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| 5 | [[caption-width-right:350:From a [[SillySimian funny chimp]] to a [[ManiacMonkeys frightening champ]].]] |
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| 11 | ->''"Perhaps you'll laugh, but I know him better than most, and this is the truth; Littlefinger is one of the most dangerous men in Westeros."'' |
| 12 | -->-- '''Varys''', ''Series/GameOfThrones'' |
| 13 | |
| 14 | Okay, so you have a villain, and, for whatever reason, either because they're {{harmless|Villain}} and/or {{ineffectual|SympatheticVillain}}, you do not take them seriously. You might [[UnknownRival not even think about them]] at all. They might have a lame gimmick or a weird name or maybe they just do not stand out among the {{Mooks}}. They are not exactly on your radar. Even if you do remember them, you think they are either a nobody or a total joke. |
| 15 | |
| 16 | Then they go on to subvert your expectations. Some put themselves through TrainingFromHell. Others turn out to be the villainous kind of the CrouchingMoronHiddenBadass. And the rest may be ObfuscatingStupidity. Either way, the villain ends up as someone who is not only able to [[TeamRocketWins show the heroes]] exactly why they are called their enemy, but often even become the BigBad or TheManBehindTheMan. This is when a villain decides to become their ''own'' SortingAlgorithmOfEvil, or at least be recognized as more dangerous. |
| 17 | |
| 18 | Should they fail to do the former, they will become a BigBadWannabe. Often the result of a DarkerAndEdgier reinvention of a franchise. |
| 19 | |
| 20 | The villain may become a KnightOfCerebus. |
| 21 | |
| 22 | Compare DeadSerious, FromNobodyToNightmare, BewareTheSillyOnes. {{Breakout Villain}}s are prone to becoming Not So Harmless. Contrast VillainDecay and BoisterousWeakling. When applied to minor heroes instead of minor villains, it's LetsGetDangerous. See also TeamRocketWins. If it is later revealed that the villain always was that vile and/or dangerous, but the heroes or audience were misled into dismissing or liking them, see BaitTheDog. If they were unpleasant or dubious before, but not particularly dangerous, see JumpingOffTheSlipperySlope. |
| 23 | |
| 24 | Not to be confused with TheNotSoHarmlessPunishment. |
| 25 | |
| 26 | Possible spoilers ahead -- read at your own risk. |
| 27 | |
| 28 | [[noreallife]] |
| 29 | ---- |
| 30 | !!Example subpages: |
| 31 | [[index]] |
| 32 | * NotSoHarmlessVillain/AnimeAndManga |
| 33 | * NotSoHarmlessVillain/ComicBooks |
| 34 | * NotSoHarmlessVillain/{{Literature}} |
| 35 | * NotSoHarmlessVillain/LiveActionTV |
| 36 | * NotSoHarmlessVillain/VideoGames |
| 37 | * NotSoHarmlessVillain/WesternAnimation |
| 38 | [[/index]] |
| 39 | |
| 40 | !!Other examples: |
| 41 | [[foldercontrol]] |
| 42 | |
| 43 | [[folder:Fan Works]] |
| 44 | * In ''Fanfic/AquamanMonster'', the Terrible Trio bicker as much as they battle, but for a while they had Aquaman and his family at their mercy and had to be defeated with outside help. |
| 45 | * ''Fanfic/AtTheFoodCourt'': Like in canon, Team Rocket starts off unthreatening and nothing Ash can't handle. Unfortunately, this means Ash counted his chickens before they hatched and assumed this would always be the case, making him totally unprepared for when [[spoiler:they attack ''him'' instead of his Pokemon, beating him up so bad that he suffers permanent brain damage and is never the same again]]. |
| 46 | * ''Webcomic/AutobotAcademy'': Bisk's talent makes reality like a video game, but it only affected his immediate surroundings. This made him be seen as a joke by Autobots and is only a minor thug in the Decepticons. But after getting his talent upgraded by Shockwave, Bisk is elevated to a full on RealityWarper, and in "Sinister Simulation" he turns the entire world into a video game realm that he has full control over, with himself as the final boss. The heroes only win because of a combination of Glyph managing to turn the coding of the virtual world against him and him [[HoistByHisOwnPetard falling prey to his own rules]]. |
| 47 | * ''Fanfic/BoldoresAndBoomsticks'': Tupp, Zipp, and Rapp seem to be generic Team Skull grunts in their first appearance, with Yang laying a comically mismatched beatdown on them. In a later chapter, they use a Garbodor's Poison Gas attack to disorient the group [[spoiler: long enough to kidnap Nebby]]. |
| 48 | * ''Fanfic/CListers'': A recurring theme is that the main characters are all amiable and often goofy C-list villains, but they're still ruthless criminals. |
