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    Comic Books 
"Yes. I understand. You're one of those. One of those enemies who think I am only adorable, and not a threat to be measured more carefully. A joke, a jester, a 'jape in jammies. Do you know how many of those people are corpses now, Scandal Savage?"
Ragdoll, Secret Six

Not far away, a Crooked Man is smiling a crooked smile...
His name is Mad Jim Jaspers, and his mind is a dark amusement park alive with nightmares. Everyone has forgotten about Mad Jim Jaspers: the extradimensional agent called Saturnyne, she has forgotten. Captain Britain, the superhuman from an alternate world, he has forgotten. And that was a mistake of terrible consequence.
He lets them savour their triumph a moment longer, and then his mind opens like a floodgate... the insanity within sluicing outwards... it ripples outwards across the nation, a tidal wave of writhing lunacy. It engulfs everything - and everything it engulfs... becomes crooked...

"Madcap used to be a doofus. Some joke who would show up to play pranks on people like Captain America while laughing when his body parts got blown off. Then he met me, Deadpool. We healed together, him living inside my brain.
And it changed him.
Now, he's not funny like The Naked Gun anymore... he's funny like The Human Centipede."
Deadpool, Deadpool (2016) #23

    Fan Works 
Chrono had to admit something, then. Not out loud, of course... he admitted it in his head. He had considered, up until now, that Susanoo was the least dangerous of the three siblings. Even after seeing him take Fate by surprise, his attitude, general lack of skill, and Chrono's own earlier defeat of him, he had grown, somehow to consider the boy rather unimpressive.
This moment, however, convinced him that Susanoo was not, in fact, the least dangerous of his siblings. He was just the one that didn't try very hard.

Lopez stared Simmons down. There was not an inkling of pity or guilt in his eyes, and he knew Grif probably had the same look, even if he couldn't properly see it. An hour ago he'd considered them nothing but idiots. He still thought they were idiots. But he'd forgotten that they lived on the murderer's row for a reason.

Weevil: Master Dartz was kind enough to give me the card containing Yugi's soul. I thought you might appreciate being reunited with him, before I destroy you!
Yami Yugi/Atem: The only reunion that's about to happen is my size ten with your buttocks.
Tea: Pharaoh, don't antagonize him!
Yami Yugi/Atem: Come on Tea, it's Weevil! What's the worst he could-
* Weevil rips the card in half*note 
Yami Yugi/Atem: Okay, yeah. That's the worst he could do.

    Film — Animated 
"See? Now you respect me, because I'm a threat. That's the way it works."
Syndrome, The Incredibles

Scar: Ahh, my friends.
Shenzi: Friends? I thought he said we were the enemy.
Banzai: (as Scar gets an Oh, Crap! expression) Yeah, that's what I heard.
Shenzi and Banzai: Ed?
Ed: [chuckles darkly before licking his chops]
[more hyenas emerge from the shadows]
Scar: [almost drowned out by hyena laughter] No, no, no, l-l-let me explain. No, you don't understand. No, I didn't mean for— No, no!
[the hyenas pounce on him, eating him alive]

Miles Morales: See?! No one here thinks you're a joke!
The Spot: You won't after this.

    Literature 
Jenna: Merrin Meredith.
Septimus: Yeah. He's gotten serious now, hasn't he? He's not just an irritating little tick anymore— he's for real.
Jenna: I can hardly believe it. He's so pathetic, but he's caused all this to happen.
Septimus Heap: Darke

Hornung: No, you're mistaken. She cannot be the Red Queen. The Lady Ninuka was... is just a bit flighty.
Johannes: No, she's a sociopath with nothing to lose, who is also a bit flighty.

    Live-Action TV 
"I don't sell mines, Doctor. I sell planets!"

    Podcast 
Corin Deeth III: Do you think… do you think she might be more Evil than us?
Melantha Murther: No. Of course not. It’s not possible. Maybe. You know, I really don’t want to think about it.

    Tabletop Games 
Because of their madness and poor interpersonal skills, one might consider these mages cosmic clowns. This is not at all the case: any outside Marauder capable of breaching the Barrier wields potent magic indeed. These mystics are so innately dynamic they can warp reality by their very presence. Randomness and accidents follow in the wake of lesser mages, while the arrival of a master can tear the Tapestry.
Mage: The Ascension Core Rulebook (2nd ed)

"Now, you may have heard of the Malkavians.
God, they're terrifying.
One of my employers once told me that they're harmless, that they just fool around, trying to play stupid pranks on everyone. She was wronger than anyone I've ever listened to. Every last one of Malkavians is crazy in some way or another. I'm not talking "funny crazy," like Daffy Duck; I mean "psycho crazy," like Charlie Manson or Jeffrey Dahmer or those homeless bums you see on the street yelling at an invisible Jesus. Doesn't help it they're polite and same-seeming either. They like to pretend they're harmless; abso-fucking-lutely love it. And once you turn your back on these lunatics, they start in: maybe they cut your best friend to bits just for giggles. I've also heard of them driving people around the bend by invisibly whispering things like "God hates you," or "Kill your boyfriend." Guess they like company. I know for a fact that they get it too..."
Vampire: The Masquerade - Ghouls: Fatal Attraction

