History Main / WickedPretentious

Compare and contrast with WickedCultured, of course, with LowerClassLout, and also TheUpperCrass; NouveauRiche characters who are outright evil are usually this trope, but nothing's stopping old money from also fitting it. See also DelusionsOfEloquence, DelusionsOfLocalGrandeur, FeigningIntelligence, InferioritySuperiorityComplex.

[[folder:Anime and Manga]]

* ''Film/AFishCalledWanda'': Otto is a violent thug who thinks reading Creator/FriedrichNietzsche makes him much more intelligent and cultured than he really is.

* ''Film/GuardiansOfTheGalaxyVol3'': [[Characters/MCUTheHighEvolutionary The High Evolutionary]] tries to come off as an erudite EmperorScientist and shows an interest in Earth culture and music (classical music, to boot), but it’s abundantly clear that he’s a [[ThePerfectionist perfectionist]] PsychopathicManchild who is only concerned with playing God and making sure his flawed creations meet his delusional, contradictory standards. He really doesn’t understand anything about the culture or science he tries to invest himself in, and when his creations fail him in ''any'' capacity (or causes [[EvilIsPetty a blow to his ego]]), he responds with cruelty of the highest order. Notably, he attempts to appear philosphical by disparaging humanity its for bigotry and violence [[{{Hypocrite}} (despite being just as guilty of the same)]], and when called out on the mess of a society he created he decides that it’s unsalvageable and chooses to burn it to the ground. The end result of all this is a bonafide HateSink and one of the most despicable villains in the MCU.

* The titular thief Albert Spica from ''Film/TheCookTheThiefHisWifeAndHerLover'' is a mafia boss that has taken control of the La Hollandais restaurant were he dines every day with his wife and crew. He fancies himself an intellectual and elite, ordering French food (while mispronouncing the words), musing about philosophy and shaming his group for using improper utensils. In reality, he is a gross, abusive, heartless man. He tortures and kills people he believes have crossed him (regardless of whether they actually did it or if it warranted the punishment), publicly brutalizes his wife and various patrons at the restaurant, harasses Michael for reading while at the dinner table, and this is just what we see on screen. He is so bad, that both the kitchen staff and his own men turn on him by the end of the film.

** Marine Lieutenant Fullbody pretends to be a sophisticated and cultured wine connoisseur to impress women and keep up appearances as an OfficerAndAGentleman. When Sanji calls him out on the facade he quickly averts NiceToTheWaiter and even assaults his date in anger, receiving a CurbstompBattle by Sanji for his troubles. Ironically, after getting demoted[[note]] Caused when he tried to protect the aformentioned Jango [[/note]] he {{inver|tedTrope}}ts the trope by dropping the persona entirely, becoming openly crass and silly [[TookALevelInKindness but also considerably nicer]].

* ''Film/TheMenu'': Tyler initially appears to be a charming foodie with a deep understanding of cuisine who is ecstatic to be dining at a high-class restaurant hosted by his idol, Julian Slowik. But it becomes increasingly clear that he’s largely interested in impressing Slowik and looking like he understands his cooking, even as the latter plans to murder all his guests. His attempts to show off his [[KnowNothingKnowItAll “knowledge”]] are very surface level and earns no attention or respect, and when he’s [[spoiler: instructed to make something himself, he fails spectacularly.]] Oh, and for the “Wicked” part? [[spoiler: He knew of Slowik’s murder plot beforehand but still dragged Margot into it [[ItsAllAboutMe just so he can have the plus-one required to attend]]. Quite tellingly, [[EvenEvilHasStandards Slowik is absolutely disgusted with Tyler]] and takes pleasure in humiliating him into being DrivenToSuicide.]]

** Marine Lieutenant Fullbody pretends to be a sophisticated and cultured wine connoisseur to impress women and keep up appearances as an OfficerAndAGentleman. When Sanji calls him out on the facade he quickly averts NiceToTheWaiter and even assaults his date in anger, receiving a CurbstompBattle by Sanji for his troubles. Ironically, after getting demoted he {{inver|tedTrope}}ts the trope by dropping the persona completely, becoming openly crass and silly [[TookALevelInKindness but also considerably nicer]].

