Line #61 Main/TooFunnyToBeEvil


1	->''Cruelty is shameful—unless the cruel man can represent it as a practical joke.''
2	-->-- ''Literature/TheScrewtapeLetters,'' chapter 11
3
4	A deadly tactic often used by a VillainWithGoodPublicity. The heroes, after much strife and turmoil, have finally managed to uncover proof of the villain's evil plans and are able to go public with it. When the villain gets wind of this, they discredit the proof in the place they best know how: the court of public opinion. In a nutshell:
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6	->'''TheHero''': We have uncovered evidence that the villain has been torturing enemy soldiers with whips and spiked collars!\
7	'''Villain''': [[TooKinkyToTorture Hold on, you thought I was torturing them?]]
8
9	Yes, that's right. The all-encompassing evil that embodies the spirit of KickTheDog? It's a joke now. If you're lucky, it might [[LenoDevice show up on late-night TV]]. But no one, ever, is going to take it the slightest bit seriously now. After all, how can something so hilarious possibly be a crime against humanity?
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11	C'monnnn, this kind of stuff is just [[TitleDrop Too Funny to Be Evil]]!
12
13	However, this trope can backfire against the villain if their ultimate goal relies on things like being able to convincingly intimidate an enemy. A villain who comes off as amusing (and not in an AffablyEvil manner) will often be viewed as a practical joker, and subsequently be ignored. Alternatively, this trope is what causes most {{Narm}} under the "failed Crowning Moment Of Awesome" heading, since a [[SugarWiki/MomentOfAwesome Crowning Moment Of Awesome]] is badly undercut when the character in question engages in accidental comedy.
14
15	This is the logical in-universe extension of LaughablyEvil. See also SarcasticConfession, RefugeInAudacity, and JustJokingJustification. When the villain has 'friendly jokester' as their default mode, not just for the cameras, they are probably AffablyEvil. Contrast with EvilHasABadSenseOfHumor. Often a causing factor of DracoInLeatherPants -- if the villain makes you laugh, how can he be bad? But no matter how amusing they are, never forget to BewareTheSillyOnes.
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17	Often involves [[UsefulNotes/LogicalFallacies Appeal to Ridicule]], and can be seen as a combination of ComedicSociopathy and RuleOfFunny. Compare ActuallyPrettyFunny, when even the target of the abuse sees it as humorous. Also compare InsultComic, whose sense of humor lets them get away with rude remarks. Contrast DudeNotFunny, for things that may be seen as too evil to be funny.
18	----
19	!!Examples
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21	[[foldercontrol]]
22
23	[[folder:Anime & Manga]]
24	* An example of this aimed at the real life audience (rather than the in-universe public) in ''Manga/DGrayMan'': Komui is one of the good guys. When he tries to murder innocent people, he does so with incompetent killer robots, so it's clearly just a joke - despite the damage he causes and the sociopathy he exhibits while doing it. The audience isn't expected to hold it against him in the more serious episodes.
25	[[/folder]]
26
27	[[folder:Comic Books]]
28	* This is how The Riddler in ''Franchise/{{Batman}}'' is able to get away with ClarkKenting.
29	[[/folder]]
30
31	[[folder:Fan Fic]]
32	* [[FanFic/DungeonKeeperAmi Mukrezar]] is a soulless, murderous bastard who completely wiped out ''all'' life on an entire continent, apparently for kicks. He is also an unrepentant torturer who apparently finds screams of the tormented 'soothing'. [[ArsonMurderAndJaywalking He is also a terrible cook.]] Despite this, he is an amazingly quirky and charismatic leader and manages to pass himself off as PluckyComicRelief.
33	[[/folder]]
34
35	[[folder:Film]]
36	* Shown at the ending in ''Film/TheMenWhoStareAtGoats'', and as happened in RealLife. [[spoiler: The only part of the report that the main character made that shows up in the USA's media is that the prisoners were held in solitary confinement and made to listen to a deafening, two-minute clip of ''[[Series/BarneyAndFriends Barney]]'' music on repeat all day every day until they broke. [[NightmareFuel It'd drive you utterly insane before long, ]] [[FridgeHorror given that a mere two minutes is enough to give most listeners vomit]], but since it's the butt of a joke nobody cares]].
