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themayorofsimpleton Now a lurker. Thanks for everything. | he/him (Experienced, Not Yet Jaded)
SeptimusHeap MOD (Edited uphill both ways)
Mar 22nd 2021 at 9:00:40 AM •••

Linking to a past Trope Repair Shop thread that dealt with this page: Split with Boring Invincible Villain, started by DrakeClawfang on Jun 7th 2011 at 3:41:28 PM

"For a successful technology, reality must take precedence over public relations, for Nature cannot be fooled." - Richard Feynman
SeptimusHeap MOD (Edited uphill both ways)
Mar 22nd 2021 at 3:45:24 AM •••

Linking to a past Trope Repair Shop thread that dealt with this page: Needs Help, started by Twentington on Mar 26th 2012 at 8:23:43 PM

"For a successful technology, reality must take precedence over public relations, for Nature cannot be fooled." - Richard Feynman
SeptimusHeap MOD (Edited uphill both ways)
Mar 21st 2021 at 7:09:27 AM •••

Linking to a past Trope Repair Shop thread that dealt with this page: Ambiguous Name, started by Kylotrope on Mar 25th 2020 at 4:00:07 AM

"For a successful technology, reality must take precedence over public relations, for Nature cannot be fooled." - Richard Feynman
SeptimusHeap MOD (Edited uphill both ways)
Mar 20th 2021 at 11:14:55 AM •••

Previous Trope Repair Shop thread: Needs Help, started by WaxingName on Feb 9th 2013 at 6:54:57 PM

"For a successful technology, reality must take precedence over public relations, for Nature cannot be fooled." - Richard Feynman
SeptimusHeap MOD (Edited uphill both ways)
Mar 20th 2021 at 9:23:59 AM •••

Previous Trope Repair Shop thread: Misused, started by Overlord on May 20th 2017 at 6:39:36 PM

"For a successful technology, reality must take precedence over public relations, for Nature cannot be fooled." - Richard Feynman
Nathaniel Since: Jan, 2001
Feb 11th 2021 at 11:52:05 AM •••

Why on Krypton isn't the image for "Generic Doomsday Villain" not the actual Doomsday himself?

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MrsDoubtfire1200 Since: Aug, 2020
Mar 17th 2021 at 4:17:38 AM •••

That last one was perfect you prick

OverLord42 Since: Jan, 2020
Mar 1st 2020 at 4:14:05 PM •••

Could the entity from It Follows be considered a Generic Doomsday Villain considering that besides from killing people inflicted by the curse it shows no personality, backstory or motivation. I know this has been done to give it a sense of mystery and to make it more scarier but considering that The Thing is also counted as a GDV due to the fact it also shows no personality or motivation for its actions other than to make the mystery behind it more terrifying, I think the entity fits in well with this trope, especially as an example as how this trope can be done well if used properly.

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Nathaniel Since: Jan, 2001
Feb 11th 2021 at 11:51:07 AM •••

I think probably yes. I don't remember The Thing all that well... but the entity from It Follows seems to exist for no other reason to antagonize. The entity is creepy, but also entirely one-dimensional.

Silverblade2 Since: Jan, 2013
Jul 12th 2019 at 10:57:56 PM •••

Absolute no. Iago is a Complete Monster with a defined personality and a clear goal.

RoninMacbeth Since: Mar, 2017
Jun 8th 2018 at 8:56:55 PM •••

Would the Night King and the White Walkers from ASOIAF and Game of Thrones count?

I'd show you my signature, but then I'd have to kill you. Oh wait...Sorry.
Twilightdusk Since: Jan, 2001
Jul 22nd 2010 at 8:58:59 AM •••

Archived discussion from Boring Invincible Villain

From YKTTW Working Title: Boring Invincible Villain

Alles In De Soep: None of the villains described here are invincible.

Guest Of Dishonour: The page quote comes from a Game FAQS review of Final Fantasy XII, don't remember the reviewer's name though. Still, it describes the trope pretty well.

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Pykrete Since: Sep, 2009
Jul 28th 2010 at 11:29:06 AM •••

The recent change to Generic Doomsday Villain seems to be rather confused.

The upper 2/3 of the description describes exactly what I'd expect of a Generic Doomsday Villain, one who wants to blow up the world or whatever and doesn't even have the excuse of For the Evulz, but whose chief defining feature is that they smash things and exist solely as a plot device under the writers' misconception that conflict = drama.

The lower 1/3 of the description describes what I think when I hear Boring Invincible Villain, who not only has no personality, but whose chief defining feature is that they can't be defeated and the audience begins to get bored/irritated by this — the villainous counterpart to Invincible Hero.

