History Main / VilerNewVillain

* ''WesternAnimation/TheAmazingWorldOfGumball'': [[SadistTeacher Miss Simain]] was the main antagonist for the first three and a half seasons, and while far from harmless she was ultimately more just a bully than a true villain. When Rob steps up as the true BigBad, he's quickly established as a [[VileVillainSaccharineShow much darker threat]] who's willing to commit mass murder just to get revenege on Gumball, who he blames for [[NeverMyFault causing him to become a villain in the first place]].

** The Season 2 BigBadEnsemble [[spoiler:Qilby]] and Rushu are this to Nox from the first season. Rushu is a [[CardCarryingVillain card-carrying]] OmnicidalManiac and a [[{{Jerkass}} dickwad]] who's arguably only saved from Complete Monster status by how laughable he is. Although [[spoiler:Qilby]] has [[WoobieDestroyerOfWorlds very compelling reasons for being the way he is]], unlike Nox, he [[StrawNihilist just doesn't care]] about the harm he causes to others and he outright refuses to admit his actions weren't worth it when he's at his lowest and his crimes have turned all his family against him.
** Then Season 3 introduces Oropo and [[spoiler:Adamaï]]. Whilst Oropo is on the one hand more redeemable than Qilby [[spoiler:as his love for his Brotherhood ultimately stops him from going through with his EvilPlan]]; on the other hand, his active goal of committing total genocide upon an entire dimension and its inhabitants is far beyond the scope of Nox's WellIntentionedExtremist goals or Qilby's desire to drain a planet or two for his Krosmoz-cruising needs, and he tries to get under the heroes' skin in ways that the previous Big Bads never did; with his [[spoiler:seduction of Amalia partly out of personal envy of Yugo, and him drawing Adamaï into his fold]]. As for [[spoiler:Adamaï]]... it really can't be overstated how needlessly and nightmarishly vicious he was towards [[spoiler:his brother and]] his former-friends throughout his villainous tenure just because he wanted to see them suffer, and his excuse for his FaceHeelTurn is far more feeble and hypocritical bordering on pathetic than the tragic backstories of Oropo, Qilby and Nox.

** ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaTearsOfTheKingdom'' ramps up Ganondorf's sadism and cruelty to OmnicidalManiac levels, making him more similar to [[SatanicArchetype Demise]] than the original Ganondorf ever was. Eiji Aonuma even expressed in an interview that the scene where [[spoiler:he brutally kills the defenseless Queen Sonia]] was meant to set him apart as "overwhelmingly evil" compared to his past depictions.

* ''Franchise/MarvelCinematicUniverse:'' The villain for the Infinity Saga, Thanos, is wiling to commit multiple genocide to achieve his goals, but believes in part it's for a good but hideous reason, and is capable of some twisted form of love. The ArcVillain replacing him, Kang, doesn't, and his introductory film establishes he's annihilated entire worlds, entire ''universes'' without even the slightest shred of remorse, simply the rush of doing so.

* Vulture from ''Film/SpiderManHomecoming'' was a black-market arms dealer, but cared for his men and tried to limit innocent casualties as much as he can, even offering Peter an opportunity to back out with no strings attached, and even protects Peter's identity from known criminals. [[spoiler:Mysterio from ''Film/SpiderManFarFromHome'' initially presented himself as TheCape, but is soon revealed to be a FakeUltimateHero with implied casualties in his drone attacks numbering thousands, doesn't care about his team more than their skillset, and brutally {{Mind Rape}}s Peter after his true colors come to light, despite liking the kid earlier. Even when Peter eventually defeats him, Mysterio manages to get the last laugh by ''publicly framing Spider-Man behind the London attacks as well as his murder and then '''exposing his SecretIdentity''' for the world to see''.]]