| 49 | ** The Mad Hatter's whimsical attitude makes him come off as harmless, but the entire Gotham underworld is terrified of him because he's an expert at brainwashing people through MindRape. During his introduction, he manages to put almost the entire rogues gallery under his control all for the sake of a tea party. |
| 50 | ** Polka-Dot Man is a socially inept, sweet-natured dork who wears an absolutely ridiculous costume, which makes people prone to underestimating him. In fact, he's almost obscenely powerful and has a pretty good track record, frequently beating seemingly stronger opponents in a straight-up fight with ease. |
| 51 | ** Killer Moth is an archetypical IneffectualSympatheticVillain: he's a cowardly, amiable loser with grand ambitions he can't possibly live up to, and absolutely terrified of his best friend and partner Firefly's habit of burning people alive. Chapter 19, however, reveals he's killed a lot of people; all of his cowardice and standards are the result of a weak stomach rather than any actual morals, and he's totally willing to resort to murder if it comes to it. Chapter 36 reveals he's a lot worse than previously thought; [[spoiler:he's been manipulating Firefly the whole time throughout their friendship and has been basically using him as an attack dog, and is actively trying to sabotage any attempts to help him with his mental issues]]. Of course, he's also such a moron that his efforts to show off how dangerous he really is blow up in his face, which eventually leads to him [[spoiler:turning himself into a horrific, cannibalistic monster in yet another stupid and reckless plan to get respect]]. |
| 52 | ** Ratcatcher is a grumpy loner who spends most of his time playing the straight man to the other rogues, which makes it all the more terrifying when he reminds the audience that he's a remorseless and misanthropic serial killer. At one point, he gleefully confesses to having his rats eat homeless children alive, proclaiming that he might as well since [[DisposableVagrant nobody cares about them anyway]]. |
| 53 | * ''Fanfic/ChallengeOfTheSuperfriendsTheEnd'': The Legion of Doom After years of being a laughable band of losers, they encounter an EldritchAbomination known as The Benefactor, who turns them into tormented, horrific things with the power to doom worlds. |
| 54 | * ''Fanfic/{{Contraptionology}}'': When it first appears, the Nightmare seems almost comically pathetic and past its prime. This impression proves to be less than accurate when [[spoiler:it manages to wear down Applejack enough to get her to agree to a DealWithTheDevil]]. |
| 55 | * ''Fanfic/DontHazeMe'': Falcon Sentinel is predominantly an annoying new villain who won't stop following Kim. But, when angered, he's dangerous. Shego learns this when he beats her up. Falcon Sentinel's increasing violence leads to Kim shooting him in self-defense when he tries to kill her. |
| 56 | * ''Fanfic/TheDresdenFillies'': In this ''My Little Pony''/''Dresden Files'' crossover the true mastermind of the whole affair is [[spoiler:Novel Notion. This nervous, easily cowed pony goes on to activate a spell that sacrifices the ''entire Order Triune'' to summon a demon. Then he holds the family of the Mane 6 hostage.]] |
| 57 | * ''[[https://m.fanfiction.net/s/14230488/25/ Fairytale of Doom]]'': After [[Manga/FairyTail Erza]] defeats [[WesternAnimation/BeautyAndTheBeast Gaston]] for trying to forcefully marry her [[LostFoodGrievance and ruining a perfectly good wedding cake]], followed by Laxus scaring him off, Erza is confident that if Gaston returns she can easily defeat him with her reclaimed sword. Levy reminds her that while Gaston is an EgomaniacHunter who can't beat [[BroughtDownToBadass the powerless but still strong Fairy Tail wizards]] individually, he is still a manipulative and charismatic figure in his village, capable of rallying an angry mob that can overpower them by sheer numbers. |
| 58 | * ''Fanfic/ForeverHeMan'': While Skeletor's attacks are repelled, he does serious damage to the castle and He-Man at times, with his first attack since the loss being a catalyst for everyone finding out the truth. |
| 59 | * ''Webcomic/GS260'': In the original ''Manga/SailorMoon'', Mimete is usually quite ineffective, especially in the anime. But here, she actually creates a growth serum, grows into a giant using said serum, destroyed Fort Hampton where she was working and kidnapped Colonel Ricther and is now being held by her and her boyfriend. |
