History NightmareFuel / EgoTrip

* Another bit about Number Twelve. A [[ThruthInTelevision real life]] response to extreme trauma is for the brain to induce amnesia as a defense mechanism, causing the sufferer to repress the experience as the only way they can live with it. Number Twelve is somewhere in his twenties and the main Dexter is eight. Most twenty-year-olds are able to remember being eight, even if the memories are fuzzy and distant. Unless Number Twelve was lying to save either his current or past self, he claims he was always submissive to Mandark and seems to have genuine trouble remembering how he used to be for the majority of his life. If this amnesia is genuine, what fresh Hell did Mandark inflict on him to make him forgot who he was?

** The fact it actually scarily calls back[[note]]More accurately calls forward at the origin came in a later episode[[/note]] to his original motive for wanting to ruin Dexter's life. [[EvilIsPetty He made fun of his real name once.]] That's it. Beforehand Mandark could only vent his spite with safely bumbling or low stakes schemes that always backfired, but now he has the power to torture and ''break'' Dexter for ''any'' meager excuse he can half-ass, and suddenly his psychotic pettiness becomes ''far'' less pitiful.

[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/ego_trip_nightmare_fuel.png]]
[[caption-width-right:350:Sure, he deserves it, [[FateWorseThanDeath but]] [[NauseaFuel still...]]]]

** This leads to a subtler form of horror. While "Dextopia" is by all accounts a much nicer future, with Dexter harnessing the Neurotonic Proto-Core to share his knowledge and intellect with the world, many of them dress exactly like him... and, if the museum curator is any indication, ''worship'' Dexter like a god. It's an eerie reminder that Mandark isn't the ''only'' one with an inflated ego.

** When Dexter arrives in the first future, he finds himself accosted by a family that demands his identifying number. When he can't provide it, they promptly accuse him of being a "[[FantasticSlur No-Number]]," and ''call the cops to haul him off to jail.'' A little ''kid,'' pursued by the police like some dangerous felon, just for being a "No-Number." It's a lucky thing Dexter was able to make his getaway.

** This leads to a subtler form of horror. While "Dextopia" is by all accounts a much nicer future, with Dexter harnessing the Neurotonic Proto-Core to share his knowledge and intellect with the world, many of them dress exactly like him... and, if the museum curator is any indication, ''worship'' Dexter like a god. It's an eerie reminder that Mandark isn't the ''only'' one with an inflated ego.

** And ''why'' did Mandark go to such twisted lengths? Just so '''he''' could be the smartest person on Earth. The fact that he rules over a broken, ignorant world with no hope of progress means nothing to him as long as he remains its greatest genius.
* The fact that Creator/EddieDeezen retains his usual stilted, nasal delivery even as Mandark becomes more and more evil. It's a reminder that he isn't just any powerful person, but [[ManChild a petulant child]] [[FromNobodyToNightmare who let his bitterness and resentment over being second best turn him into a monster]].
* Future Mandark's fate. His FatBastard body violently mutates, causing all his fat to shoot up into his cranium. The instability makes his whole body ''explode'', leaving only his brain. It's one of the worst cases of NauseaFuel in the show's history.

** This leads to a subtler form of horror. While "Dextopia" is by all accounts a much nicer future, with Dexter harnessing the Neurotonic Proto-Core to share his knowledge and intellect with the world, many of them dress exactly like him...and, if the museum curator is any indication, ''worship'' Dexter like a god. It's an eerie reminder that Mandark isn't the ''only'' one with an inflated ego.

** It started with the machine that Dexter built to fully harness the power of the Neurotomic Protocore. It's ''supposed'' to not only provide energy, but spread the intelligence and brainpower of its user to others. But when Mandark stole the Neurotomic Protocore, he switched its positive flow to negative. The resulting corrupted waves of Neurotomic energy gave anyone under their influence a case of PhlebotinumInducedStupidity, dulling their minds to just above caveman intelligence. Eventually, the sphere of the corrupted Protocore's influence covered ''the entire Earth.''

** It gets worse. When Dexter arrives in the first future, he finds himself accosted by a family that demands his identifying number. When he can't provide it, they promptly accuse him of being a "[[FantasticSlur No-Number]]," and ''call the cops to haul him off to jail.'' A little ''kid,'' pursued by the police like some dangerous felon, just for being a "No-Number." It's a lucky thing Dexter was able to make his getaway.