37	[[/folder]]
38
39	[[folder:Literature]]
40	* A variation is used ''against'' villains in Dean Ing's story "Very Proper Charlies" (and later his novel ''Soft Targets''), in which a media policy of portraying terrorists as pathetic laughingstocks undercuts their ability to terrorize people.
41	* ''Literature/ASongOfIceAndFire'': Shagwell, [[LaughablyEvil a former jester]] who is part of the [[PrivateMilitaryContractors monstrous mercenary group]] [[NonIndicativeName The Brave Companions]], tries to claim that he's this when he's cornered by [[KnightInShiningArmor Brienne]]. Considering all the things that both the audience and the characters have seen him do, (and that mere moments ago, Shagwell [[NotSoHarmlessVillain first crushed the knee and then the head of a man with a mace]]) nobody in universe or out is buying it.
42	-->'''Shagwell:''' I yield, I ''yield''. You mustn't hurt sweet Shagwell, I'm too droll to die.\
43	'''Brienne:''' You are no better than the rest of them. You have robbed and raped and murdered.\
44	'''Shagwell:''' Oh, I have, I have. I shan't deny it... but I'm ''amusing'' with all my japes and capers. I make men laugh.\
45	'''Brienne:''' And women weep.
46	* In Creator/CSLewis's ''Literature/TheScrewtapeLetters'', Screwtape advises Wormwood that his patient can get away with many sins as long as he passes them off as jokes to his fellows. He also advises using the BigRedDevil image to his advantage, because with that in his head the patient won't be able to take the Devil or demons seriously.
47	* ''Literature/{{Warbreaker}}'': [[spoiler:Denth and Tonk Fah]] both say horrible things that they're planning to do, followed by a JustJokingJustification... despite how the very fact that they would joke about such things is indication that they are not good people, which can easily fly over the head of a first-time reader.
48	[[/folder]]
49
50	[[folder:Live-Action TV]]
51	* ''Series/KamenRiderExAid'': [[spoiler: Kuroto Dan]] releasing an unknown virus with 100% mortality into the world is an act of bioterrorism, plain and simple, but the fact that one of the symptoms is spawning of video game characters all over the place around the infected raises some questions on how could anyone take it seriously. The real killer is why he did it, though. An eight-year-old child who loved his games sent him a fan mail with praise and a suggestion for a new game. [[spoiler: Kuroto]] thought those ideas are so good his ego was irreparably slighted. He became a raving lunatic because of a ''fan mail''. [[spoiler: It probably helps that A. His original goal with the virus was finding a way to bring back his mother through it, finding a convenient test subject in said fan [[CreateYourOwnHero Emu Hojo]] to use as PatientZero, and B. His villainy also seems to come from his father Masamune Dan, who was letting it all play out (including [[CapturedOnPurpose getting framed by his son and sent to prison for years]]) until he could finally step in as the true BigBad to [[EvilerThanThou fulfill his own agenda while skipping his son's theatrics.]]]]
52	* ''Series/KevinCanFuckHimself'': As a GenreDeconstruction of sitcoms, specifically the kind that ran on ComedicSociopathy and AwfulWeddedLife, this trope ends up discussed. Kevin is a petty, selfish, pigheaded {{manchild}} whose treatment of Allison is [[DomesticAbuse emotionally and financially abusive]], but he's so goofy and over-the-top that many people InUniverse find his behavior amusing. For Allison, whose [[SanitySlippage sanity and peace of mind have been badly worn down]] after ten years of living with this, the story is ''very'' different. In a LeaningOnTheFourthWall moment, she calls out Patty for her enablement of Kevin's treatment of her, describing one of his stunts in what sounds like a standard sitcom plot, only to point out the consequences and how deeply they hurt her.