| 60 | * ''Fanfic/{{Hyphen}}'': The unnamed Team Aqua Grunt who stole from Devon Corporation, abducted Peeko as a hostage, and then fled into the dead-ending Rusturf Tunnel. Unfortunately, he's still a cunning criminal: outnumbered three-to-one, he manages to give the heroes the slip by [[spoiler:letting out a loud whistle, aggravating the local Whismur and summoning their Exploud patriarch, and [[LetsYouAndHimFight cementing Exploud's attention on the heroes as he flees]]]]. |
| 61 | * ''Fanfic/MegaManDefenderOfTheHumanRace'' has this in a big way with Dr. Wily. With most of his crazy plots from the show carried over, and how he had a tendency to foil his own schemes, Wily was generally seen as a foolish if evil old man by the readership. Even given his villainous breakdowns, rants, and increasingly dangerous plots, he didn't threaten the characters personally much post episode 4... until the episode 10 epilogue, where [[spoiler:he personally and mercilessly tortures [=ProtoMan=] in cold blood. It ends with [=ProtoMan=] begging him to stop]]. |
| 62 | * ''Fanfic/MegaManReawakened'': |
| 63 | ** Glyde's Birdbots are cute and goofy and aren't dangerous in small groups, but in large numbers, they manage to capture Megaman. |
| 64 | ** Quentin Emerald may be a hypocritical madman, but in Arc 4 he had Robert on the ropes and would have killed him if not for Protoman. |
| 65 | * ''Fanfic/{{Metastability}}'' lampshades this with O'Malley. In spite of being a parodic LaughablyEvil CardCarryingVillain, Church notes that he can still be a threat in the right circumstances [[GenreSavvy and talks everyone into putting him in a place where he can't do any damage.]] |
| 66 | * ''Fanfic/TheMountainAndTheWolf'': Zigzagged. While no one really thinks of the Wolf as harmless (curbstomping the Mountain will have that effect), the other characters believe he's nothing more than a loud, overbearing bully whose brute strength and admittedly powerful magic make him an invincible foe one-on-one, but not an overarching threat the way Varys or Cersei might be or that his "Gods of Chaos" are any threat (and they still have a trump card in the form of Daenerys' dragon). After he's caught [[spoiler:stealing the Iron Throne]], and later returns despite [[spoiler:being thought drowned in Blackwater Bay]] is when he's taken seriously (and a delegation of Red Priests arrives to confirm that his gods ''are'' real). The reader, however, knows exactly what he's been up to from the beginning, and see him as the VillainProtagonist. |
| 67 | * ''Fanfic/MurderersRow'': |
| 68 | ** Grif and Simmons seem like some of the more benign inmates. They're content just bickering amicably with each other, and they're prone to giving out advice and tips to newer inmates out of seemingly genuine altruism. This all belies how vicious they truly are when crossed; they're in prison for having beaten a man to death for nearly causing Grif's sister to OD, and they later beat Lopez within an inch of his life for unwillingly helping O'Malley mutilate Donut, with him noting afterwards that they could have killed him had they gone any further. Tellingly, even Church fears their wrath. |
| 69 | --> Lopez stared Simmons down. There was not an inkling of pity or guilt in his eyes, and he knew Grif probably had the same look, even if he couldn't properly see it. An hour ago he'd considered them nothing but idiots. He still thought they were idiots. But he'd forgotten that they lived on the murderer's row for a reason. |
| 70 | ** Washington, Delta, and eventually Church become convinced that the seemingly [[TheDitz ditzy]] and [[NiceGuy kind]] Donut is this because he killed Maine, an unstoppable juggernaut of a man infamous throughout the criminal underworld, armed only with a knife. Washington goes so far as to torture him repeatedly to figure out how he did it and why he pretends to be so harmless. [[SubvertedTrope In reality]], Donut is a genuine NiceGuy who killed Maine in self-defense, and he frequently protests that he only won the fight out of dumb luck. |
| 71 | * ''Fanfic/NemesisBeaconHill'': Humor villains are {{Harmless Villain}}s who commit low-level crimes while making people genuinely laugh. The Protectorate has very particular protocols for them because not only can humor villains win the PR battle with ease, if they are pressured too much they might decide to stop sandbagging and turn into nightmarish opponents. |
| 72 | * ''Fanfic/TheParselmouthOfGryffindor'': For the first few years, Hermione and her friends don't even pay ''attention'' to Draco, who, being better at posing and [[PokeThePoodle poking poodles]]Â than actually harming anyone, is written off as no threat at all. Then it turns out she gave up too early too completely because he ''very nearly manages to kill her''. [[KarmicDeath With a snake.]] |