I think we might be looking at two different things.

Edited by Pykrete
SabreJustice Since: Dec, 1969
Jul 29th 2010 at 12:33:50 AM •••

I agree. Generic Doomsday Villain should be its own trope, not this one renamed.

balmung60 Since: Jan, 2012
Oct 20th 2010 at 7:00:59 PM •••

Yeah, I have to say that this rename seems to me like it was just a terrible idea.

How does "Generic Doomsday Villain" = "Boring Invincible Villain"? I submit that it in no way means the same thing, does not imply the same thing, and would be as stated above, a good name for a completely different, new trope.

It seems to me that this was renamed just to rename it, and should be put up for a re-renaming back to "Boring Invincible Villain".

Rocking you like a hadoken.
fgdfgdd Since: Dec, 1969
Nov 1st 2010 at 7:06:16 PM •••

Why not Boring Nigh Invincible Villain or something? At any rate, Boring Invincible Villain was a good title. Sure, it's slightly non indicative, but people should stop being so anal.

robdoggh Since: Apr, 2010
Dec 20th 2010 at 8:09:22 PM •••

I'm chiming in a little late here, but I have to agree with the other posters. Generic Doomsday Villain and Boring Invincible Villain are two different tropes, for the reasons that Pykrete listed. I don't believe that "Boring Invincible Villain" is a non-indicative title. A boring, invincible villain is functionally invincible for most of the story (and may actually be invincible for a while due to phlebethonium or what have you) and is not engaging to the audience. Simple.

DrakeClawfang Since: Apr, 2010
Jun 4th 2011 at 7:09:55 PM •••

A pity nothing ever came of this.

TripleElation Since: Jan, 2001
Jun 4th 2011 at 11:46:07 PM •••

Bring it up in TRS and propose to split Invincible Villain away from this page.

Pretentious quote || In-joke from fandom you've never heard of || Shameless self-promotion || Something weird you'll habituate to
TripleElation Since: Jan, 2001
Jun 7th 2011 at 4:14:11 AM •••

Sorry for blathering jargon. The Trope Repair Shop (TRS) is a forum where we decide what to do if a Trope seems broken in some way. The link is under "troperville" on the left tab.

Edited by TripleElation Pretentious quote || In-joke from fandom you've never heard of || Shameless self-promotion || Something weird you'll habituate to
Birdy18 Since: Oct, 2017
Feb 11th 2018 at 4:01:07 PM •••

Would Midnight Sparkle from Equestria Girls the Friendship Games count as a Generic Doomsday Villain?

Ferot_Dreadnaught Since: Mar, 2015
Dec 26th 2016 at 12:56:36 PM •••

Cut the following:

  • Hades Izanami from BlazBlue is unkillable due to being death incarnate, is about as powerful as you might expect a Physical God to be, (Gameplay and Story Segregation not withstanding,) and desires to depose the Master Unit: Amaterasu, remake reality and turn it into a "world of death." Why? Because she's death incarnate, that's why... As more is revealed about her, the trope gets played with a bit as it turns out that Izanami is essentially the antropomorphic personification of the Amaterasu Unit having a Suicidal Cosmic Temper Tantrum.

As an established Complete Monster, she's now exempt from this trope. However, there are CM examples on this page since they play with this trope.

  • Zant: noted subversion.
  • Amon: was this until later games gave him backstory.
  • Brainiac: his entry refers to him being accused of this in-universe.
  • Unicron (in the quotes section): claims to have been a GDV until later works gave him backstory.

Does Hades Izanami's entry adequately acknowledge that it only applied in her initial appearances?

Ferot_Dreadnaught Since: Mar, 2015
Dec 26th 2016 at 12:43:50 PM •••

Established Complete Monsters are exempt from this trope since utter evilness is part of their character, which means they have too much character to be a GDV.

AnotherGuy Since: Aug, 2013
RJ-19-CLOVIS-93 Since: Feb, 2015
Apr 1st 2015 at 12:13:22 AM •••

So how come this isn't part of the Bad Writing Index anymore?

Also, how come Cell is here when he clearly had a personality

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SeptimusHeap MOD (Edited uphill both ways)
Apr 1st 2015 at 1:54:53 AM •••

Someone shoehorning examples, for Cell. That's what I think.

