in itself.
The Master: The pleasure of seeing the human race exterminated, Doctor. The human race of which you are so fond. Believe me, that'll be a reward in itself.
— Doctor Who, "The Sea Devils"
Osgood: Why would you bother killing me? I'm not even important.
Missy: Oh, silly, why does one bother popping a balloon? Because you're pretty.
Missy: Oh, silly, why does one bother popping a balloon? Because you're pretty.
"Everything I told you is a lie. This isn't happening to you for a reason... well, one reason: I enjoy it."
— Ramsay Snow, Game of Thrones
"I had every reason to kill the others. They just had no reason to die. They never saw me coming unless I wanted them to see me coming. I could wave at a lady and smile, chew the fat with her in church, knowing I killed her husband. There is something beautiful about that ball of silence at a funeral, all those people around you, knowing that you made it happen."
— Lawrence Wells, Hannibal
Abigail Hobbs: Why did you really call?
Hannibal Lecter: I wanted to warn your father that Will Graham was coming for him.
Abigail: Why?
Hannibal: I was curious what would happen.
Hannibal Lecter: I wanted to warn your father that Will Graham was coming for him.
Abigail: Why?
Hannibal: I was curious what would happen.
— Hannibal
"You... you have no traceable motive. Which is why you were so hard to see. You were just curious what I would do. Someone like me. Someone who thinks how I think. Wind him up and watch him go."
— Will Graham, Hannibal
"Your faces full of despair are delightful! I may as well take the chance to savor the horror you will feel as your life inevitably reaches its end."
— Evolt, Kamen Rider Build
"What do you want from us? We're evil! EVIIIIIIIIL!"
— Dr. Forrester and Frank, Mystery Science Theater 3000
"Some people struggle not to be drawn in by the darkness. Ever since I was a little girl I said, why not splash in and have fun?"
— Cruella De Vil, Once Upon a Time
Veronica: Okay, so, last year at Spence, my best friend Katy and I kind of terrorized this girl, Paige. One time, we made her drink gutter water.
Kevin: Ew! Why?
Veronica: Because she was there. Because she was a misfit and we were class-A brutal bitches.
Kevin: Ew! Why?
Veronica: Because she was there. Because she was a misfit and we were class-A brutal bitches.
"I don't usually speak in public, but the opportunity to talk to so many people who share the same passion, the same dream, well, it was just too good to pass up. Because you are special people. Very special people. We are the American dreamers driving down the holy road of true knowledge that's paved with blood and gold. And across the length and breadth of this fair country, we are killing people. We don't do it to make a living, we don't do it for revenge. We do not murder for profit. We kill to kill. We are entrepreneurs in an expanding field. But no one sees us except for one weekend a year. Well, I see you. I see you for who you truly are. And I want you to see it, too. So just do me a favor. Close your eyes. And see yourselves as I do. We are gladiators. Conquerors. We are explorers… truth seekers. We are swashbucklers. We are hunters. Soldiers of fortune. And kings of the night."
— The Cornithian, The Sandman (2022)
"Piper taught me that killing people is way more fun than therapy! So, we made the sheriff and the medical examiner look like idiots, we tortured them with a killing spree they could not stop!"
— Ghostface/Kieran Wilcox, Scream: The TV Series, "When a Stranger Calls"
"Life is just not fun! If you have too much money you can buy, eat and drink as much as you want, but at some point, it gets boring. And at a certain point my clients started telling me that they no longer enjoy life. So we all sat down together and pondered. What else could we have fun in life? Do you still believe in people now?"
— "The Host", Squid Game
Gwen: I've seen things you would never believe, and this is the only thing I can't understand.
Evan: So keep on wondering.
Gwen: TELL ME, I NEED TO KNOW WHY!
Evan: I'll tell you something if you let me whisper.
Gwen: Okay. [leans down]
Evan: 'Cos it made me happy.
Gwen: [wide stare, tears streaming as Jack drags Evan out of the room]
Evan: So keep on wondering.
Gwen: TELL ME, I NEED TO KNOW WHY!
Evan: I'll tell you something if you let me whisper.
Gwen: Okay. [leans down]
Evan: 'Cos it made me happy.
Gwen: [wide stare, tears streaming as Jack drags Evan out of the room]
— Torchwood, "Countrycide"
"I wanna gorge on human blood, not because some fucking Bible tells me too, but because I like it. It's fun. It makes my dick hard!"