"Ok, he's changed from 'all fun and games' to 'burn it all'. We need a plan."
—>— Nightmist on Wager Master, Sentinels of the Multiverse

    Theatre 
Let them laugh, that's just fine
But the last laugh will be mine
'Cause, they can't laugh when they're all DEAD!
Prince Achmed, Twisted: The Untold Story of a Royal Vizier, "No One Remembers Achmed"

    Video Games 
Bain: Vlad, smashing malls is one thing. Stealing tiaras is one thing. But NUKES!?
Vlad: Calm down, big baby. I have buyer, very far away. Probably won't even use!
Meltdown heist, right as you find out what exactly you're stealing, PAYDAY 2

    Webcomics 
CCG: THE BARD OF RAGE IS ON THE LOOSE.
CCG: YEAH, I KNOW WE ALL THOUGHT THAT TITLE WAS A JOKE, BUT IT TURNED OUT IT WASN'T.
CCG: HE'S COMPLETELY SNAPPED, AND FOR THOSE OF YOU FURTHER AHEAD ON THE TIMELINE, I DON'T HAVE TO TELL YOU HOW DANGEROUS HE IS.
Karkat Vantas, talking about Gamzee's face-heel turn, Homestuck

    Web Original 
David: Luthor completely punks the hell out of Superman and tricks him into exposing himself to Kryptonite.
Chris: He totally does an Ozymandias on him, too, eight years before Ozymandias. He explains his entire plan to Superman as the missiles are being launched – it’s all underway before Superman can even start to stop it.
David: And Luthor gets to deliver that great “We’ve all got our faults. Mine’s in California.” line. This entire sequence, from Superman breaking in, changes him from basically a joke to a really credible threat.
Chris Sims and David Uzumeri on Superman

"His first appearance is a joke: we see him trudging through the desert on a tedious fetch quest for his boss, complaining about his job, flipping out about the sand on his boots, and then getting completely humiliated by the heroes. He's a joke and an annoyance, but not a major threat. But over time, as he acquires more power and racks up a higher body count, Kefka stops being funny and starts being scary."

Miller: "And there's a lot, the story evolved a lot. The character set and the journey that Miles goes on, the specifics, the villain itself, Spot, wasn't where we started, but it was something that (producer) Avi Arad actually pitched us, and we're like, 'The Spot? That's the dorkiest, dumbest villain…'".
Lord: "He's like, 'No, no, no, he's got a really cool power!'"
Miller: "He's like, 'You know, people don't realize how powerful he is,' and then we came back around going, 'Oh yeah, people don't realize how powerful he is!' And obviously, the fact that he has these portals was relevant, and we’re like, 'Well, wouldn't it be interesting to take a person who is overlooked as dumb, and feels left out and lonely, and wants to prove themselves? The same arc that Miles is going on, but the dark version of it.' We were like, 'Oh, we probably should have listened to him instead of dismissing him the way everyone dismisses the Spot.'"
Phil Lord and Chris Miller on the decision to make The Spot the main antagonist, Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse

"Learn to fear them before it's too late."
The old image caption for the main page, showing The Monarch and Dr.Mrs The Monarch.

"All villains are joke villains until they're not."
Frank Angones on Magica DeSpell undergoing Villain Decay, DuckTales (2017)

    Web Video 
"I don't wanna hurt ya, I just wanna suck on your balls!"

Data Sora: Who is that?
Mickey: That’s Pete. He and Maleficent are useless, so don’t worry about them.
Data Riku: They hacked the computer and now you can’t leave.
Data Sora: They destroyed my Keyblade, and they kidnapped Raiku.
Mickey: Oops.

"Why ya wascally fox! Ya-ya better watch out for Mr. Wolfy McWolverton. I'm gonna getcha with my cartoony antics! And maybe I'll also kill this village of innocent children in cold blood."
Saberspark on one of the villains of Renny The Fox

    Western Animation 
"Then this is how I win the world... this juncture, of course, is usually where the wheels come off. But not this time... cutting the traitor, Major Bludd's heart in half right in front of you, right here in this room, should have gotten the point across. It suited me once to appear weak and cowardly, because it motivated you people to think! But today... is a new daaaay... there will be no moves to take over my command, there will be no mistakes, there will be none... OF YOUR CRAP! NONE OF IT! Work with me... and I'll give you the world, in less than twenty-four hours... work against me... and I will GUT you like a fish, right here..."
Cobra Commander, G.I. Joe: Resolute, Episode 4.

Jonas: It's an antiquated system! I mean, my father did this fake archenemy nonsense in the 60s! Maybe my brother is good with this namby-pamby "guy in a costume chases you around" nonsense, but I'm not!
Brock: Hey, no disrespect Jonas, but it isn't so easy. These guys like their system. It's what they do. You take that away, and you are looking at a bunch of pissed-off nutbags, with ray guns, and giant... I don't know, a giant octopus/tank with laser eyes!
The Venture Bros. episode "The Lepidopterists"


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