* ''Film/TheMenu'': Tyler initially appears to be a charming foodie with a deep understanding of cuisine who is ecstatic to be dining at a high-class restaurant hosted by his idol, Julian Slowik. But it becomes increasingly clear that he’s largely interested in impressing Slowik and looking like he understands his cooking, [[LackOfEmpathy even as the latter plans to murder all his guests]]. His attempts to show off his [[KnowNothingKnowItAll “knowledge”]] are very surface level and earns no attention or respect, and when he’s [[spoiler: instructed to make something himself, he fails spectacularly.]] Oh, and for the “Wicked” part? [[spoiler: He knew of Slowik’s murder plot beforehand but still dragged Margot into it [[ItsAllAboutMe just so he can have the plus-one required to attend]]. Quite tellingly, [[EvenEvilHasStandards Slowik is absolutely disgusted with Tyler]] and takes pleasure in humiliating him into being DrivenToSuicide.]]

** ''WesternAnimation/DCSuperHeroGirls2019'': The Penguin is barely groomed, visibly unwashed and wears a sweater with the image of a dress shirt on it but is still confident enough to mock Barbara Gordon's blue collar status to her face.

** ''WesternAnimationDCSuperHeroGirls2019'': The Penguin is barely groomed, visibly unwashed and wears a sweater with the image of a dress shirt on it but is still confident enough to mock Barbara Gordon's blue collar status to her face.

** Marine Lieutenant Fullbody pretends to be a sophisticated and cultured wine connoisseur to impress women and keep up appearances as an OfficerAndAGentleman. When Sanji calls him out on the facade he quickly averts NiceToTheWaiter and even assaults his date in anger, receiving a CurbstompBattle by Sanji for his troubles. Ironically, after meeting the aforementioned Jango, he {{inver|tedTrope}}ts the trope by dropping the persona entirely, becoming openly crass and silly [[TookALevelInKindness but also considerably nicer]].

** Marine Lieutenant Fullbody pretends to be a sophisticated and cultured wine connoisseur to impress women and keep up appearances as an OfficerAndAGentleman. When Sanji calls him out on the facade he quickly averts NiceToTheWaiter and even assaults his date in anger, receiving a CurbstompBattle by Sanji for his troubles. Ironically, after meeting the aforementioned Jango, he {{inver|tedTrope}}ts the trope by dropping the persona entirely, becoming openly crass and rude [[TookALevelInKindness but also considerably nicer]].

* In ''Manga/OnePiece'', ex-pirate captain Kuro plays the part of a well-dressed, urbane butler named Klahadore as part of his plan to murder a young girl and make off with her fortune. When his plan starts hitting roadblocks, he breaks out his WolverineClaws and shows the bloodthirsty savage he actually is, frightening his right-hand man Django in the process.
-->'''Django:''' To avoid scratching his face with his "Cat Claws"...he pushes his glasses up his nose [with his palms]. It's proof that he hasn't forgotten how to kill!

* ''WesternANimation/MiraculousLadybug'': Gabriel Agreste presents himself as a stern, but respectable bigshot in the field of high fashion and lives in a large mansion. As the supervillain Hawk Moth, he presents a loud and bombastic personality and gives his minions gaudy costumes and names. [[spoiler:It's revealed later on that his real name isn't even Gabriel Agreste, and that he used to be a young restaurant worker named Gabi Grassette who built his whole legend from the ground up to seem more impressive]].

[[caption-width-right:350:"[[Music/IggyAzalea I'm so fancy, can't you taste this gold?]]"]]

A villain whose air of cultured good breeding serves to enhance their evilness, but they only put it on as an act. A WickedCultured villain is genuinely educated, refined, and well-mannered; this guy is crass with mere delusions of class. Perhaps the soft-spoken "respectable" businessman never got out of the habit of carrying a [[SinisterSwitchblade switchblade]], or the ruthless RichBitch trying to [[SocialClimber climb the social ladder]] can't help but drop cues as to her humble upbringing.

[[quoteright:350:"[[Music/IggyAzalea I'm so fancy, can't you taste this gold?]]"]]