— Russell Edgington, True Blood
Music
Well, I shot a man in Reno,
Just to watch him die.
Just to watch him die.
— Johnny Cash, "Folsom Prison Blues"
And it's so easy when you're evil!
This is the life, you see,
The devil tips his hat to me!
I do it all because I'm evil,
And I do it all for free,
Your tears are all the pay I'll ever need!
This is the life, you see,
The devil tips his hat to me!
I do it all because I'm evil,
And I do it all for free,
Your tears are all the pay I'll ever need!
— Voltaire, "When You're Evil"
Mythology and Religion
"It is not that I cannot create anything good, but that I will not."
Podcasts
Do Evil Better.
— Tagline of Kakos Industries
"Simon Fairchild is one of the recurrent figures that I think disquiets me the most. Not simply for what he does, the endless spaces of height or depth to which he's so quick to condemn his victims, but the joy he seems to take in doing so. And I don't think there is much to this tale beyond that — an evil man tormenting and killing simply for his own pleasure, and to feed the power that sustains him."
— Jonathan Sims, The Magnus Archives, "Left Hanging"
Professional Wrestling
"I enjoy destroying lives. It turns me on."
Radio
The Doctor: So you are Elder Gods, am I right?
"Commissar Leonov": You are correct.
The Doctor: Which leads me onto my second question — why destroy the Earth?
"Valentina": Because we can.
The Doctor: Yes, I thought there wouldn't be a good reason. There never is with you: chaos for chaos' sake.
"Commissar Leonov": You are correct.
The Doctor: Which leads me onto my second question — why destroy the Earth?
"Valentina": Because we can.
The Doctor: Yes, I thought there wouldn't be a good reason. There never is with you: chaos for chaos' sake.
King Krun: With my battlecruisers and your brain it will be an easy matter to reduce Earth to a small brown stain. [Evil Laugh] By the way, what sort of reward do you want for your services?
Bionic Kremmen: Oh, I don't want anything for myself, Krun.
King Krun: No?
Bionic Kremmen: Just misfortune for everyone else.
Bionic Kremmen: Oh, I don't want anything for myself, Krun.
King Krun: No?
Bionic Kremmen: Just misfortune for everyone else.
— Kremmen of the Star Corps
Scripts & Screenplays
"Human beings are inherently worthless. The only value a human being can have is measured in how much pointless suffering he inflicts on others with what he has. The more human suffering a human being inflicts, the more powerful they are. Altruistic qualities, such as affection, compassion, conscience, and empathy, are the most egregious forms of impotence. Anyone who values altruism is a weakling, and as such, is worthy of being terminated with extreme prejudice. For far too long, I have been powerless and insecure. For far too long, I have suffered indignity at the hands of others. No more. I am frustrated with my position in the world. I vow to transcend this position and wield the power of life and death over others."
— Fraser Barton Colborne, Extreme Prejudice (2019)
"Yes! Make this cat suffer for no goddamn reason other than that I THINK IT'S FUNNY!"
Theatre
I wanna watch the world burn
I got the gasoline
I wanna watch the world burn
And everyone get mean
I got the gasoline
I wanna watch the world burn
And everyone get mean
— Regina George, "World Burn", Mean Girls
Once bad — what's the good of turning?
In Hell, I'll be there a-burning
Meanwhile, think of what I'm earning
All on account of...
My name!
In Hell, I'll be there a-burning
Meanwhile, think of what I'm earning
All on account of...
My name!
Tabletop Games
"I was old before this world was even born. I watched my brothers rule for a thousand years until little worms like you overcame them. But I am not my brothers. I am older than they are, greater. I have devoured stars and shattered worlds. I have sired whole races, populated entire planes, and then hunted them to extinction for my amusement."
"So answer me this before you kill me, Brother. Why do these things if there is no God for your Inquisition to grant reason for the things you do? Why end so many lives? Why go to such lengths to gain yourself victims?"
He smiled again. "Because I can."
He smiled again. "Because I can."
— Hunter: The Vigil: Slasher
"Destroy, for the sake of Destruction.
Kill, for the sake of Killing."
Kill, for the sake of Killing."
— Unknown Chaos Space Marine, Warhammer 40,000
Video Games
"I killed a man named 'Smith' with a bottle because I am an evil human being. ...Isn't that enough?"