| 73 | * ''Fanfic/PersonaEG'': Sunset Shimmer seems like just a regular bully. She targets Twilight and anyone close to her because Twilight is going to beat Sunset for valedictorian. In all of Sunset's appearances early on she just smugly taunts Twilight while her goons take embarrassing pictures and videos of her. After ZIT spends months fighting shadows and Eris in Zodiac, Sunset seems like just an annoyance to them and they can deal with her the same as any bully, by ignoring her. This is quickly proven wrong though, when Sunset [[spoiler:sneaks into the dorm one night and ''[[RapeIsASpecialKindOfEvil rapes Flash]]'' while he is asleep. Then, not even a month later it is discovered that Sunset ''does'' know about Zodiac and what ZIT is doing because she is [[BigBad Mephistopheles]], Eris' boss and the one responsible for everything that ZIT has been put through up to that point.]] |
| 74 | * ''VideoGame/PokemonReborn'': |
| 75 | ** [[EnigmaticMinion Lin]]. While never ''truly'' harmless (thanks to the game's DarkerAndEdgier nature, the local villanous team is a credible threat), she's introduced as a mere [[EliteMook Private]], and only joins the fight between the Gym Leaders and Team Meteor in Rhodochrine Jungle because her superiors happen to be outnumbered. She then proceeds to [[TheWorfEffect an Elite Four member and a Gym Leader back-to-back]] [[CurbStompBattle without breaking a sweat]], and would have straight-up ''executed'' both of them [[EvenEvilHasStandards had her superiors not intervened]]. [[EstablishingCharacterMoment Things only escalate from there]]. [[spoiler:As the story progresses, she gradually [[TeamKiller gets her higher-ups demoted or killed]], [[KlingonPromotion takes their places in the heirarchy]], [[TheCoup seizes control of Team Meteor]], and [[YouHaveOutlivedYourUsefulness sets the remaining members of Team Meteor up to be disposed of once she's gotten what she needs]] so that she can take the [[EldritchLocation New World]]'s power [[ICanRuleAlone for herself]].]] |
| 76 | ** As for non-human antagonists, the PULSE Abra seems like a joke: while its intended use ([[DungeonBypass teleporting Team Meteor past the wards in Citae Astrae]], negating their need for the PlotCoupons) is certainly dangerous, it ''refuses to work with them'', instead randomly teleporting objects in the surrounding area in a whimsical but mostly harmless manner. Even when you fight it directly, all is does is use [[DeathOrGloryAttack Hyper Beam]], which can be easily worked around. [[spoiler:Then, during the game's climax, Lin reveals that she made an updated model of the PULSE Abra as a BaitAndSwitchBoss. This time, not only do you have to face it alongside as part of a full team, it actually pulls its weight, making good use of its high Speed and Special Attack stats. Even after you defeat it, Lin is able to still use it to teleport herself and the player to Citae Astrae, opening the seal on it and triggering the plot's DarkestHour.]] |
| 77 | * ''VideoGame/PokemonRejuvenation'': [[AnIcePerson An]][[KnightTemplar gie]]'s [[TheDragon right hand-woman]], Cera, seems much less intimidating than her boss, as she acts quite AffablyEvil even while her boss is in the middle of a VillainousBreakdown. After Angie was defeated and turned into a HumanPopsicle at the end of Version 5, most people assumed Cera wasn't coming back. Then came [[WhamEpisode Version 6]], in which it's revealed that Cera can teleport to any location where one of Angie's fliers is, she has limited RealityWarper powers, and is dead-set on freeing her master. [[spoiler:''[[FromBadToWorse Then]]'' she watches two of her companions die brutal deaths, [[MaddenIntoMisanthropy goes crazy]], and ''[[HijackingCthulhu manages to successfully capture]]'' '''''[[OlympusMons A FRIGGIN' GROUDON.]]''''']] The kicker? [[spoiler:It's heavily implied by the ending of Version 7 that '''[[OhCrap she's freed Angie!]]''']] |
| 78 | * ''Fanfic/RunningWithLightningFeet'': [[MinionWithAnFInEvil Feral]] is utterly terrible at being a Sith to the point that Plo Koon thinks he could be a ''Jedi'', mainly thanks to being [[NiceGuy a sweet, kindhearted, and awkward fellow]] who's merely loyal to his two genuinely evil brothers. This does ''not'' mean that he isn't dangerous, as he's dangerously competent at fighting and sabotaging, but he isn't as big of a threat as he could be because he's not willing to slaughter anyone in his way. |
