History Main / TheButcher

* In ''Film/WildWildWest'' (1999), General "Bloodbath" [=McGrath=] is also known as "The Butcher of New Liberty", for the annihilation of a town founded by freed slaves [[spoiler:that he didn't actually commit]].

* Played with in conversation and ultimately [[DefiedTrope defied]] in the film ''Film/{{Tigerland}}''.
-->'''Miter''': "You know what I am Bozz? I'm a butcher."\\
'''Bozz''': "Yeah, we all butchers, Miter."\\
'''Miter''': "No, I'm a real butcher."\\
'''Bozz''': "Shit, you haven't killed anyone yet."\\
'''Miter''': "God damn it, Bozz, I mean a ''real'' butcher. Back home I cut meat."

* ''Film/TheIndestructibleMan'' is about "Butcher" Benton (Lon Chaney, Jr.), who [[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin becomes nigh-indestructible]] after being brought BackFromTheDead.

* Cassius Mass in SpaceOpera series ''Literature/LucifersStar'' he is known as both [[RedBaron The Fire Count]] by his side of the war and [[TheButcher The Butcher of Kolthas Station]] by his enemies.

--> Parker: The butcher is here!
--> Elliot: Does he have the baby lamb chops?
--> Hardison: No, the Butcher ''of Kyiv''.

* Barnaby "The Butcher" Fortescue in ''WebVideo/OutsideXbox'''s ''TabletopGame/BladesInTheDark'' campaign chose that title himself. He's far from the hardened killer it would imply, instead being a foppish, self-infatuated RichJerk whose criminal career is motivated solely by boredom, and whose chosen playbook, the Slide, is mostly focused on being TheSocialExpert. The rest of the gang aren't so much afraid of him as they are mostly just irritated at putting up with his obnoxiousness.

* ''Series/BlakesSeven'': Bayban the Butcher in "[[Recap/BlakesSevenS3E6CityAtTheEdgeOfTheWorld City at the Edge of the World]]". As there's a RunningGag over Bayban being obsessed about his notoriety as a criminal, he probably chose the moniker himself. Though Bayban clearly deserves it given Vila's OhCrap [[TheDreaded reaction on meeting him]]; he even resents Blake for having eclipsed him on the Federation Most Wanted list purely because Blake is a political dissident.

* In ''VideoGame/RomancingSaGa: Minstrel Song'', {{Pirate}} captain Hawke's [[TheRival Rival]] is [[EveryoneCallsHimBarkeep known only as]] 'The Butcher'. The main point of contention between them is that The Butcher favors KillEmAll, while Hawke is supposed to be more compassionate and sensible. (Though that doesn't bar the player from [[VideoGameCrueltyPotential butchering the entire crew of the ships he attacks in his prologue]]...)

** A whole three Nazis were called "The Butcher of Warsaw": Oskar Dirlewanger, leader of an especially savage and depraved SS squadron called the "Dirlewanger Brigade"; Josef Meisinger, Warsaw police commander notorious for his brutal reprisals; and Heinz Reinefarth, a Nazi general accused of murdering thousands of civilians during the Warsaw Uprising. In addition, Hans Frank, the Nazi Governor of Poland, was known as "The Butcher of Poland".

[[quoteright:250:[[ComicBook/TheDarkness https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/r6euxrd.png]]]]

* Sith scientist Vul Isen from ''[[Franchise/StarWarsLegends Star Wars]] ComicBook/{{Legacy}}'' is nicknamed “the Butcher of Dac” after creating a toxin that successfully wipes out 80% of all life on the Mon Calamari homeworld, Dac.

** Mazarall, a Daemon Prince of [[WarGod Khorne]] from ''TabletopGame/WarhammerAgeOfSigmar'', gained the title of ‘the Butcher’ for his remorseless slaughter and devouring of both mortal and daemonic foes.

* in [[Podcast/TheMagnusArchives]], avatars of [[EvilIsVisceral The Flesh]], most notably [[MalevolentMutilation Jared Hopworth]] and [[ImAHumanitarian the Hann family]] are referred to as Butchers at various points... because they generally have jobs in the meat industry.

[[folder:Video Games]]
* In the ''VideoGame/{{Commandos}}'' series, the Green Beret (the main playable character) is nicknamed "the Butcher", not because of sociopathic or bloodythirsty tendencies, but because he uses a knife as his weapon of choice.

* On Wiki/TheOtherWiki, the title "Butcher of the Balkans" leads to ''[[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Butcher_of_the_Balkans a disambiguation page]]'', because of how many different people have held that title. The most famous of them, the late Slobodan Milosevic, was also known as "The Butcher of Belgrade."

* In TheMovie of ''Series/{{Porridge}}'', Fletcher warns Godber that another prisoner is known as the Butcher. When Godber nervously asks what he's in for, Fletch replies that he fiddled the tax on his sausages.