— Kristoph Gavin, Apollo Justice: Ace Attorney
"I killed them because I could! Because it was fun! Do you know what it's like to determine another man's fate? And did you see the way the people cheered? The way they feared me? I was like a god! You'd have done the same if you could! Such power!"
— Majd Addin, Assassin's Creed
Jacob Frye: Why did you do it? All of it?
Maxwell Roth: What? Snap a baby crow's neck between my thumb and forefinger? Slice to bits the ones you deem innocent? Keep the world in its divine manic state? For the same reason I do anything!
[Roth drags Jacob down into a "Take That!" Kiss]
Maxwell Roth: Why not!?
Maxwell Roth: What? Snap a baby crow's neck between my thumb and forefinger? Slice to bits the ones you deem innocent? Keep the world in its divine manic state? For the same reason I do anything!
[Roth drags Jacob down into a "Take That!" Kiss]
Maxwell Roth: Why not!?
Hakumen: Terumi! Why must you repeat the mistakes of the past? What possible purpose could explain all this?
Terumi: Huh? Purpose? Ahahahahaha! Oh, you are a laugh riot! Ahahahahahahahaha! [gasping for breath] Ahahahahahahahaha! C'mon, you know me better than that 'old buddy!' Surely you don't mean to imply I need a reason to destroy and manipulate and kill!? OK, all right, fine! How about this reason? Seems as good as any. I do all the wonderful things I do because I want to see the miserable look on the faces of people like YOU when you're wallowing in despair, dismay, grief, frustration, misery... all sorts of other unpleasant nouns. [...] I guess you could say I'm just bored. At least misery is interesting.
Terumi: Huh? Purpose? Ahahahahaha! Oh, you are a laugh riot! Ahahahahahahahaha! [gasping for breath] Ahahahahahahahaha! C'mon, you know me better than that 'old buddy!' Surely you don't mean to imply I need a reason to destroy and manipulate and kill!? OK, all right, fine! How about this reason? Seems as good as any. I do all the wonderful things I do because I want to see the miserable look on the faces of people like YOU when you're wallowing in despair, dismay, grief, frustration, misery... all sorts of other unpleasant nouns. [...] I guess you could say I'm just bored. At least misery is interesting.
Coco Bandicoot: Cortex, why do you keep doing stuff like this?
Doctor Neo Cortex: Well, actually, it's pretty fun! You should try it! You know, riding around in huge, rumbling machines and what-not... very stimulating!
Doctor Neo Cortex: Well, actually, it's pretty fun! You should try it! You know, riding around in huge, rumbling machines and what-not... very stimulating!
"I had reasons deeper than the deepest ocean! — That was a fuckin' lie! I had no such reasons!"
— Junko Enoshima, Danganronpa: Trigger Happy Havoc
"And what is this path, this meaning, this purpose, to which we gather the skulls of our foes?
It is nothing. There is no meaning, no purpose. We murder. We kill, it is mindless savagery, this universe is mindless!
In mere hours, billions will die, innocent, guilty, strong and weak, honest and deceitful, ALL OF THEM!
They will scream, they will burn, and for no purpose, but that mighty Khorne may revel in their bloodshed.
And united, in this void, of purpose, fear, or duty, we, shall at long last, be FREE!
BLOOD! FOR THE BLOOD GOD!
SKULLS! FOR THE SKULL THRONE!
LET! THE GALAXY! BURNNNNNNN!"
It is nothing. There is no meaning, no purpose. We murder. We kill, it is mindless savagery, this universe is mindless!
In mere hours, billions will die, innocent, guilty, strong and weak, honest and deceitful, ALL OF THEM!
They will scream, they will burn, and for no purpose, but that mighty Khorne may revel in their bloodshed.
And united, in this void, of purpose, fear, or duty, we, shall at long last, be FREE!
BLOOD! FOR THE BLOOD GOD!
SKULLS! FOR THE SKULL THRONE!
LET! THE GALAXY! BURNNNNNNN!"
— Chapter Master Azariah Kyras before his ascension to daemon princehood, Dawn of War II: Retribution
Terra: Just stop! None of this makes any sense!
Kefka: Mwhehehe! Destruction isn't supposed to make sense! It's only fun when it's senseless!