| 79 | * ''Fanfic/AShadowOfTheTitans'': Evil Dick is a total joke villain, whose only noticeable quality is that he [[TheChewToy gets his ass kicked in virtually every appearance]]. Then comes Chapter 12, which [[InMediasRes opens]] with him having somehow taken Starfire prisoner, and preparing to activate a DoomsdayDevice to destroy Jump City, with him only being stopped in time because [[spoiler: [[BrainwashingForTheGreaterGood Star Chan]]]] manages to ([[CuttingTheKnot literally]]) pull the plug on it before it can activate. Afterwards, Robin states that this proves they can't ever underestimate a villain, no matter how simple they seem. |
| 80 | * ''Fanfic/SognicMalltiverseOfMadness'': Downplayed. Though he gets some intimidating buildup, Roter.exe initially seems like a pushover when the heroes confront him in episode 3. He even goes through a HumiliationConga. However, he manages to perform one surprisingly gruesome act: killing [[spoiler:Roter by taking a bite out of his torso]]. Also, Roter reveals a little earlier that [[spoiler:he came to the mall to try and destroy Roter.exe, because he believed that Roter.exe could be a big threat to the world if he managed to escape the mall]]. However, most of the heroes still don't take Roter.exe seriously after that, and his fate at the end of the episode is still humiliating rather than deadly. |
| 81 | * ''Fanfic/TheStoryOfApolloDaphneAndLucaAnItalianTragedy'': [[{{Tsundere}} Vincenzo]] starts out as a cocky buffoon with [[LovingAShadow comically delusional romantic fantasies regarding his crush Giulia]], but later proves to be quite cunning and manipulative when [[{{Blackmails}} blackmails]] Luca to get him a date with Giulia once he discovers the latter's AchillesHeel (his LoveLetter for Alberto, that Vincenzo threaten to tell everyone about if Luca doesn't do what Vincenzo ordered him). |
| 82 | * ''Fanfic/TamersForeverSeries'': Despite their small size and low level, the Kurisarimon and [=DarkScubamon=] are vicious and numerous Digimon whose predatory and opportunistic natures make them a threat even to Mega level Digimon. |
| 83 | * ''Fanfic/VillainSongRovingOtter'': Asha reminds herself that he has returned from a pathetic state before, and despite Magnifico's poor condition, she shouldn’t underestimate him. |
| 84 | * In ''Fanfic/WithPearlAndRubyGlowing'', [[WesternAnimation/LegendOfTheThreeCaballeros Sheldgoose]] is [[HeteronormativeCrusader homophobic]] and a terrible neighbour to the Caballeros, but seems more like a SitComArchNemesis than an actual threat. Then it is revealed that he was the one who [[spoiler: turned Panchito over to [[KnightTemplar God's Will First]] to be [[HomophobicHateCrime tortured and murdered]], if his friends hadn't rescued him.]] |
| 85 | * In ''Fanfic/{{Xenophilia}}'' and [[RecursiveFanfiction its spin-offs]], Honeydew amounts to little more than a loud nuisance to Lero and his herd. ''Then'' comes ''Fanfic/DividedRainbow'', where we see Honeydew throw her lot in with a sadistic band of criminals... |
| 86 | * ''Fanfic/YouGotHaruhiRolled'': The Anti-SOS Brigade usually function as comic relief. Not so once [[spoiler:Emiri joins them, giving them the strength to defeat the SOS Brigade and kill all of Kyon's friends.]] |
| 87 | * ''[[http://www.fimfiction.net/story/119688/1/you-obey/the-interrogation You Obey]]'': The protagonist is actually a sympathetic, though highly reluctant, interrogator in this ''WesternAnimation/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagic'' fic. When it comes down to it, it is frightening just how brutally effective he is at getting the information he wants. |
| 88 | [[/folder]] |
| 89 | |
| 90 | [[folder:Films -- Animation]] |
| 91 | * Zigzag, the grand vizier, in ''WesternAnimation/TheThiefAndTheCobbler'' seems to be a SmallNameBigEgo who spins RhymesOnADime at first. Then he steals the golden balls protecting the city, giving them to BigBad and EvilOverlord One-Eye. One-Eye is unappreciative and has him thrown to the alligators. Zigzag ''tames'' them, rides them back to One-Eye's camp, and tells One-Eye "''One'' mistake will suffice! ''Don't treat me lightly'' '''''twice!'''''" |
| 92 | * ''WesternAnimation/TheLionKing1994'': |
| 93 | ** Shenzi, Banzai, and Ed at first seem like Wile E. Coyote-esque villains who always fail every time, but at the end of the film, they all show their true dangerous selves when they [[spoiler:kill Scar for betraying them]]. Even before that, the only reason they didn't kill Simba and Nala at the ElephantGraveyard is Mufasa's arrival, and they later make another attempt to kill Simba after Mufasa's death, only being stopped by a thorn patch. |