* In TheMovie of ''Series/{{Porrige}}'', Fletcher warns Godber that another prisoner is known as the Butcher. When Godber nervously asks what he's in for, Fletch replies that he fiddled the tax on his sausages.

* A particularly nasty group of Ulster Loyalist terrorists during UsefulNotes/TheTroubles linked to the paramilitary group the Ulster Volunteer Force set about ethnic cleansing of Irish Catholics found in Loyalist areas of Belfast. Known as the Shankhill Butchers, these terrorists lived up to their name by abducting Catholics and then torturing and murdering them in various horrific ways. The people they murdered were just random Catholics with no IRA or INLA associations - they were murdered simply because they were Irish Catholics. and yes, butchering tools were involved.

** Sheridan's nickname among Minbari is "Starkiller", for his taking out their flagship ''Black Star'' during the Earth/Minbari War. This was the Earth Alliance's only major victory in a largely one-sided war, making the use of the moniker a sign of hypocritical sour grapes. The nickname is derogatory on the Minbari side because Sheridan destroyed the ''Drala Fi'' ("black star" in Minbari Warrior language) in an act of subterfuge and not in open combat, basically calling him a war criminal. [[{{Hypocrite}} Again, this is ignoring the fact that the Black Star answered the false distress signal in order to destroy the supposedly helpess ship.]]

* In the ''VideoGame/{{Commandos}}'' series, the Green Beret (the main playable character) is nicknamed "the Butcher", not because of sociopathic or bloodythirsty tendencies, but because he uses a [[KnifeNut knife]] as his weapon of choice.

** The Evil Butcher monsters appearing in ''VideoGame/CastlevaniaAriaOfSorrow'' resembling large, lumbering ogres armed with [[BottomlessMagazines an unlimited amount of]] [[KnifeNut knives]].

* Victor Zsasz of Batman is sometimes known as The Butcher. He's an AxCrazy [[TheSociopath sociopathic]] KnifeNut SerialKiller who (according to the ''VideoGame/BatmanArkhamSeries'', anyway) occasionally mutilates his victims in addition to killing them.

* ''Series/StarTrekDeepSpaceNine'': In "[[Recap/StarTrekDeepSpaceNineS01E19Duet Duet]]," a Cardassian who visited the station for medical treatment was suspected of being the war criminal Gul Darheel, known as "the Butcher of Gallitep." It turns out he's actually an idealistic file clerk who had himself surgically altered because he wants to shame Cardassia into admitting their crimes on Bajor.

* In Creator/LoisMcMasterBujold's ''Literature/VorkosiganSaga'' books, Aral Vorkosigan earns the name "The Butcher of Komarr" for supposedly having ordered the massacre of two hundred strong Komarran Senate after they surrendered on terms during the Conquest of Komarr. In fact, he had nothing to do with it and it was the sort of military behavior he abhorred. However, he was in charge at the time, so he got blamed despite killing the officer who gave the order on the spot with his bare hands -- plus his political enemies kept saying there had been "secret orders", a rumor he found it impossible to disprove.

* Several prominent UsefulNotes/{{Nazi|Germany}}s, as they took part in the regime's infamous war crimes and/or crimes against humanity during UsefulNotes/WorldWarII. These are the same guys who stuck crossbones on their caps even though it made German citizens "become sick", according to Heinrich Himmler they wanted to inspire fear, not respect. A few others earned epiphets like "The Beast of X".

* ''Megalania prisca'', a giant extinct monitor lizard, has a genus name that was at first thought to mean "Giant butcher". However, it turns out that the name actually means "Giant wanderer". Shame, because the former meaning sounds much more fitting for such a badass animal.

* ''Series/{{Leverage}}'': It's [[LampshadeHanging lampshaded]]: "Have you ever been to Kiev? The ''cake maker'' of Kiev could whup all our asses, and this is the ''Butcher''." The nickname also turns out to be [[JustifiedTrope quite appropriate]], as the The Butcher's weapon of choice is, in fact, a butcher knife. In "The Wedding Job", the following exchange occurs during a con operation at a wedding where one of the con artists, Elliot, is acting the part of the chef:

--> Hardison: No, the Butcher ''of Kiev''.

** In the back story the Pierre Le Sanguinerre was warleader for Dorca the Just and served him whenever Dorca wanted an unruly Vor to be given...[[PayEvilUntoEvil justice.]] His name is French for "bloody pete".

** A whole three Nazis were called "The Butcher of Warsaw": Oskar Dirlewanger, leader of an especially savage and depraved SS squadron called the "Dirlewanger Brigade"; Josef Meisinger, Warsaw police commander notorious for his brutal reprisals; and Heinz Reinefarth, a Nazi general accused of murdering thousands of civilians during the Warsaw Uprising.