* Trade Prince Jastor Gallywix in ''VideoGame/WorldOfWarcraft'' and it's spin-offs is considered greedy even amongst goblins who have greedy as one of their [[PlanetOfHats racial personality quirks]]. He typically wears a top hat, dresses in [[PimpedOutCape fur-lined coats and capes]], smokes fancy cigars and flaunts his wealth to all who are watching. He's more than happy to abuse his underlings and in the goblin starting tries to sell the player and other goblins to slavers. He speaks, like most goblins, with a heavy Brooklyn accent is is said to have backstabbed his way up society to reach the top of the Bilgewater Cartel from being pretty much a street thug so his classlessness often shows through.

* Trade Prince Jastor Gallywix in ''VideoGame/WorldOfWarcraft'' and it's spin-offs is considered greedy even amongst goblins who have greedy as one of their [[PlanetOftTheHats racial personality quirks]]. He typically wears a top hat, dresses in [[TheErmineCapeEffect fur-lined coats and capes]], smokes fancy cigars and flaunts his wealth to all who are watching. He's more than happy to abuse his underlings and in the goblin starting tries to sell the player and other goblins to slavers. He speaks, like most goblins, with a heavy Brooklyn accent is is said to have backstabbed his way up society to reach the top of the Bilgewater Cartel from being pretty much a street thug so his classlessness often shows through.

%% Image selected per Image Pickin thread: https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/posts.php?discussion=16817770510.11483000

[[quoteright:350:[[VideoGame/BatmanArkhamCity https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/penguin_2_2.png]]]]

---->''"Living well is the ''best'' revenge."''

A villain whose air of cultured good breeding serves to enhance their evilness, but they only put it on as an act. A WickedCultured villain is genuinely educated, refined, and well-mannered; this guy is crass with mere delusions of class. Perhaps the soft spoken "respectable" businessman never got out of the habit of carrying a switchblade, or the ruthless RichBitch social climber keeps can't help but drop cues as to her humble upbringing.

* ''WesternAnimation/{{Coco}}'': [[spoiler:Ernesto de la Cruz]] is a musician, singer, and actor who's proficient with folk songs like "La Llorona" as well as modern ones, and he takes the time to admire Miguel's performance. However, he has no genuine appreciation for whatever art form he performs. Everything he does, [[AttentionWhore he does to attract attention to himself]] [[OnlyInItForTheMoney and gain fame and wealth]]. Above all else, he is also [[spoiler:a plagiarist, as he takes credit for works of other people.]]

* In ''Film/BatmanReturns'', the Penguin was born deformed due to inbreeding and his parents, to avoid scandal, quietly disposed of him. Growing up as a carnival freak, he returns to Gotham but doesn't fit in among the upper crust because of his atrocious manners.

* In ''Film/BloodAndBone'', the BigBad James does everything he can to preserve his image (wearing fine suits, avoiding alcohol and swearing, owning a painting of Genghis Khan), but the mask slips every time he is inconvenienced or even contradicted. Other characters wind up dead soon after.

* ''Film/DieHard'': Hans Gruber is sharply dressed and brags of his classical education, but mangles a quote about Alexander the Great badly enough to reverse the meaning, to say nothing of comparing himself to one of the world's most famous conquerors while he struggles to maintain control of a single office building long enough to rob the owners.

* Rita Skeeter from ''Literature/HarryPotter'', like any good {{paparazzi}}, uses a very [[PurpleProse flowery vocabulary]] in her writings that does nothing however to hide either the gossipy nature of them or the cheap, petty mean-spiritedness that they possess.

* Chrysler Peavy from ''Literature/MortalEngines'' is a pirate leader who began having delusions of being an honorable mayor after seizing control of the suburb Tunbridge Wheels and now plans to turn it into the world's first respectable pirate suburb... a goal which he utterly fails to achieve since none of his crew share any of his ambitions, and he himself is still a ruthless pirate at heart.