| 94 | ** Scar, while an effectively calculating villain, by his own admission, didn't really inherit the brawn of his family, and when confronted by Simba, starts to [[VillainsWantMercy beg pitifully for his life]]. It turns out to be an ISurrenderSuckers however, and he gives Simba a legitimately epic LastVillainStand which he very nearly wins. He ''really'' wanted to be king -- and when that failed he [[spoiler:pulled a DefensiveFeintTrap on the hyenas and, SoreLoser that he was, went for TheLastDance -- which, three fighters on one scrawny opponent, went about as well as one would expect]]. |
| 95 | * ''WesternAnimation/{{Megamind}}'': The eponymous VillainProtagonist, a super-intelligent GadgeteerGenius and MadScientist. He seems harmless because he always gets defeated by that FlyingBrick, Metro Man. But then he [[spoiler:apparently]] finally kills Metro Man with a KillSat. {{Deconstructed|Trope}} unusually as he fully expected Metro Man to foil the plan easily and send him back to jail just like every other time, the success was caused by a fluke that wasn't part of his plan, and he doesn't know what to do with himself afterward and quickly comes to miss the routine of repeatedly being foiled by Metro Man. [[spoiler:Then it's {{subverted|Trope}} as it turns out Metro Man was just FakingTheDead because he was bored of being a hero and wanted to try something else and Megamind never stood a chance against him after all. ''Then'', it ends up somewhere between a DoubleSubversion of this and an example of LetsGetDangerous, as after his HeelFaceTurn he does manage to defeat [[FromNobodyToNightmare Titan]].]] |
| 96 | * Disney's ''WesternAnimation/BeautyAndTheBeast'' has the villain Gaston, who starts out as just a vain, preening buffoon, certainly malicious, but more ridiculous than anything else. Then he threatens to have Belle's father thrown into an insane asylum unless she marries him, and incites a riot and leads a lynch mob against The Beast after learning that Belle has feelings for him, [[MurderTheHypotenuse and very nearly kills him]]. |
| 97 | * ''Franchise/{{Cars}}'': |
| 98 | ** ''WesternAnimation/Cars1'' has Chick Hicks, who is constantly losing to his rival Strip "The King" Weathers, and during the climax, he almost ''killed'' The King! |
| 99 | ** ''WesternAnimation/Cars2'' has Grem and Acer, a pair of bumbling villains who appear to be based on two of the worst cars ever made. But then we see them kill Rod "Torque" Redline... |
| 100 | * ''WesternAnimation/TheJungleBook1967'': |
| 101 | ** Shere Khan, the BigBad, in spite of his occasional hammy and whimsical nature, is actually an evil bloodthirsty tiger bent on killing any human that's still in his jungle, especially the man-cub he sees as Mowgli. In the sequel, [[KnightOfCerebus he drops the hammy and whimsical aspect altogether.]] |
| 102 | ** Kaa is much more of a flamboyant bumbler than Khan, but still, there are few in the jungle immune to those hypnotic eyes. Even in the sequel, where his ButtMonkey role is upped quite a notch, he was a mere second from devouring Shanti. |
| 103 | * ''WesternAnimation/WreckItRalph'''s King Candy initially seems like an eccentric and harmless old king, if cruel towards Vanellope. After Vanellope comes close to winning a race, though, he makes several attempts on her life, [[spoiler:tries to have her eaten by Cy-bugs and force Ralph to watch after he's revealed to be Turbo, and nearly kills Ralph himself after he's eaten by a Cy-bug and [[OneWingedAngel fuses with it]].]] |
| 104 | * ''WesternAnimation/RobinHood1973'': |
| 105 | ** Prince John. Snivelling, childish, cowardly momma's boy? Check. Ruthless, greedy, amoral tyrant with a vindictive streak two miles wide? Check. In hindsight, it was perhaps best if the civilians ''hadn't'' made [[TheVillainSucksSong a mocking sing-song about him]]. |
| 106 | ** The Sheriff of Nottingham is dim-witted and despite his size is easily manhandled by Little John and Lady Kluck. At the end of the movie, however, he completely snaps and comes after Robin with a torch, burning down the castle, and coming closer to killing Robin than anyone else in the film. |
| 107 | * Trumper from the ''WesternAnimation/ShaunTheSheep'' movie looks and acts pathetic, but once he starts using an electronic grabber to chase Shaun and the Flock, is really business. It gets worse when he uses a tractor to trap them in a shed and throw them in a Quarry. |
