History FauxAffablyEvil / WesternAnimation

* The villains on ''WesternAnimation/BatmanTheAnimatedSeries'' run the gamut, from genuinely AffablyEvil as long as you don't make them angry to flat-out nasty and no fun at all to be around.
** The Joker is more than capable of being polite and acting like a gentleman... when he feels like it. He's an incredibly petty person who will fly into a rage at the slightest obstacle, and take out his anger on whoever happens to be nearby (be it Batman, Robin, Harley Quinn, one of his mooks, a random driver on the road, etc).
** Poison Ivy is one of the most ladylike terrorists and murderesses you can imagine - and is an outright BitchInSheepsClothing as her everyday self, Pamela Isley. Making it all the more satisfying when the tables are turned on her and [[VillainousBreakdown this smug beauty becomes a shrieking harpy]], best demonstrated in her debut episode [[Recap/BatmanTheAnimatedSeriesE5PrettyPoison "Pretty Poison"]].
* Most of the villains in ''WesternAnimation/TheBatman'' qualify as well. Special mention goes to this version's Joker. For example he spends one episode being nice to a kid named Donnie and pulling pranks on people with him. Then when Donnie is unwilling to pull more deadly pranks (like launching a tied up Batgirl into the side of a building) Joker tries to dump into a vat of chemicals to make him just like Joker.

* ''WesternAnimation/HarleyQuinn2019''
** The Joker is this as usual. He is very charismatic and LaughablyEvil, but he's still the same murderous MonsterClown as always.
** The Scarecrow is initially set up as an AffablyEvil [[GossipyHens Gossip Hen]], but he later turns out to be no better than his other incarnations, performing horrible experiments on Poison Ivy to help him, Joker, and the Queen of Fables create an army of monstrous trees to take over Gotham.
** The Queen of Fables herself is initially shown to be very friendly with Harley. After she is released from the tax code she was magically sealed in, she proves herself to be far more ruthless and evil than Harley and her crew thought, and she tries to kill Harley despite their former bond.

* Slade in ''WesternAnimation/TeenTitans2003'' is [[SoftSpokenSadist softly-spoken]] and tries to present himself as a mentor and father figure to both Robin and [[spoiler:Terra]] at various points. He's also cruel, manipulative, and brutal, and positively ''radiates'' creepiness.

** [[Characters/GravityFallsBillCipher Bill Cipher]] will talk to you in the most cheerful tone possible, while mocking you and ''ripping a deer's teeth out.'' The author's entry on him can go from nothing but compliments to a caps lock warning that he's not to be trusted under any circumstances which implies that this is Bill's MO. By playing nice and downplaying his sinister, ulterior motives, he's able to coerce people into going along with his plans without realizing just what they've signed onto.

* ''WesternAnimation/HazbinHotel'': While Alastor can be genuinely affable with people he likes, he can also be outright abusive while maintaining the same cheerful facade, as seen for example in the pilot when he's pushing Vaggie around and coercing Husker. It helps that he never stops smiling for any reason.

** The Penguin pulls this off most successfully, as being a high-class gentleman is part of his supervillain persona. He dresses well, enjoys fine art, music, and other "cultured" things, and (in the New Batman Adventures) owns and operates a successful night club. That said, the last episode of the aforementioned series shows that he's still a greedy criminal who fences stolen goods and cheats money from other villains. [[NotSoAboveItAll Nor is he above forming outlandish schemes to get what he wants.]]

* WesternAnimation/ThePerilsOfPenelopePitstop: Sylvester Sneekly puts on the facade of a kind and caring guardian to the titular heroine. Even as The Hooded Claw he never loses his cool and remains calm and composed even as he explains to Penelope in great detail how his [[RubeGoldbergHatesYourGuts perils]] work, using terms around her such as "my dear sweet Penelope" only breaking the calm when his perils fail or to take out his anger on his henchmen, and even then his snarky tone remains. Even as Sneekly he gives off very subtle hints to Penelope that HE IS The Hooded Claw and she still doesn't get it because she's a WideEyedIdealist and would never think her guardian would be such a horrible man.

** Despite being sophisticated and polite on the surface, HIM has a huge ego and enjoys other people's suffering.

*** Prior to the mass {{Flanderization}} of the cast, Stewie was cast a psychotic mastermind determined to take over the world and kill anyone who gets in his way (particularly his mother), usually making for some of the show's earliest laugh-out-loud moments. Granted, as time passed in the show, Stewie's personality calmed and he gained redeeming aspects, ironically making him one of the few genuinely sympathetic characters in the show.
* WesternAnimation/MyLifeAsATeenageRobot: Vexus is usually very polite to Jenny, which is more creepy than if she isn't, considering her one-sided obsession with her.