** To begin with, there's the reason everything went sour in the first place. The machine that Dexter built to fully harness the power of the Neurotomic Protocore is ''supposed'' to not only provide energy, but spread the intelligence and brainpower of its user to others. But when Mandark stole the Neurotomic Protocore, his arrogance caused him to switch its positive flow to negative. The resulting corrupted waves of Neurotomic energy gave anyone under their influence a case of PhlebotinumInducedStupidity (with the exception of Dexter), numbing and simplifying their minds to just above caveman intelligence. Eventually, the sphere of the corrupted Protocore's influence covered ''the entire Earth.''
** There were two exceptions to the above rule -- Dexter, and Mandark. The latter, under the influence of the corrupted Neurotomic Protocore, grew even ''more'' twisted and insane. With no one to oppose him (as Dexter was forced to go underground), Mandark began insidiously working his influence across the world. He scoured the earth clean to hoard not only all its precious resources, but also anything related to intelligence. Science, technology, and the knowledge to use both...Mandark not only took it all for himself, he strictly forbade everyone else from trying to re-learn what was lost. Even the simple act of ''making fire'' was enough to prompt a kill squad of attack drones to raze a given settlement.

** And ''why'' did Mandark go to such twisted lengths? Just so '''he''' could be the smartest person on Earth, with no rivals. The fact that he rules over a broken, ignorant world with no hope of progress means nothing to him, as long as no one can rival his genius.

* Future Mandark's fate. His FatBastard body violently mutates, causing all his fat to shoot up into his cranium, making his whole body ''explode'', leaving only his brain. It's one of the worst cases of NauseaFuel in the show's history.

* Future Mandark's fate. His FatBastard body violently mutates, causing all his fat to shoot up into his cranium, making his whole body ''explode'', leaving only his brain. It's one of the worst cases of NauseaFuel in the show's history.

** It gets worse. When Dexter arrives in the first future, he finds himself accosted by a family that demands his identifying number. When he can't provide it, they promptly accuse him of being a "[[FantsticSlur No-Number]]," and ''call the cops to haul him off to jail.'' A little ''kid.'' It's a lucky thing Dexter was able to make his getaway.
* The dystopian world Overlord Mandark rules over is very creepy and depressing. The reason? The Neurotomic Protocore is ''supposed'' to provide energy and spread the intelligence and brainpower of its user to others. But in his incompetent attempt to harness the power of Dexter's Neurotomic Protocore, he set its positive flow to negative, giving the ''entire population of Earth'' a case of PhlebotinumInducedStupidity (with the exception of Dexter). As the misused Core's now-negative energy slowly swept over the world, their minds gradually became numbed and addled- while Mandark's grew even ''more'' twisted and insane. With no one to oppose him, Mandark insidiously raked the earth clean for resources, hoarded all science, knowledge, and technology for himself, and strictly forbade everyone else from accessing it. Why? ''Just so '''he''' could be the smartest person on Earth.'' As a result, the world's stuck in TheDungAges, its denizens too mentally compromised to even ''attempt'' to rise up against their tormentor.
* The opening scene is somewhat scary- dramatic string music blasts while Mandark summons the huge, black wild thorn briars in his lab in front of a bright white background.

** There's some nasty implications about that future given how Mandark treats Twelve. Since this is a regular thing, then who's to say he doesn't do similar things to other employees? Not to mention the fact that this is being allowed. Twelve is seen living in a cramped room and his whole life appears to be controlled by Mandark's company. He's essentially treated like a machine, they even took away his name and just gave him a number. Add in Mandark's speech about how is one of the rare "elite" members of society, and you've got the beginnings of a fascist dystopia.
* The dystopian world Overlord Mandark rules over is very creepy and depressing. The reason? The Neurotomic Protocore is ''supposed'' to provide energy and spread the intelligence and brainpower of its user to others. But in his incompetent attempt to harness the power of Dexter's Neurotomic Protocore, he set its positive flow to negative, giving the ''entire population of Earth'' a case of PhlebotinumInducedStupidity (with the exception of Dexter). As the misused Core's now-negative energy slowly swept over the world, their minds gradually became numbed and addled- ''while Mandark's grew even more twisted and insane.'' With no one to oppose him, Mandark insidiously raked the earth clean for resources, hoarded all science, knowledge, and technology for himself, and strictly forbid it from everyone else- ''just so '''he''' could be the smartest person on Earth.'' As a result, the world's stuck in TheDungAges, its denizens too mentally compromised to even ''attempt'' to rise up against their tormentor.

* After getting his world saving moment stolen by Dee Dee, the Dexter's all decide to build combat robots and send them back in time to, in their words, destroy her! It's pretty messed up to think that all this adventure did was make Dexter so upset that he actually tried to kill his sister.

* The dystopian world Overlord Mandark rules over is very creepy and depressing. The reason? The Neurotomic Protocore is ''supposed'' to provide energy and spread the intelligence and brainpower of it user to others. But in his incompetent attempt to harness the power of Dexter's Neurotomic Protocore, he set its positive flow to negative, giving the ''entire population of Earth'' a case of PhlebotinumInducedStupidity (with the exception of Dexter). As the misused Core's now-negative energy slowly swept over the world, their minds gradually became numbed and addled- ''while Mandark's grew even more twisted and insane.'' With no one to oppose him, Mandark insidiously raked the earth clean for resources, hoarded all science, knowledge, and technology for himself, and strictly forbid it from everyone else- ''just so '''he''' could be the smartest person on Earth.'' As a result, the world's stuck in TheDungAges, its denizens too mentally compromised to even ''attempt'' to rise up against their tormentor.