Kefka: Mwhehehe! Destruction isn't supposed to make sense! It's only fun when it's senseless!
"She is a maniac... A person who's only goal is to see people suffer and die!"
Frank Horrigan: Now, you're going to die.
Matt: Killing me will stop nothing.
Frank Horrigan: That may be true, but seeing your body rotting on the floor will bring a smile to my face.
Matt: Killing me will stop nothing.
Frank Horrigan: That may be true, but seeing your body rotting on the floor will bring a smile to my face.
The Lone Wanderer: Why are you doing all of this?
Stanislaus Braun: [in a child's voice] Because I can, of course. [in his own voice] I have total power here. I may do whatever I wish, and over these many years I have found that I wish to see others suffer.
Stanislaus Braun: [in a child's voice] Because I can, of course. [in his own voice] I have total power here. I may do whatever I wish, and over these many years I have found that I wish to see others suffer.
"Every now and then, you come across people who will give up everything if it means causing as much destruction as possible. These kinds of people leech life from everything around them. They refuse to see the worth in anything, themselves included, and stick solely to hurting and killing."
— Da Vinci on the Caster of Limbo, Fate/Grand Order
"...it has been some time since the light of the heavens was lost, and all color disappeared from the earth... But, mmmmmm, such trivialities matter little now. Hahaha. Haha. Hahahahahaha! As long as this new Lostbelt plays host to the hellish sights and screams I adore, there is nothing more I need!"
— Ouban Ashiya Douman, Fate/Grand Order
"What other people called happiness did not bring me any joy."
— Kotomine Kirei, Fate/stay night
"Kefka cares nothing about anyone or anything but himself and he finds no greater joy in life than in inflicting suffering and death unto others. He has no long-reaching goal for his destructive actions, destruction itself is the goal. He manipulates the emotions of others and will readily lie without hesitation, but his purpose for doing this is again usually nothing but his own amusement in tormenting them. Kefka's need to inflict suffering drives him to continuously greater heights to sate his urges, culminating with the ruination of the entire world and the deaths of countless creatures."
"Don't bother trying to reason with me. You will find I have no reason. Or creed. Or any such tripe. I just want to destroy the world. But please do resist with all your might. It will add to my enjoyment."'
— Fandaniel, Final Fantasy XIV
Professor. Did you see the local villages? They were in rough shape, no doubt because of the thief attacks. They're not going to make it through the winter in that condition. If the thieves had taken up pillaging in order to survive, that would be deplorable...but understandable. But this... This is something else entirely. It looks as though they destroyed those villages purely for pleasure. No matter what their reasons may be, that sort of behavior cannot be allowed. Ever.
—Fire Emblem: Three Houses, Chapter 5, Blue Lions route.
Dimitri: ...why did you slaughter [the people of Duscur]? If you don't want to greet death yourself, I suggest you speak true.
Cornelia: So it's a motive you seek, hm? How about... because I felt like it.
Cornelia: So it's a motive you seek, hm? How about... because I felt like it.
"I fix Ivan tonight! Then I spit at this pig!"
— "Unusually Ruthless" Reuban, Jagged Alliance
Pit: I get what Viridi has against Hades. He's destructive and evil. But what does Hades have against Viridi?
Palutena: I think you answered your own question. Destruction is fun for him.
Hades: Well, five points for the squares! It's true. This is just my idea of a good time.
Palutena: I think you answered your own question. Destruction is fun for him.
Hades: Well, five points for the squares! It's true. This is just my idea of a good time.
"Well, all right then, Slick. Yes. I turned all the villagers into pigs. Big deal. [...] You know, they're all so depressing and boring and dimwitted all the time... so instead of wallowing in gloom, I figured they might as well wallow in mud! HA! How brilliant is THAT? Now they're pigs, get it? Isn't that just soooo perfect? It's like irony, or something."
— Doopliss, Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door
[upon discovering that Adachi was behind the murders and kidnappings throughout the game]
Yukiko: Why? What reasons could you have for doing that?!
Adachi: [chuckles] Reasons? None, really. I could do it, that's all. And it was fun... I guess that's my reason?
Yukiko: Why? What reasons could you have for doing that?!
Adachi: [chuckles] Reasons? None, really. I could do it, that's all. And it was fun... I guess that's my reason?
Pearl: Why would you do something so wrong...?
Matt Engarde: Because I'm a grown-up, and I can. Good enough for you, little girl?
