Just a book and a...well you know the rest.: Evil Uncle

The page image for Evil Uncle could use some work. It doesn't really show any evil, and I don't think he's an iconic, well-known enough person/character/whatever to justify being the image. Maybe replace the image with a more well-known Evil Uncle? The only one who jumps immediately to mind is Scar, however, and I don't know if he's universally known/recognized. Maybe just a picture of a nasty or evil man?

The other option that springs to my mind is Richard III and the Princes in the Tower (historical accuracy may vary ) - here's a picture from a book cover◊, although I'm sure there's more. There's a scene from Blackadder where Richard looks like he's about to stab the princes, although in Blackadder that's a huge subversion.

Hmm...the problem with that one is that there isn't much "evil uncle" vibe given off if the viewer isn't familiar with the work, so the caption'd have to pick up the slack...

Here's one of Scar. I think he's at least somewhat more widely recognized than the current image and I've got a few that at least give off a more "This guy is evil" feeling: http://www.lionking.org/~unicorn/artwork/Scar

And for another Evil Uncle, Teppei of Higurashi No Naku Koro Ni might not be very well known, but damn if he doesn't look nasty in this pic (bonus: the niece is in the pic too. We'd probably cut off the small left panel, if we picked this one.) http://www.mangafox.com/manga/higurashi_no_naku_koro_ni_minagoroshi/c016/32.html

edited 22nd Mar '11 5:12:33 PM by deeman45

Heh - the current image is already Richard III? Serves me right not to double check.

The problem with the Scar image is there isn't any "uncle" aspect to it. It's just evil looking. In that regard it is somewhat better than the current Richard image (although I would argue that Richard III is in fact pretty well known. ) Edit: Something with Simba in it as well would work though: [1]◊

The Higurashi no Naku Koro ni image however if it was cropped to the right half would work well as it's got all the elements.

I'll see if I can find a still of that scene from the start of Blackadder and see if it works. I've got it on DVD somewhere if I can find it.

edited 22nd Mar '11 6:28:44 PM by TrapperZoid

Pulled for Just A Face And A Caption.

Previous:

I don't think the current image is all that bad.

It's essentially JAFAAC.

Yeah, it is. Change it. But it's not as awful as it's cracked up to be.

I vote for Scar.

Here◊'s an image of Scar where the uncle aspect is (slightly) more visible.

For what it's worth, here is a video of one of Scar's conversations with Simba. Here is a video of another. Not sure what kind of pic, though, let alone frame of animation from this, would be best for indicating the trope.

I'm not sure of that one. It also needs prior knowledge to appreciate it; that is, that the evil lion is the cub's uncle and not his father or a stranger.

At least prior knowledge of Richard the Third is historical and not pop culture-based.

I don't know, the fact that the image is under the "Evil uncle" trope shows that Scar is the lion cub's uncle, and not his father or a random stranger. It's hard for an image to explicitly portray someone as an uncle, and nothing else.

Something like this image◊ is much better, perhaps? It portrays Scar looking quite evil towards his nephew.

The problem with the Richard III one is that the image itself is JAFAAC. Yes, he might be well-known by the people who do know who he is, but nothing in the image portrays him as an evil uncle. It's just a picture of his face.

Whereas a picture of Scar and Simba shows that the older lion is obviously the "evil uncle" while the younger one is obviously the nephew or niece. The image helps get across what type of trope this is, and the trope name helps explain what is happening in the image.

edited 3rd Jun '11 6:05:10 AM by Koda

I think that's a excellent take on the problem. I got the things you mentioned from the pic before reading your post.

edited 3rd Jun '11 6:25:19 AM by Camacan

All right, I'm sold. The Lion King one shows the aspect of being evil, even when the "uncle" part is derived elsewhere. The Richard the Third pic derives everything from elsewhere.

(I would say, however, that if we can get a shot of Richard being evil that's better. But we don't have one. So.)

Honestly, it's as good as impossible to show in a picture that someone is an uncle. I think he latter-most scar picture is as close as we can get =/

Just on the basis of not needing yet another cartoon picture, I put back the Richard the III image. Either image relies on the reader having read or seen something else, anyway.

For the record, I have no idea who those lion guys are.

edited 13th Jun '11 5:44:43 AM by FastEddie

It's true that "Either image relies on the reader having read or seen something else" to know they are uncles, but the Scar one at least looks evil, unlike the Richard one, which is a prime example of JAFAAC

edited 13th Jun '11 5:53:24 AM by Sind

Well, if that's considered clear enough, then I support Richard the Third.

We can argue that the clarity the Lion King picture has (that the uncle looks evil) is not strong enough to outweigh the need to diversify/historical knowledge bonus provided by the Richard one.

edited 13th Jun '11 5:56:40 AM by Catalogue

Except it had already been pulled for being JAFAAC in post 6...

I haven't seen the lion king films either, and I dislike Disney in general. However, I think the lion king pic is better than the Richard one; It's a clearly evil-looking adult lion that appears to have a familiar but deceitful relation to a cub. I can't think of a better way to demonstrate the trope.

EDIT: Howeeever... this Hark A Vagrant strip may be of some use to us!

edited 13th Jun '11 6:14:01 AM by ArtisticPlatypus

That Hark! one would be hard to use unless you use the entire strip, which is far too big. And even then it isn't clear as the comic ends with the uncle NOT being the murderer... You could alternatively only use panels one and four, but even then it looks less like he's evil, and more like he's just being silly.

Exactly what I envisioned: Richard the Third but looking evil.

Panel 4 > JAFAAC Book > Scar and Simba for me.

The comic strip is a good one. It more accurately shows an 'evil uncle' and isn't JAFAAC. If it's possible to resize it without losing quality, I'm all for that one.

I still really dislike the current book cover picture. Maybe it's because I'm not all that familiar with Richard III, but there is nothing in the picture that shows he is an evil uncle. The caption tells me he is, but nothing in the picture really shows it. Even his expression doesn't show that he is an evil guy.

If the comic strip can't be used, I'd still prefer the Lion King picture. I don't se a problem with using another cartoon image. And I really don't think you need to be familiar with the Lion King to understand who the 'evil uncle' is and who the nephew is in the picture. The fact that it's under the 'evil uncle' trope makes it pretty clear imo.

edited 24th Jun '11 9:47:30 AM by Koda