* While [[AdultsAreUseless adults]] in ''Series/ASeriesOfUnfortunateEvents2017'' are all TooDumbToLive in one form or another, Count Olaf takes this to another level with his delusions of eloquence and sophistication. He believes himself to be a MasterActor when really people only fall for his disguises because they are all dumber than him, and he is considered terrible while on stage. [[BookDumb He is terrible at math and grammar]] and he [[KnowNothingKnowItAll uses words incorrectly at a failed attempt to seem smart]]. Even his title - ''Count'' Olaf - is a title he gave himself to make him seem more impressive. In a lot of ways his home acts as a perfect visual metaphor for himself; a massive mansion that is clearly uninhabitable inside and out in plain sight of an otherwise lovely neighborhood. Ironically, later on in the series, it's suggested that much of his WickedPretentious status [[ObfuscatingStupidity is, in itself, an act,]] as he is able to quote a Philip Larkin poem while [[spoiler:bleeding to death]]. This suggests that Olaf fashions himself in opposition to the intellectual and cultured members of VFD, and therefore gives the outward impression of a LowerClassLout.
* In the first season of ''Series/Daredevil2015'', it's made clear that Wilson Fisk is a violent gangster despite his attempts to pass himself off as an upper-class philanthropist. He owns a closet full of suits with the same black color, owns a bunch of cufflinks he never wears, flips over a table with imported Chinese tea on it because a fellow mob boss insulted him, and his idea of "beautifying" Hell's Kitchen is forcing all the inhabitants out so he can bulldoze it to put up luxury condos. More subtly, he has to get a recommendation from James on what wine to bring on a date, and shows bad manners by smudging the glass with his fingers.
* ''Series/HomicideLifeOnTheStreet'': White supremacist and attempted CopKiller Gordon Pratt attempts to present himself as a refined, educated revolutionary. He even owns a copy of ''Literature/TheRepublic'' in the original Greek, which he brags about whenever he isn't smugly mocking Lewis and Pembleton (who are black) with alleged "scientific evidence" of how black people are genetically inferior to white people. Pembleton manages to provoke him into a VillainousBreakdown by challenging him to read a passage; while he cannot, Pembleton can. Pembleton then dismantles his façade by revealing that he's actually a high school dropout who flunked all of his classes and [[TheReasonYouSuckSpeech mocks him for being such a pathetic failure]].

* Wild Red Berry grew up poor and had no formal education. He would habitually read poems and dictionaries in search of words he did not hear anyone using in an effort to confound listeners, but often did not grasp the full meaning of these words himself.

* ''VisualNovel/PhoenixWrightAceAttorney'': Manfred von Karma, ''THE'' AmoralAttorney, is a so-called "god of prosecution" who has proven the defendant guilty in every trial he's prosecuted for his entire 40-year career. He's very respected (and [[TheDreaded feared]]) in his profession. He [[ManOfWealthAndTaste dresses like an eighteenth-century aristocrat]]. Why is he here and not WickedCultured? The second he opens his mouth, he brazenly intimidates the judge, and during cross-examination he can't go five seconds without interrupting or insulting Phoenix Wright in some way. [[spoiler:And that's before you find out he murdered Gregory Edgeworth in cold blood for [[DisproportionateRetribution giving him a minor penalty]] on his otherwise [[ThePerfectionist perfect record]].]]
** Luke Atmey in ''Trials and Tribulations''. An arrogant AttentionWhore of a detective, he wears clothing just as fancy as the Von Karmas and attempts to come off as brilliant and urbane. [[spoiler:He's both a thief and a murderer.]] For bonus points, his tuxedo, monocle, large nose and unusual yellow hairstyle make him resemble both (again) The Penguin and an actual (rockhopper) penguin.

* One-off villain Mad Dog from ''WesternAnimation/CourageTheCowardlyDog'' is a crude, unsophisticated, low-class thug who does dirty jobs for quick pay, yet nevertheless he has a high opinion of himself and his lifestyle.

* ''LightNovel/SwordArtOnline'': Sugou Nobuyuki acts sophisticated, and appears as such to most. Beneath the mask, however, he's a self-absorbed, arrogant psychopath who's nothing but a creepy PsychopathicManchild, as those who've seen his true self can attest.