"For a successful technology, reality must take precedence over public relations, for Nature cannot be fooled." - Richard Feynman
RJ-19-CLOVIS-93 Since: Feb, 2015
Apr 8th 2015 at 12:42:22 AM •••

May I remove it then? After all, while Cell's plans are relatively generic, he has a fully-fledged personality. On the flip side, I think that if someone has a complex way of getting their plan but a slim-to-non existent personality it should count them as this

manhandled &)$;@9?@4$/8&;’ Since: Feb, 2012
&)$;@9?@4$/8&;’
Mar 2nd 2015 at 9:03:12 AM •••

Why isn't the "generic doomsday villains can't be complete monsters" mentioned here? It would certainly clear a few things up, right?

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SeptimusHeap MOD (Edited uphill both ways)
Mar 2nd 2015 at 9:25:18 AM •••

Because this trope page is not a how-to guide for how to add Complete Monster examples.

"For a successful technology, reality must take precedence over public relations, for Nature cannot be fooled." - Richard Feynman
AnsemPaul Since: Oct, 2010
Aug 14th 2014 at 10:20:11 AM •••

Challenging the last edit without starting an edit war, are generic rule the world villains like Tirek really exempt from this? I mean while they have a basic goal, their still not much more than a walking threat.

Darkton Lurker Supreme Since: Sep, 2012
Lurker Supreme
Sep 10th 2012 at 6:05:36 PM •••

Linkara had a particularly good quote about this from his Catwoman: Guardian of Gotham review:

"This is the worst kind of villain, folks! He has no motivation, no credible backstory, no emotional connection that makes us sympathize or understand why he does the things that he does; he's just some asshole who wants to kill the hero because he's the villain!"

Suggestion of putting that somewhere. Perhaps a pagequote?

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Morgenthaler Since: Feb, 2016
May 6th 2013 at 8:15:24 AM •••

I don't think it's suitable as a page quote, because it stresses that Tropes Are Bad, when they're not. I've added it to the Quotes tab, however.

You've got roaming bands of armed, aggressive, tyrannical plumbers coming to your door, saying "Use our service, or else!"
Larkmarn Since: Nov, 2010
May 6th 2013 at 8:36:48 AM •••

What if you cut out the first sentence? Because the rest really does illustrate what the trope really is.

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ading Since: Jan, 2011
Jun 14th 2013 at 3:56:37 AM •••

Even so, it still sounds very complanatory.

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Morgenthaler Since: Feb, 2016
May 6th 2013 at 8:12:12 AM •••

Moved this example here:

  • The monsters from Feast.

Aside from being a Zero Context Example, does this really count for this trope? I haven't seen the movie, but what little I know of it indicates that they are just mindless human-eating monsters. Those almost never have motives beyond predatory instinct, because they're not really characters in the sense of having a personality to begin with.

You've got roaming bands of armed, aggressive, tyrannical plumbers coming to your door, saying "Use our service, or else!"
Azxc Since: Dec, 1969
Oct 16th 2011 at 4:01:05 AM •••

I'd just like to note that A Generic Doomsday Villain is villain that NOBODY REALLY CARES about, not "a villain I personally think is boring". Case in point, villains like Kefka and various Doctor Who are well-loved by the fandom partly BECAUSE they are cackling evil manics who want to destroy everthing just because they can. As such, they don't really belong here.

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Madcapunlimited Since: Feb, 2011
Feb 22nd 2012 at 9:50:58 AM •••

Yeah, Kefka is definitely not Generic. Seems a lot of examples are more about the DOOMSDAY villain part than the GENERIC part.

TripleElation Since: Jan, 2001
Feb 22nd 2012 at 10:59:47 AM •••

No, it's not a "villain nobody cares about". The definition of the trope is right there in the first line- "an overpowering antagonist without a believable goal, motive or plan".

The fandom can cheer for this character, or hate them, or be indifferent to them, or write slash fanfic of them. It doesn't matter. Yeah, the issue of "we just don't care" gets brought up later as something typical of this trope, but treating it as a proper part of the definition — let alone the main part of the definition — will only lead to tears.

Edited by TripleElation Pretentious quote || In-joke from fandom you've never heard of || Shameless self-promotion || Something weird you'll habituate to
Danel Since: Jan, 2001
Jun 29th 2011 at 1:08:28 AM •••

This shouldn't be a YMMV trope - the status of a villain as a Generic Doomsday Villain should be a neutral observation. Of course, for this to work, the criticism in the trope description would have to be toned down... which it should be anyway, since Tropes Are Not Bad.

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TiberiusBlaze Since: Jun, 2011
Aug 16th 2011 at 12:22:46 PM •••

So what's the difference between this character and the Omnicidal Maniac?

VeryMelon Since: Jul, 2011
Oct 11th 2011 at 9:24:13 PM •••

Omnicidal Maniacs have more characterization beyond "wants to destroy the world", Which is all a Generic Doomsday Villian is all about.

Edited by VeryMelon
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