* ''WesternAnimation/SpongeBobSquarePants''

** [[BigBad Plankton]] can also be this. He could actually has a Cuarto and friendly towards as a characters, but it’s clear that he just wants to further advance his goal, namely getting Krabby Patty formula. He fully becomes this in [[WesternAnimation/TheSpongeBobSquarePantsMovie the movie]]. He could bounce between this and genuinely AffablyEvil, DependingOnTheWriter, sometimes legitimately friendlier than his rival, Krabs, and sometimes only pretending to be.

* ''WesternAnimation/SpongeBobSquarePants'' has one with [[Characters/SpongeBobSquarePantsMrKrabs Mr. Krabs]], thanks to the show's {{Flanderization}} and the reliance on ComedicSociopathy in later seasons. While he occasionally is still nice to [=SpongeBob=] and acts as a mentor, like in the early seasons (when not swindling him), his greed went up to eleven. Such as serving his customers with spoiled or super-greasy food just to make an extra buck, torturing Plankton to the point where he is nearly DrivenToSuicide, framing [=SpongeBob=], and making [=SpongeBob=]'s pet, Gary, into a money magnet [[KickTheDog even though it's painful to the snail.]] All this said, he would have been labeled as a monster if it wasn't for the show's NegativeContinuity and the PlayedForLaughs nature of the portrayal of his villainy.
** [[BigBad Plankton]] can also bounce between this and AffablyEvil, DependingOnTheWriter.

* The villains on ''WesternAnimation/BatmanTheAnimatedSeries'' run the gamut, from genuinely AffablyEvil as long as you don't make them angry to flat-out nasty and no fun at all to be around. The ones who most obviously fall into this trope are the Joker (of course) and the animated series' version of Poison Ivy, who here is one of the most ladylike terrorists and murderesses you can imagine - and is an outright BitchInSheepsClothing as her everyday self, Pamela Isley. Making it all the more satisfying when the tables are turned on her and [[VillainousBreakdown this smug beauty becomes a shrieking harpy]], best demonstrated in her debut episode [[Recap/BatmanTheAnimatedSeriesE5PrettyPoison "Pretty Poison"]].

* ''WesternAnimation/TheVentureBrothers'' has many examples, such as the WickedCultured Phantom Limb who will maintain a polite and gentle attitude while he murders you with a simple touch.

* ''WesternAnimation/StarVsTheForcesOfEvil'': [[Characters/StarVsTheForcesOfEvilToffee Toffee]] is almost always calm, collected, and well-spoken, coming across more like a lawyer or a business man than a villain. But in a cast of {{Harmless Villain}}s and {{Anti Villain}}s, he stands out as a completely cold-blooded, and vicious {{Chessmaster}}. If anything, his formality and politeness only make him creepier, [[spoiler: and his VillainousBreakdown more shocking]].

*** Prior to the mass {{Flanderization}} of the cast, Stewie was cast a psychotic mastermind vehement on taking over the world and killing anyone who gets in his way (particularly his mother), usually making for some of the show's earliest laugh-out-loud moments. Granted, as time passed in the show, Stewie's personality calmed and he gained redeeming aspects, ironically making him one of the few genuinely sympathetic characters in the show.

** ''[[WesternAnimation/TransformersAnimated Animated]]'' Megatron is no less eloquent than his ''Beast Wars'' counterpart... and no less monstrous either, what with his many heinous plans to subjugate Earth and Cybertron under his cruel reign, torturing the Constructicons into being Decepticons, and sacrificing his own troops for the sake of his aforementioned plans.

** Sideways from ''[[Anime/TransformersArmada Armada]]'' and ''[[Anime/TransformersCybertron Cybertron]]'' pretends to be chummy with both sides when his true goal is to backstab them so he can reap all the benefits from such an act himself.

** Sideways from [[Anime/TransformersArmada Armada]] and [[Anime/TransformersCybertron Cybertron]].

* ''WesternAnimation/TheOwlHouse'': [[Characters/TheOwlHouseEmperorBelos Emperor Belos]] rarely drops his polite, dignified manner of speaking even when making it clear he plans on murdering whoever he's speaking with. One example is when Lilith comes back after another failed attempt at capturing Eda and he doesn't change his friendly tone even as he threatens to have her stripped of her rank and [[TakenForGranite petrified]]. Taken to its most extreme when he acts similarly polite to [[spoiler:Hunter and Luz upon finding them in his Mindscape, even after he reveals the former is the latest in a long line of {{Expendable Clone}}s and shares his genocidal ambitions with the latter]] all while trying to kill them.

** [[TheDragon Princess Azula]] is perfectly capable of acting polite as a manipulation tactic, the keyword being "acting", giving a far more sinister edge to almost everything she says. This actually is shown off as both an advantage and a crippling flaw, as outside of situations where she needs to play her opponents like puppets, [[NoSocialSkills she is utterly clueless as to how to act.]]

** [[OurDemonsAreDifferent Bill Cipher]] will talk to you in the most cheerful tone possible, while mocking you and ''ripping a deer's teeth out.'' The author's entry on him can go from nothing but compliments to a caps lock warning that he's not to be trusted under any circumstances which implies that this is Bill's MO. By playing nice and downplaying his sinister, ulterior motives, he's able to coerce people into going along with his plans without realizing just what they've signed onto.