| 108 | * ''WesternAnimation/TheGreatMouseDetective'': Ratigan's henchman Fidget seems to be the usual bumbling minion, but turns out to actually be quite competent and even scary if the first scene is any indication. Notably, save for the ''one'' single screw-up of dropping the list Ratigan gave him, which serves as a clue to help Basil locate their evil lair, Fidget actually successfully does every single thing he's ordered to do without fail. |
| 109 | * ''WesternAnimation/TheAristocats'': Edgar. He's rather bumbling and somewhat of an IneffectualSympatheticVillain, but he still clearly has evil intentions. Sure, he doesn't kill the cats, but he tries to take them away from their owner by dumping them in the countryside (with some speculations that he was going to ''throw them in the river'') and then ships them to Timbuktu. |
| 110 | * Kent Mansley from ''WesternAnimation/TheIronGiant''. He's initially portrayed as an incompetent, neurotic bureaucrat who's in way over his head. And he is. But he's also a cruel, sadistic government agent with enough power to make a little boy's life hell. And all these traits, combined with his ever-growing paranoia, leads him to put an entire town of innocent people (and himself) in jeopardy. |
| 111 | * Dave from ''WesternAnimation/PenguinsOfMadagascar'' is a goofball but startlingly competent and ruthless, with a rather savvy handling of his minions. Even his plan to take away the penguins' cuteness was [[TheNotSoHarmlessPunishment not as harmless as it seemed]] since he planned on it's doing so resulting in every last remnant of the species getting wiped out by terrified humans. |
| 112 | * ''WesternAnimation/TheProphet'': For all of the Sergeant's buffoonery he is still a threat and when a riot breaks out, his first instinct is to reach for his gun and to open fire on the civilians, an act which Mustafa manages to stop. |
| 113 | * Jasper and Horace from ''WesternAnimation/OneHundredAndOneDalmatians'' may seem like a pair of bumbling comic relief henchmen at first, but they're just as cruel and ruthless as Cruella herself. When they're ordered to kill the puppies, they hesitate not out of sympathy or squeamishness, but because they want to watch a game show. And during the final chase scene, they join their boss in attempting vehicular homicide on a trucker. Jasper, in particular, seems to genuinely like being cruel, seemingly getting his kicks from picking on Nanny, Sgt. Tibbs and the puppies. |
| 114 | * Despite their LighterAndSofter tone, the sequels to ''WesternAnimation/TheLandBeforeTime'' have a few of these: |
| 115 | ** In ''WesternAnimation/TheLandBeforeTimeIITheGreatValleyAdventure'', we have Strut. He doesn't seem like much of a threat, since he prefers to eat plants, is pretty reluctant to steal eggs, and spends much of his screentime getting bullied by his [[BigBrotherBully older brother Ozzy]]. Sounding uncannily like [[WesternAnimation/PinkyAndTheBrain Pinky]] certainly doesn't make him appear menacing either. Then he suggests to his brother that they should murder Littlefoot by throwing him off a cliff and tries to ''strangle'' Chomper. It's only the arrival of Chomper's parents that saves the kids from being killed by them. |
| 116 | ** ''WesternAnimation/TheLandBeforeTimeIVJourneyThroughTheMists'' gives us Ichy and Dil. They may seem like a pair of bumbling comic relief baddies, and their TeethClenchedTeamwork dynamic is frequently PlayedForLaughs, including a [[{{vaudeville}} vaudeville]]-style QuarrelingSong. But at the end of the day, they're still ruthless and dangerous predators who pose a legitimate threat to the heroes. |
| 117 | ** Rinkus from ''WesternAnimation/TheLandBeforeTimeVIITheStoneOfColdFire''. While he initially appears cowardly, bumbling and ineffectual compared to the charismatic Pterano and the aggressive Sierra, it's revealed to be [[ObfuscatingStupidity an act]]. As it turns out, he's much smarter and [[VileVillainSaccharineShow more dangerous]] than he seems, and he plots with Sierra to [[TheStarscream betray Pterano]] so that they can take the stone's power for themselves. |
| 118 | * Brutish and Oafish Guard from ''WesternAnimation/TheHunchbackOfNotreDameDisney'' are often subject to amusing humiliations, but they still enforce a brutal and corrupt regime. Among their misdeeds throughout the film, they initiate the public humiliation Quasimodo goes through, subdue Phoebus when he turns on Frollo and were inches away from executing him before Esmeralda interfered. Brutish Guard in particular is responsible for setting off the entire second half of the film when he discovers Esmeralda’s escape offscreen and reports it to Frollo. |