53	-->'''Allison:''' Patty, do you remember when I got that job as a paralegal? I started working a lot, and Kevin [[MistakenForCheating convinced everyone I was having an affair]]?\
54	'''Patty:''' My money was on cult. But yeah.\
55	'''Allison:''' He thought that I'd fallen in love with my boss, who was sixty, and married. But that didn't matter. Kevin [[CrazyJealousGuy still put sugar in his gas tank]]. Ruined his Saturn.\
56	'''Patty:''' Okay, fine, I never said he was a great guy. But that's the kind of juvenile crap he does.\
57	'''Allison:''' Patty, ''he got me fired''. Right when I felt like I was worth something, he ruined it. [[WhatTheHellHero And you just watched him and laughed]]. Can you just think about that for more than one second? He didn't like something that was my own, and so he took it away from me. Like this car. Like my friends. Like any shred of a life that is my own.\
58	'''Patty:''' ''(shaken)'' I-It... [[HeelRealization It seemed... harmless]].\
59	'''Allison:''' And when he spent all our life savings without telling me? [[ArmorPiercingQuestion Was that harmless, too]]?
60	** In Season 2, Kevin flat-out admits to Sam he knows the damage he causes with his antics but how he gets away with it "because it's funny."
61	[[/folder]]
62
63	[[folder:Tabletop Games]]
64	* ''TabletopGame/InNomine'': Kobal, Demon Prince of Dark Humor, has fostering this as his primary goal in the world. By presenting genuine evil as something wacky and silly, he can push people towards their fate all in good fun. Every time someone sees another person's wickedness as a joke, he gets just a bit more power.
65	* ''TabletopGame/Warhammer40000'': A meta-example with the Orks. These guys embody StupidEvil and ChaoticStupid. In the actual 'verse though, they are interstellar butchers and murderers who would have already conquered the whole setting (and almost did once), if not for the fact they spend half their time stabbing each other in the back, and the other half stabbing each other in the '''front'''.
66	[[/folder]]
67
68	[[folder:Video Games]]
69	* ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyVI'': Kefka comes across as an unusually silly character. He dresses like a clown, seems to have a few screws loose, and is just all around goofy. [[spoiler:At first.]]
70	* Another meta example in ''VideoGame/AzureStrikerGunvolt''. Merak is the embodiment of [[DeadpanSnarker sass]] and generally agreed to be one of the funniest characters in his own game. In the first translation of the game, they made no mention of his MoralEventHorizon, (namely [[spoiler: drowning an entire subaquatic base just so he wouldn't have to fight you]]), so he comes across as something of an AntiVillain. This is especially true when most of the other villains' PetTheDog moments are confined to audio dramas and supplementary materials. Now, the game has been retranslated and what's said is done, but the character is still pretty popular. It doesn't help that he's a LazyBum who makes it clear [[PunchClockVillain he doesn't really have anything out for the hero]].
71	* Handsome Jack seems like this at the start of ''VideoGame/Borderlands2'', but as you become more and more of a threat to him [[BeneathTheMask he starts showing his true colors]], and when you finally press his [[BerserkButton Berserk Button]] he shows you [[NotSoHarmlessVillain just how much of a threat he really is]] when he [[spoiler: has nothing left to lose.]]
72	* The Illuminati members of ''VideoGame/TheSecretWorld'' have learned to weaponize this concept. If ever caught on being members of a ancient world spanning conspiracy, rather than deny it, they cop to it while playing up the idea of being part of a secret organization that is several millennia old, controls the world and has supernatural elements as one massive punch-line to a bad joke by conspiracy nuts. They don't even need to lie, all public figures need to do is roll their eyes and no one cares.
73	[[/folder]]
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75	[[folder:Web Comics]]
76	* Black Mage of ''[[WebComic/EightBitTheater 8-Bit Theater]]''. His utter incompetence and his CosmicPlaything status prevents anyone from taking him seriously even though he would very quickly destroy all life if given the opportunity.
77	* ''Webcomic/TheOrderOfTheStick'':
78	** Redcloak warns Jirix not to think this of Xykon. He may be funny and charming when he wants to be (Charisma is the primary casting stat for Sorcerer's after all), but underneath the facade he is a monster, and quite possibly the most powerful spellcaster alive ([[OurLichesAreDifferent sort of]]).