* While [[AdultsAreUseless adults]] in ''Series/ASeriesOfUnfortunateEvents2017'' are all TooDumbToLive in one form or another, Count Olaf takes this to another level with his delusions of eloquence and sophistication. He believes himself to be a MasterActor when really people only fall for his disguises because they are all dumber than him, and even then he is considered terrible while on stage. [[BookDumb He is terrible at math and grammar]] and he [[KnowNothingKnowItAll uses words incorrectly at a failed attempt to seem smart]]. Even his title - ''Count'' Olaf - is a title he gave himself to make him seem more impressive. In a lot of ways his home acts as a perfect visual metaphor for himself; a massive mansion that is clearly uninhabitable inside and out in plain sight of an otherwise lovely neighborhood. Ironically, later on in the series, it's suggested that much of his WickedPretentious status [[ObfuscatingStupidity is, in itself, an act,]] as he is able to quote a Philip Larkin poem while [[spoiler:bleeding to death]]. This suggests that Olaf fashions himself in opposition to the intellectual and cultured members of VFD, and therefore gives the outward impression of a LowerClassLout.

** The version of Penguin from ''VideoGame/BatmanTheTelltaleSeries'' is AffablyEvil and superficially charismatic, but is nevertheless an ImpoverishedPatrician whose fall from grace turned him into a criminal mastermind hell-bent on {{revenge}} against the Wayne family. Whether he's championing himself as a liberator of the downtrodden or enjoying the high life after taking over Wayne Enterprises, Penguin never stops being a brash, violent thug.

** ''WesternAnimation/BatmanTheAnimatedSeries'': Especially in the episode where, after a recent release from prison, he makes a genuine attempt at going straight and befriends a wealthy young socialite, only to learn that the whole thing was a PrankDate and her friends were laughing at his crass mannerisms the whole time. This leaves him so embittered and humiliated that he gets back into crime on the spot.
*** Then totally flipped around after the retool; not only did he lose any similarity to the deformed Burton version, but as a fence and nightclub owner, he was a lot more WickedCultured, and lost any interest in avenging himself on high society. Although, in his words:

** ''WesternAnimation/TheBatman'': His EstablishingCharacterMoment involves him crashing a gala he wasn't invited to, quickly making a spectacle of himself with bad manners, feigning offense when he's asked to pay the cover charge (which he can't really afford) and then sneaking off with the silverware. He has a FreudianExcuse; his family used to be eminent and influential in Gotham before the Waynes started overshadowing them. Basically, he's a SpoiledBrat who never grew up, even after losing the means to be spoiled.

[[quoteright:350:[[WesternAnimation/TheBatman https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/call_of_the_cobblepot.png]]]]
[[caption-width-right:350:Overdressed, uninvited, unwelcome, and now he's stealing the silverware!]]

** In the ''VideoGame/BatmanArkhamSeries'', the Penguin is depicted as a pushy, rude, arrogant, petty, sadistic, openly bigoted LondonGangster who is just as unrefined as the henchmen he looks down on, even ruining the exhibits of a natural history museum just to accommodate his criminal headquarters, yet nevertheless believes himself to be the height of sophistication and class because of his OldMoney family. Interestingly, unlike most versions of the character that came from wealth or faded glory and now try to keep up appearances, Penguin refused to better himself when he had the opportunity — sent to London by his parents to receive private schooling, he didn't fit in with his classmates and instead spent most of his time there with various street gangs, returning to Gotham with virtually no formal education, even worse etiquette, and a superiority complex as broad as the accent he picked up. He did make a sincere attempt to at least be admired by Gotham's wealthy elite when he unveiled the Iceberg Lounge, but Joker disfiguring a waitress the night of the grand opening humiliated Oswald and sparked their long-running feud. Even in terms of aesthetics, this Penguin is presented as a DarkerAndEdgier twist on tropes commonly employed by the character. [[labelnote: For example...]] he speaks with a guttural Cockney accent instead of the [[SmartPeopleSpeakTheQueensEnglish urbane facsimile of Received Pronunciation]] other adaptations use; instead of a classy cigarette holder, he's typically seen [[CigarChomper with a big, fat stogie clamped between his lips]] (and this habit has [[SmokingIsNotCool resulted in him needing a voice box]]); he eventually ditches the anachronistically upscale clothing in the final game, in which he instead wears a rumpled, disheveled "business casual" outfit stained with food and sweat; and his [[HighClassGlass signature monocle]] upon closer inspection is actually [[EyeScream the bottom half of a beer bottle that got permanently embedded into his eye socket during a bar fight]].[[/labelnote]]