* ''Literature/SwordArtOnline'': Akihiko Kayaba was no saint, but he had his [[MoralSociopathy own moral code]] and [[FairPlayVillain stuck to it to the end]]. The Fairy Dance arc brings in Nobuyuki Sugou, who has none of Kayaba's AffablyEvil traits and is just an amoral, greedy, perverted {{Jerkass}} who commits such horrifying atrocities as trapping 300 SAO survivors for the sake of performing mind control experiments, trying to rape Asuna while making Kirito watch, and then trying to kill Kazuto IRL. And while Kayaba had VillainousValour, was a good fighter even without admin privileges, and ultimately [[GracefulLoser took his defeat well]], Sugou is a DirtyCoward who knows he doesn't stand a chance against Kirito without GameMaster powers and [[InelegantBlubbering wimps out]] when the tables turn on him.

* The ''Franchise/ToyStory'' franchise has [[spoiler:[[KillerTeddyBear Lots-o'-Huggin Bear]]]] be portrayed as being far more evil than any of the other villains in the franchise, who are either antagonistic humans who have no idea that the toys are sentient or antagonistic toys who are portrayed in a more sympathetic light.

* ''WesternAnimation/{{Amphibia}}'' has every season long antagonist be surpassed in villainy by their successors. Season 1's {{Arc Villain}}s are Captain Grime, the Toad leader suppressing the frogs in the valley, and Sasha Waybright, a human who becomes Grime's lieutenant as part of a deal to get back to Earth. Sasha is manipulative and doesn't care about hurting the local frogs but she does care about Anne, who's one of her best friends, while Grime is mostly a thug who becomes humanized by his budding friendship with Sasha. Season 2 has them try to launch a coup of Amphibia, but they're quickly dwarfed in threat by King Andrias of Newtopia, who turns out to have been manipulating everyone to resume his ancestors' legacy as {{Multiversal Conqueror}}s. Season 3 has Andrias's redeeming and tragic qualities slowly brought to light and it's revealed he's only TheDragon corrupted by the series true BigBad, [[Characters/AmphibiaTheCore The Core]], a machine that serves as a MindHive of all of Amphibia's past leaders, including Andrias's abusive father Aldrich. While [[spoiler:Sasha, Grime and Andrias]] all redeem themselves, the Core and Aldrich remain pure evil tyrants willing to wipe out entire planets to maintain their power.

* ''VideoGame/KirbyAndTheForgottenLand'' features [[spoiler:Specimen ID-F86, better known as Fecto Forgo]], by far one of the cruelest villains in the otherwise fluffy ''Franchise/{{Kirby}}'' franchise alongside the ''Anime/KirbyRightBackAtYa'' version of [[VideoGame/KirbysAdventure Nightmare]]. Most prior villains were AffablyEvil and/or Punch-Clock Villains, were [[AntiVillain Anti-Villains]] with noble traits and goals that were the only things making them evil, [[TragicVillain had tragic backstories that drove them to villainy and/or insanity]], were simply [[BrainwashedAndCrazy possessed and/or brainwashed]] into doing things [[NotHimself out of character and/or against their own will]], were simply MadeOfEvil, or were simply {{Generic Doomsday Villain}}s. [[spoiler:Forgo, on the other hand, is a despicable monster that delights in ruining the lives of others [[ForTheEvulz just because they can]], tried to subjugate the new world and its ecosystems, [[SlaveryIsASpecialKindOfEvil enslaves hundreds of cute and innocent Waddle Dees]], brainwashes the Beast Pack and King Dedede into carrying out their evil deeds as their puppets, [[UngratefulBastard assimilates several members including their leader Leongar]], and [[ColonyDrop tries to make Planet Popstar and the Forgotten Land collide with each other and kill everybody in both worlds]] just because of a petty grudge against Kirby. In the postgame, Forgo even shatters Leon's soul and possesses him in their attempt to keep themselves alive.]]

* ''Manga/{{Dandadan}}'' has the Kur/Space Globalists to the Serpoians. Unlike the Serpoians, [[OneGenderRace who are all male]] and require females of other species to provide needed genetic diversity. the Kur have no need to prey on other species, they just want fodder for their weaponry and [[TheRightOfASuperiorSpecies openly consider it there's by right]]. And while the Serpoians seem to be planning an invasion of some unknown scale, the Kur are primed for total war against the Earth. Their strategies enphasize this contrast: the Serpoians operate in small cells and study Earth's supernatural phenomena while the Kur have an entire armada set to wage war against the planet, [[spoiler:though despite being able to get to Earth in spite of the heroes' efforts, said armada was no match for a single supernatural entity, which the Serpoians determined was the very reason aliens were not able to invade Earth]].