Matt Engarde: Because I'm a grown-up, and I can. Good enough for you, little girl?
"Some folks is... just evil, ain't no point trying to explain it."
— Arthur Morgan, Red Dead Redemption 2
"The revenant is cunning. They stalk and observe their targets, and are rarely in a rush. They patiently enjoy toying with their prey. They take pleasure in trickery, using emotional deception to provoke their targets to take risks. The abduction of children, destruction of homes, and violence against loved ones are among their favorite lures. And for all of this, they do not seem to have any greater plan or intelligent design. Suffering is its own reward."
— The Buzzing, The Secret World
Asahi: You could've taken the sword without attacking the forest. Why'd you do it?
Titan: I don't need a reason. It was in my way.
Asahi: You burned down the fairies' home for fun? You're a monster.
Titan: Like I care what you think. The will of the Divine Powers is law. Know your place.
Titan: I don't need a reason. It was in my way.
Asahi: You burned down the fairies' home for fun? You're a monster.
Titan: Like I care what you think. The will of the Divine Powers is law. Know your place.
"You have no desire for revenge. You only crave destruction. Your only lust is to fuel Iblis until there is nothing left of time itself!"
— Shadow to Mephiles the Dark, Sonic the Hedgehog (2006)
"Rivers of blood... Mountains of flesh! A glorious world of pain! Feeble humans, crushed like the insects that they are!"
"It doesn't matter. It was fun."
— The Devourlord, Soul Nomad & the World Eaters
"Oh, so you don't like needless bloodshed, Lt. Jaggar? Well that's too bad. I do enjoy needless bloodshed. Especially from the innocents."
— Archibald Grims, Super Robot Wars: Original Generation
Webcomics
Axel: Zex, I'll play it straight with you. I need your help financing the wedding.
Zexion: And I want to help you... why?
Axel: Because you'll get to abuse your political power just to prove you can.
Zexion: And I want to help you... why?
Axel: Because you'll get to abuse your political power just to prove you can.
Someone had opened a nether gate within the city. Who and why we'll never know. The situation was already so dire before this point it fails me to think of a reason behind such actions. As if someone could possibly want to haste the end of everything for no other purpose than the end itself.
— Drowtales side story, "Thalamani"
"I. Like. To. Kill. Things. How is that not clear by now?"
Roy: [Goldenleaf] threatened to destroy Cliffport if they didn't... actually, I don't think he gave an ultimatum.
Lien: He made the same threat to Azure City, but specified that he was attempting to gain something called, "lulz."
Lien: He made the same threat to Azure City, but specified that he was attempting to gain something called, "lulz."
Cueball: How did you spend your morning?
Black Hat: Feeding rocks to children in the park.
Cueball: Your sociopathic abuse of random strangers staggers me.
Black Hat: I aspire to have more creativity than the common asshole.
Black Hat: Feeding rocks to children in the park.
Cueball: Your sociopathic abuse of random strangers staggers me.
Black Hat: I aspire to have more creativity than the common asshole.
— xkcd
Web Original
"On the other hand I'm getting quite sick to all those "they're just misunderstood" trend in fiction. Sometimes the dude trying to kill all life by bringing in eternal winter IS just a huge cunt."
— ryuan, alternatehistory.com, on the White Walkers
"The best thing about playing for Atletico Madrid... is now I don't even have to pretend to be nice!"
— Luis Suarez, The Champions (2018)
Q: Do you think that, for all their superficial campiness, the Adam West Bat-villains are actually the least likely to reform or even feel bad about the crimes they've committed?