79	** PlayedForLaughs in this case since [[EvilVersusEvil Redcloak is one of the bad guys]], and the whole conversation was [[http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0548.html a setup for]] a CutawayGag showing Xykon's [[ArsonMurderAndJaywalking twisted and evil]] act of [[spoiler: dressing up the undead in the style of ''Series/AmericanGladiators'']].
80	** Also Thog, explicitly pointed out by Tarquin, who wants to have him killed, because he's a violent murderer, but since he's so whimsical, the audience thinks he's harmless and enjoyable. This also serves as a TakeThatAudience, since this is a common reaction to Thog by the readers of the comic (not to mention a pretty apt description of [[HypocriticalHumor Tarquin himself]]).
81	[[/folder]]
82
83	[[folder:Web Original]]
84	* ''WebVideo/DragonBallAbridged'':
85	** Nappa is made to appear almost as if all of the things he does are because of being stupid instead of malicious.
86	** Vegeta is such a long-suffering and sardonic OnlySaneMan (whose evil plans are always thwarted anyway) that he becomes the most sympathetic character.
87	* ComedicSociopathy is the Literature/BastardOperatorFromHell's entire purpose. Anyone who can use RefugeInAudacity to get away with what the BOFH does and make you laugh at it ''must'' be all about this.
88	[[/folder]]
89
90	[[folder:Western Animation]]
91	* ''WesternAnimation/PinkyAndTheBrain'':
92	** In one episode, Brain's plan was to take over the world by overwhelming everyone with the TearJerker "Brain's Song", then take advantage of their weakened mental state to assert dominance over them. Unfortunately, his last scene on a vibrating electric football gameboard caused him to shake in spasms while stating his demands, and everyone falls out of their depressed crying state laughing uproariously at Brain's absurd remonstrations of "I'm the o-o-o-o-o-o-o-overlord!"
93	** A similar thing happened in the episode when Brain tried to imitate Creator/OrsonWelles' infamous ''Radio/TheWarOfTheWorlds'' radio broadcast; instead of frightening the populace, he only amused them.
94	* ''WesternAnimation/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagic'':
95	** In [[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS2E1TheReturnOfHarmonyPart1 "The Return of Harmony Part 1"]], [[Characters/FriendshipIsMagicDiscord Discord]] has escaped from [[SealedEvilInACan his can]] and signs of his return are everywhere. Even the [[GodEmperor God Empress]] is terrified, and she immediately sets the ponies on a mission to use [[EmpathicWeapon the Elements of Harmony]] to save Equestria again... while [[{{Cloudcuckoolander}} Pinkie Pie]] is too busy being ecstatic that eternal chaos comes with chocolate rain and seems to think the local GodOfEvil is a big party animal. She quickly changes her mind however after falling subject to his MindControlEyes.
96	** In [[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS3E11KeepCalmAndFlutterOn "Keep Calm and Flutter On"]], Pinkie Pie and Spike are absolutely ''delighted'' by Discord's antics while Fluttershy tries to reform him, and the other ponies are alarmed, suspicious, and freaked out. Though it's worth mentioning that Pinkie Pie and Spike don't get attacked by the [[ItMakesSenseInContext dancing candles or the soup tureen either.]]
97	* Dick Dastardly. While he's definitely a dirty cheating racer who'll do anything to win the ''WesternAnimation/WackyRaces'', He is also highly comparable to Wile E. Coyote in human drag.
98	* [[Characters/TheLegendOfKorraVarrickAndZhuLi Varrick]] from ''WesternAnimation/TheLegendOfKorra'' has many of the traits of a CorruptCorporateExecutive (or at least an amoral one). He [[spoiler:manipulates and elevates conflicts between the Northern and Southern Water Tribes to engage in War Profiteering, sabotages his competitor Asami's products in order to force her to sign her company over to him and frames Mako for his crimes. However, many of the characters (and the fanbase) are willing to give him a free pass because he's also the resident Cloudcuckoolander. [[HeelFaceTurn Fortunately he gets better later on.]]]]
99	[[/folder]]

Context Main / TooFunnyToBeEvil