* ''Franchise/{{Dragonball}}'' commonly uses this trope in regards to introducing new villains.

* ''Anime/PokemonTheSeries'': Cassidy and Butch serve as this and EvilerThanThou rivals to Jessie, James and Meowth. Both are Pokemon thieves working for Team Rocket, but Jessie and James are shown to care for their own Pokemon, [[EnemyMine work with]] or even sympathize with the heroes and have other likable traits. Cassidy and Butch, by contrast, lack any AffablyEvil traits and don't show any care for their Pokemon.

* ''WesternAnimation/TheAmazingWorldOfGumball'': [[SadistTeacher Miss Simain]] was the main antagonist for the first three and a half seasons, and while far from harmless she was ultimately more just a bully than a true villain. When Rob steps up as the true BigBad he's quickly established as a [[VileVillainSaccharineShow much darker threat]] who's willing to commit mass murder just to get revenege on Gumball, who he blames for [[NeverMyFault causing him to become a villain in the first place]].

** [[WesternAnimation/AvatarTheLastAirbender Original Series]]: Has this in play alongside the SortingAlgorithmOfEvil. The first recurring antagonist Prince Zuko is an AntiVillain with a discernible FreudianExcuse, standards and redeeming qualities. Admiral Zhao, the next recurring villain and an antagonist to Zuko and the Gaang at separate intervals throughout Season 1, is more competent and more willing to cross the MoralEventHorizon. After [[spoiler:Zhao is killed in the first season finale]], Zuko's sister [[Characters/AvatarTheLastAirbenderPrincessAzula Princess Azula]], who is more competent than Zhao and lacks any of Zuko's redeeming qualities, becomes the [[TheHeavy main villain]] and deals the team a crushing blow at the end of Season 2. Season 3 introduces [[Characters/AvatarTheLastAirbenderFireLordOzai Fire Lord Ozai]] in a full appearance as he had mainly appeared via flashback beforehand. During the series finale, [[spoiler:Azula is revealed to be a TragicVillain and gets an AlasPoorVillain]] while Fire Lord Ozai is perfectly happy to burn the world to ash to [[TakeOverTheWorld conquer it]].

** ''[[Manga/JoJosBizarreAdventureStoneOcean Stone Ocean]]'' takes place in a maximum security prison, filled with rapists, murderers, lowlifes and corrupt officials but no other character stands out in depravity as much as the former leader of a suicide cult, [[EvilOldFolks Kenzō]]. He is an egotistical, sadistic piece of work with a god complex and similarly to Cioccolata, everyone hates Kenzō and refuses to associate with him.

* ''VideoGame/CrashBandicoot3Warped'' brought two in the form of Uka Uka and N Tropy, who entered just as the series' BigBad, Dr Neo Cortex, was starting to become pitiful in his failed attempts at world domination. Uka Uka was the ManBehindTheMan, an evil and intimidating elder mask whose defining characteristic is his nasty wrathful temper to enemies and surbodinates alike. N Tropy started off a milder case, being a less AffablyEvil ReplacementFlatCharacter for Cortex, though in ''VideoGame/CrashBandicoot4ItsAboutTime'', he reveals his truly malicious side, betraying not just Cortex but even Uka Uka in his plans to erase the entire timeline to suit his God complex. He even doubles on this trope by bringing in ''another'' viler villain; an alternate universe version of himself that has actually succeeded in killing their own Crash and Coco.

** ''VideoGame/PokemonLegendsArceus'' has its true antagonist, [[spoiler:Volo, an OmnicidalManiac who wants to recreate the universe [[InTheirOwnImage in his own image]]]]. The only villains who rival him in scope are Cyrus and Lysandre, who both had [[WellIntentionedExtremist good intentions]] to [[KnightTemplar varying degrees]], and the only one to rival him in cruelty is Ghetsis, whose EvilPlan doesn't come close in terms of sheer scope.