* [[KnightTemplar Kuvira]] from ''Last Airbender'''s SequelSeries ''WesternAnimation/TheLegendOfKorra'' is the quintessential VillainWithGoodPublicity and acts stern but infallibly polite in public, often to keep that good publicity. She even acts like AMotherToHerMen to her troops, telling them that she wouldn't put them through things she wouldn't go through herself. However, the facade only holds as long as things go her way or her subordinates do what she says. The moment something goes wrong or someone slights her, her temper disintegrates, the mask comes off, and out come the threats of a re-education camp. [[spoiler: Bolin and Varrick learn this the hard way, as does her fiancé Baatar Jr.]]

** On the surface, Aku is a comedic, likeable villain, to the point of being able to have comic and civil conversations with other people, including his ArchEnemy Jack. But, being MadeOfEvil, he is also a monstrous brute who loves to inflict as much pain as possible on other people.

** Mr. Montgomery Burns. Though, granted, DependingOnTheWriter Mr. Burns can be AffablyEvil.

** Played with Eric Cartman,: He's usually portrayed as a straightforward {{Jerkass}}, but he's willing to act nice to get what he wants. Even so, there are times when he can't even do that, instead using pity to manipulate people.
* ''WesternAnimation/SpongeBobSquarePants'' has one with [[CorruptCorporateExecutive Mr. Krabs]], thanks to the show's {{Flanderization}} and the reliance on ComedicSociopathy in later seasons. While he occasionally is still nice to [=SpongeBob=] and acts as a mentor, like in the early seasons (when not swindling him), his greed went up to eleven. Such as serving his customers with spoiled or super-greasy food just to make an extra buck, torturing Plankton to the point where he is nearly DrivenToSuicide, framing [=SpongeBob=], and making [=SpongeBob=]'s pet, Gary, into a money magnet [[KickTheDog even though it's painful to the snail.]] All this said, he would have been labeled as a monster if it wasn't for the show's NegativeContinuity and the PlayedForLaughs nature of the portrayal of his villainy.

* ''WesternAnimation/StarVsTheForcesOfEvil'': [[KnightOfCerebus Toffee]] is almost always calm, collected, and well-spoken, coming across more like a lawyer or a business man than a villain. But in a cast of {{Harmless Villain}}s and {{Anti Villain}}s, he stands out as a completely cold-blooded, and vicious {{Chessmaster}}. If anything, his formality and politeness only make him creepier, [[spoiler: and his VillainousBreakdown more shocking]].

** Of all the contestants on the show, Alejandro is probably the biggest example. He appears to be a charming gentleman who loves the ladies ([[ChickMagnet and they love him]]), but in reality, he is a cruel and heartless bastard of unparalleled greed and selfishness who sees women as playthings to break and then toss away. That being said, outside of his debut season, he acts more AffablyEvil instead in comparison to the other villains, particularly in Total Drama All Stars.

** Mal. Being the SuperpoweredEvilSide of the cheerful and good-natured Mike makes it easy to hide the fact you're a sadist who enjoys causing mayhem ForTheEvulz (especially when you can do an absurdly good impression of him).

** Usually, Principal Skinner is among the most [[TheComicallySerious comically serious]] characters, but in the "Treehouse of Horror V" story "Nightmare Cafeteria", Skinner's uptight nature actually ''adds'' to his creepiness [[ImAHumanitarian while he has his students get killed off for food]].

** Scaramouche speaks very politely with Jack and is portrayed as a very charismatic, LaughablyEvil robot...after having just massacred an entire village and about to try and kill Jack.

* In ''WesternAnimation/{{Reboot}}'', Megabyte's sophisticated mannerisms and pretense of wanting to conquer Mainframe/the entire Net to establish order all hide his true predatory nature. He fully becomes this as of Season 2. While still polite and Wicked Cultured, he's also more vicious, doing such things as gleefully torturing Hexadecimal and being willing to sacrifice his own minions to get what he wants. The few times he drops the act, he's a snarling monster.

* The villains on ''WesternAnimation/BatmanTheAnimatedSeries'' run the gamut, from genuinely AffablyEvil as long as you don't make them angry to flat-out nasty and no fun at all to be around. The ones who most obviously fall into this trope are the Joker (of course) and the animated series' version of Poison Ivy, who here is one of the most ladylike terrorists and murderesses you can imagine - and is an outright BitchInSheepsClothing as her everyday self, Pamela Isley. Making it all the more satisfying when the tables are turned on her and [[VillainousBreakdown this smug beauty becomes a shrieking harpy]].

** Usually, Principal Skinner is among the most [[TheComicallySerious comically serious]] characters, but in the "Treehouse of Horror V" story "Nightmare Cafeteria", Skinner's uptight nature actually ''adds'' to his creepiness [[ImAHumanitarian while he has his students being killed off for food]].