A: [...] There's a very simple answer to this question, which is that it's absolutely right. The arch-criminals of Batman '66 will never, ever reform, mostly due to the fact that nothing is ever meant to change on that show. [...] The quirks of the crimes were different, of course, with cat's eye opals, gold-plated sarcophagi and valuable clown paintings all reserved for the appropriate villains, but if you swapped out a couple of adjectives and a bit of set dressing, one could work as well as the next. The motivations were all the same, particularly in that they didn't actually exist. [...] The crooks of Batman '66 didn't really have any life-changing, motivating tragedies — and, incidentally, neither did that version of Batman. They just had affectations, high pitched giggles and sparkly catsuits that were applied to the same formula of crime and deathtrap. Nobody ever really seemed like they were that hard up for cash, so crime wasn't a vocational thing for them. They didn't need the money they'd get from heisting the ancient riddle scrolls or whatever, and there's only really one episode I can think of where someone is actually frustrated at being unable to fence stolen goods and actually profit from the crime. It wasn't about the money for them, it was about the act. They weren't just criminals, they were arch-criminals — they only existed to break the law, committing crime simply for crime's sake. [...] But that's only one facet of crime, and if Batman is a new kind of person, someone with limitless resources and fantastic determination, then Crime is going to have to evolve to keep up with him, metastasizing into a purer strain of criminal. Just like Batman no longer really needs to avenge the death of his parents, the criminals of Gotham City don't really need to profit from their crimes, making them a means to an end. Crime is the profit, evil is the end, re-establishing that imbalance, trying to inject that element of fear and chaos back into a city that outgrew traditional ideas of evil. If you take that idea and flatten it out, ironing out all the psychological complexities and simplifying it for a 22-minute time slot every Tuesday and Wednesday, smoothing everything over with a healthy amount of irony, you're left with Batman '66: Criminals who commit crimes purely for the sake of crime, and a crimefighter who battles against them purely for the sake of the law. [...] The criminals commit crimes because they are capital-C Criminals, compelled to do so for no reason other than Crime For Crime's Sake.
A: [...] There's a very simple answer to this question, which is that it's absolutely right. The arch-criminals of Batman '66 will never, ever reform, mostly due to the fact that nothing is ever meant to change on that show. [...] The quirks of the crimes were different, of course, with cat's eye opals, gold-plated sarcophagi and valuable clown paintings all reserved for the appropriate villains, but if you swapped out a couple of adjectives and a bit of set dressing, one could work as well as the next. The motivations were all the same, particularly in that they didn't actually exist. [...] The crooks of Batman '66 didn't really have any life-changing, motivating tragedies — and, incidentally, neither did that version of Batman. They just had affectations, high pitched giggles and sparkly catsuits that were applied to the same formula of crime and deathtrap. Nobody ever really seemed like they were that hard up for cash, so crime wasn't a vocational thing for them. They didn't need the money they'd get from heisting the ancient riddle scrolls or whatever, and there's only really one episode I can think of where someone is actually frustrated at being unable to fence stolen goods and actually profit from the crime. It wasn't about the money for them, it was about the act. They weren't just criminals, they were arch-criminals — they only existed to break the law, committing crime simply for crime's sake. [...] But that's only one facet of crime, and if Batman is a new kind of person, someone with limitless resources and fantastic determination, then Crime is going to have to evolve to keep up with him, metastasizing into a purer strain of criminal. Just like Batman no longer really needs to avenge the death of his parents, the criminals of Gotham City don't really need to profit from their crimes, making them a means to an end. Crime is the profit, evil is the end, re-establishing that imbalance, trying to inject that element of fear and chaos back into a city that outgrew traditional ideas of evil. If you take that idea and flatten it out, ironing out all the psychological complexities and simplifying it for a 22-minute time slot every Tuesday and Wednesday, smoothing everything over with a healthy amount of irony, you're left with Batman '66: Criminals who commit crimes purely for the sake of crime, and a crimefighter who battles against them purely for the sake of the law. [...] The criminals commit crimes because they are capital-C Criminals, compelled to do so for no reason other than Crime For Crime's Sake.
— ComicsAlliance, Ask Chris #177 "Reformation '66"
"Let me put it this way: If Team Avolition goes to a Minecraft server, which do you think they are more likely to grief (assuming they can't grief both): A random dirt newb house out in the middle of nowhere, or the ULTIMATE DIAMOND BLOCK SUPER-SPIRE displayed in the creation museum that someone worked many long hours to build?"
— TT2000, on the Godmodder, in Destroy the Godmodder
Felix: God, I just really want to savor this. You know, once the feds and rebels kill each other, I don't know what I'm gonna do. I mean, we've been playing these guys for years. How do you just walk away from something like that?
Tucker: What happened to retirement?
Felix: Oh, well, yeah I'll be filthy stinking rich. But I'm still in my prime. There's so much more I could do.
Tucker: What happened to retirement?
Felix: Oh, well, yeah I'll be filthy stinking rich. But I'm still in my prime. There's so much more I could do.