* After getting his world saving moment stolen by Dee Dee, the Dexter's all decide to build combat robots and send them back in time to, his their words, destroy her! It's pretty messed up to think that all this adventure did was make Dexter so upset that he actually tried to kill his sister.

* The fact that Creator/EddieDeezen retains his usual stilted, nasal delivery even as Mandark becomes more and more evil. It's a reminder that he isn't just any powerful person, but [[FromNobodyToNightmare a petulant child who let his bitterness and resentment over being second best turn him into a monster]].

[[quote-width-right:350:Sure, he deserves it, [[FateWorseThanDeath but]] [[NauseaFuel still...]]]]

* The fact that Creator/EddieDeezen retains his usual stilted, nasal delivery even as Mandark becomes more and more evil. It's a reminder that he isn't just any powerful person, but [[FromNobodyToNightmare a petulant child who let his bitterness and resentment over being second best turn him into a monster]].

* The scene where Exec. Mandark ''publicly flogs'' poor Twelve. With a ''laser whip''. Why? ''He was '''almost''' late for work.'' Twelve’s agonized expressions and screams as he's lashed again and again are downright ''chilling.'' And what's even ''worse?'' Mandark's done this to him ''more than once,'' using the ''exact same excuse!''

-->'''Exec Mandark:''' Now make a wish!

* The scene where Exec Mandark ''publicly flogs'' poor Twelve. With a ''laser whip''. Why? ''He was '''almost''' late for work.'' Twelve’s agonized expressions and screams as he's lashed again and again are downright ''chilling.'' And what's even ''worse?'' Mandark's done this to him ''more than once,'' using the ''exact same excuse!''

* The dystopian world Overlord Mandark rules over is very creepy and depressing. The reason? In his incompetent attempt to harness the power of Dexter's Neurotomic Protocore, he set its flow to negative instead of positive, giving the ''entire population of Earth'' a case of PhlebotinumInducedStupidity (with the exception of Dexter). As the misused Core's now-negative energy slowly swept over the world, their minds gradually became numbed and addled- ''while Mandark's grew even more twisted and insane.'' With no one to oppose him, Mandark insidiously raked the earth clean for resources, hoarded all science, knowledge, and technology for himself, and strictly forbid it from everyone else- ''just so '''he''' could be the smartest person on Earth.'' As a result, the world's stuck in TheDungAges, its denizens too mentally compromised to even ''attempt'' to rise up against their tormentor.

* The dystopian world Overlord Mandark rules over is very creepy and depressing. The reason? In his incompetent attempt to harness the power of Dexter's Neurotomic Protocore, he set its flow to negative instead of positive, giving the ''entire population of Earth'' a case of PhlebotinumInducedStupidity (with the exception of Dexter, who was underground and thus out of its range when it activated). As the misused Core's now-negative energy slowly swept over the world, their minds gradually became numbed and addled- ''while Mandark's grew even more twisted and insane.'' With no one to oppose him, Mandark insidiously raked the earth clean for resources, hoarded all science, knowledge, and technology for himself, and strictly forbid it from everyone else- ''just so '''he''' could be the smartest person on Earth.'' As a result, the world's stuck in TheDungAges, its denizens too mentally compromised to even ''try'' to rise up against their tormentor.

* The fact that Creator/EddieDeezen retains his usual stilted, nasal delivery even as Mandark becomes more and more evil. It's a reminder that this isn't just any powerful person, it's one who [[FromNobodyToNightmare we've already been introduced to as a harmless rival]].

** And how was he able to do it? He used the Neurotomic Protocore the ''wrong way'', sending out literal waves of negative energy which rendered the rest of the world stupid and made him go insane.

* In a roundabout way, the fact that Creator/EddieDeezen retains his usual stilted delivery even as Mandark becomes more and eviler. It's a reminder that yes, this is the same character [[FromNobodyToNightmare who was once a harmless rival]].
** How about the fact that the reason Mandark became as bad as he did was because the idiot used the Neurotomic Protocore the ''wrong way'', which ended up twisting his mind and turning him into the power-mad FatBastard of the BadFuture. He was already a dick to start with, it just made him insane on top of it.

* The scene where Exec!Mandark ''publicly flogs'' poor Twelve. With a ''laser whip''. Why? ''He was '''almost''' late for work.'' Twelve’s agonized expressions and screams as he's lashed again and again are downright ''chilling.'' And what's even ''worse?'' Mandark's done this to him ''more than once,'' using the ''exact same excuse!''
-->'''Exec!Mandark:''' Now make a wish!