— Red vs. Blue, Season 12, episode 18, "Fed vs. New"
"At the end of the day, if I'm stronger than you, and if I'm faster than you, then I can kill you. And that's better than anything money can buy."
— Felix, Red vs. Blue, Season 12, episode 18, "Fed vs. New"
Mario: Papa john? But Mario didnt order any pizza
Papa: The day of reckoning has come
Mario: Wait, so you're behind all of this? But why?!
Papa: This world needs to be cleansed
Mario: Any reason?...Race?...Religion? Did someone slap your ass or something?
Papa: Nope, i just wanna murder everyone.
Papa: The day of reckoning has come
Mario: Wait, so you're behind all of this? But why?!
Papa: This world needs to be cleansed
Mario: Any reason?...Race?...Religion? Did someone slap your ass or something?
Papa: Nope, i just wanna murder everyone.
"Kontoekey asks, 'Dear Dr. Eggman, why do you want to conquer the world?' Well, that's easy. Why do birds fly? Why is water wet? Why do people flock to ice cream trucks in the summer? ...Because it's Friday, obviously!"
Web Videos
"This is the thing that kind of makes Uday different from other evil people in history. Other evil people in history did evil things because they had a goal and the evil thing that they wanted was simply the fastest way for them to achieve that goal, and they really did not give the tiniest shit about the human suffering that they caused in the process. So these evil people in the past, they committed evil acts because they were callous and horrible individuals, but they also at least had some kind of goal they were looking to achieve. But Uday sort of did that the opposite way around where he would have a goal he wanted to achieve, and then he would actively make the method of achieving that goal as evil as he could possibly make it."
"[Dream] could probably kill me in an instant if he wanted to, he could just get on right now and kill me, but... he doesn't. 'Cause he knows that it would just... He likes to play with us, he likes to toy with us. He likes to... light the fire under us and see us squirm a little. That's what he likes, this isn't... This entire thing, this isn't about people. This is about entertainment for him. This is all just about entertainment for him... 'cause he's cruel. He's cruel."
— Ranboo, Dream SMP
Dream: Tommy, I'm not done with you. L'Manberg's story is over, but our story isn't over.
Tommy: Our story isn't over, Dream, but it will be.
Dream: I don't think it'll ever be over. You're too fun.
Tommy: Our story isn't over, Dream, but it will be.
Dream: I don't think it'll ever be over. You're too fun.
"Set in the hostile and exotic wasteland of Australia, we play as an inherently bloodthirsty and violent race, known only as 'Caucasoidus Anglicus', and we're here to destroy the local environment as much as humanly possible... so I can wear it."
"We arrive to this new world of possibility known as the Denny's parking lot as part of the Fifth Fleet of the Research Commission, exploring and murdering this vast continent to track down the whereabouts of an ancient elder dragon. Now, as someone from a country who killed millions of people so we could grow fucking vegetables, this is offensive. So when I heard that these bitches were doing it to find a lizard, I decided I would engage in genocide of my own volition. You will not need motivation to kill in this game; it comes about naturally, just like polio."
"We arrive to this new world of possibility known as the Denny's parking lot as part of the Fifth Fleet of the Research Commission, exploring and murdering this vast continent to track down the whereabouts of an ancient elder dragon. Now, as someone from a country who killed millions of people so we could grow fucking vegetables, this is offensive. So when I heard that these bitches were doing it to find a lizard, I decided I would engage in genocide of my own volition. You will not need motivation to kill in this game; it comes about naturally, just like polio."
Nostalgia Critic: You have no reason for doing any of this, do you?
Black Willy Wonka: Nope. Sometimes, it's fun to be an asshole for no reason. [a bird flies up to BWW, who shoots it] See?
Black Willy Wonka: Nope. Sometimes, it's fun to be an asshole for no reason. [a bird flies up to BWW, who shoots it] See?
There's actually a Skaven slave in old Warhammer lore that tried to be a decent being, and tried to rally the other Skaven slaves to his cause to earn their freedom. The Skaven leaders then said anyone who betrayed the Spartacus-rat would be pardoned for their actions, whereupon the slaves ripped him apart and brought what's left of him to the leaders. Then the leaders killed all the slaves anyways.
The moral of the story is that there are no morals here. Don't bring your grey morality near these goddamn rats, the only thing grey about the Skaven is their mages.
The moral of the story is that there are no morals here. Don't bring your grey morality near these goddamn rats, the only thing grey about the Skaven is their mages.
Yugi: Ask yourself: what would killing me accomplish?
Melvin: Other than making me laugh like a maniac, not much. But it's enough.
Melvin: Other than making me laugh like a maniac, not much. But it's enough.
Western Animation
"Evil is just so much more profitable than good — and more fun!"
— Warp Darkmatter, Buzz Lightyear of Star Command: The Adventure Begins
"I'm evil. Get it?"
— The Scrawl, ChalkZone
"I've got the kids! I THINK I'M GONNA KILL ONE OF THEM NOW JUST FOR THE HECK OF IT!"
— Bill Cipher, Gravity Falls
Dr. Polaris: You gonna wash your hands?
The Flash (in the body of Lex Luthor): No. 'Cuz I'm evil.
The Flash (in the body of Lex Luthor): No. 'Cuz I'm evil.
"The de Rolos? Now that takes me back. Some folks you kill 'cause you're ordered to. Them? I killed 'cause I wanted to!"
— Kerrion Stonefell, The Legend of Vox Machina
"Tonight we unveil my most diabolical creation. Swank. Ten times more addictive than marijuana. To human misery!"
— Senator Mendoza, The Simpsons, "Last Exit to Springfield"
Rex: Why, General? Why kill your own men?
Krell: [chuckles] Because I can. Because you fell for it. Because you're inferior.
Krell: [chuckles] Because I can. Because you fell for it. Because you're inferior.
Princess Toadstool: We never did anything to you! Why are you holding us prisoner?
Wizenheimer: Because I'm an evil Koopa Wizard! I don't need a reason to be mean and nasty! It's my nature!
Wizenheimer: Because I'm an evil Koopa Wizard! I don't need a reason to be mean and nasty! It's my nature!
Brock Samson: Why'd you do it?
Phantom Limb: Why do men like us do anything? Because we can.
Phantom Limb: Why do men like us do anything? Because we can.
"Margaret is, and always will be, a mystery. Nothing happened in her life to justify the way she is. Some people aren’t looking for anything logical; they can’t be bought, reasoned, or negotiated with. Sometimes, man just wants to watch the world burn."
— Gaylord Robinson, The Amazing World of Gumball, “The Wicked”
Real Life
"When you're playing a character of solid blackness, that in itself is very interesting, in the sense that you have no other motivation other than the accumulation of power. It's not so much about not having a moral center, it's just that the only thing that mattered is increasing power."
— Ian McDiarmid on playing Emperor Palpatine
"Iago's soliloquy, the motive-hunting of a motiveless malignity — how awful it is!"
"I became evil for no reason. I had no motive for my wickedness except wickedness itself. It was foul, and I loved it. I loved the self-destruction, I loved my fall, not the object for which I had fallen but my fall itself. My depraved soul leaped down from your firmament to ruin. I was seeking not to gain anything by shameful means, but shame for its own sake."
"The task of carrying out violence, of killing, leads to perversion. The seductiveness of violence, the fascination with the grotesque — the Bible calls it 'the lust of the eye' — the god-like empowerment over other human lives the drag of war combined, like the ecstasy of erotic love, to let our senses command our bodies. Killing unleashing within us dark undercurrents that see us desecrate and whip ourselves into greater orgies or destruction."
—Chris Hedges, War is a Force That Gives Us Meaning
"I lost track of time because I was enjoying myself so much... It made me feel powerful. It was better than any drug I'd ever had, the high, the rush I was getting."
— Arron Streets, convicted thrill-killer
"Why did you kill everybody in the house?"
"They was home!"
"They was home!"
— Richard Pryor, describing an encounter with an inmate at Arizona State Prison while filming Stir Crazy
"I wanted to do it because it's fun. It's fun to do bad things."
— Latarian Milton, after being asked why he stole his grandmother's car and took it for a joyride
"I like killing people because it is so much fun. It is more fun than killing wild game in the forest because man is the most dangerous animal of all. To kill something gives me the most thrilling experience. It is even better than getting your rocks off with a girl. The best part of it is that, when I die, I will be reborn in paradise and those I have killed will become my slaves. I will not give you my name because you will try to slow down or stop my collection of slaves for my afterlife."
— The Zodiac killer, in one of his coded letters (corrected for grammar)
(corrected for grammar)