| 119 | * Mr. Tweedy from ''WesternAnimation/ChickenRun'' spends much of the movie as a HenpeckedHusband to Mrs. Tweedy, but he's also stopped ''every one'' of the chicken's escape attempts, and when Mrs. Tweedy tells him to get a chicken to test out the pie machine, Mr. Tweedy comes back with Ginger, having correctly identified her as the chickens' leader. |
| 120 | -->'''Mr. Tweedy:''' ''[to Ginger]'' I've got a score to settle with you. |
| 121 | * While not exactly harmless to begin with, the plot of ''WesternAnimation/{{Wizards}}'' involves TheHorde becoming drastically more competent and ruthless upon discovering ancient footage of Nazi propaganda and [[PuttingOnTheReich being inspired by it]]. |
| 122 | * ''WesternAnimation/SpiderManAcrossTheSpiderVerse'': The movie begins with a fight between Miles Morales/Spider-Man and the Spot. Miles constantly mocks Spot during this fight while Spot [[BigBadWannabe insists to be Miles']] ArchEnemy, which ends with Miles seemingly defeating Spot with ease. But then Spot finds out he has the ability to travel the multiverse. He then becomes a threat not only to Miles ''but the whole multiverse'' thanks to his powers. |
| 123 | [[/folder]] |
| 124 | |
| 125 | [[folder:Films -- Live-Action]] |
| 126 | * ''Film/AlphaDog'': Elvis is initially a ButtMonkey forced to do embarrassing and menial tasks for Johnny to work off his debt, but [[spoiler:he's the guy who pulls the trigger that ends Zack's life.]] |
| 127 | * ''Franchise/BackToTheFuture'': Biff Tannen is a high school bully, who turns out to have a glass jaw. One good punch from George [=McFly=] and 1985-Biff goes from workplace bully to sniveling sycophant. Then in the sequel, 2015-Biff gives his teenage self a sports almanac from the future, and 1985-Biff becomes a {{Trumplica}} who murdered George and can commit whatever crimes he wants with impunity because he owns the police. |
| 128 | * The Riddler in ''Film/BatmanForever'' may have been a LargeHam and the most comical villain in the 1989-97 film continuity (down to being played by Creator/JimCarrey), but all things considered, he managed to figure out who Batman was on his own and launched an assault on Wayne Manor that completely destroyed the Batcave and left Bruce Wayne for dead. If not for his need to utterly screw with Bruce serving as his downfall, the Riddler came the closest to killing Batman far beyond what any of the other villains in the pre-Nolan films achieved, not counting the amount of damage he inflicted alongside Two-Face and his successful gambit to play the people of Gotham City for saps with his brainwave-stealing Box devices. Indeed, his plans for what he would do once he destroyed Batman involved using the second-wave Boxes to gain specific knowledge from its users, which could allow for identity theft and blackmail on a grand scale if not world conquest. |
| 129 | * ''Film/TheBigHit'': For the first part of the film, Cisco is an obnoxious but pretty comedic foil for Melvin. Yet when mob boss Paris compels him to hunt down Keiko's kidnappers, Cisco has little problem switching into genuine bad guy mode when he sells out and kills his former associates in the scheme. |
| 130 | * In ''Film/{{Blindness}}'', The King Of Ward 3 is shown to be an obnoxious punk who simply disrespects the protagonists and loudly makes an ass of himself. Then he manages to find a gun and becomes the most powerful tyrant in the place. |
| 131 | * ''Film/TheDarkKnightTrilogy'': |
| 132 | ** In ''Film/TheDarkKnight'', both Batman and the mob are shown dismissing ComicBook/TheJoker out of hand. The mob considers Batman their more pressing problem, while Batman (somewhat hypocritically) rationalizes that he's just one man, and so can't possibly be more dangerous than the mob. He ends up destroying quite a bit of the city, [[EvilerThanThou driving the last nail into the mob's coffin]] [[NearVillainVictory and almost doing the same for Batman]], and [[TheCorrupter drives Harvey Dent to madness.]] |
| 133 | ** In ''Film/TheDarkKnightRises'', Batman, who has been out of action for roughly eight years, gets back in the batsuit and is able to hunt down and capture several League of Shadow members who were trying to escape a bank robbery. The primary villain Bane manages to get away. Batman dismisses Bane as just another one of Ra's al Ghul's flunkies. When Bruce and Alfred review tapes of Bane's assault on the bank, Bruce brushes away Alfred's assessment of Bane's combat abilities, stating that he'll simply "fight harder". He teams up with Catwoman to go underground and take out Bane, only to be outsmarted by Bane and lured into a trap. [[NoHoldsBarredBeatdown Forced to fight Bane one-on-one, Batman learns just how "harmless" Bane is.]] |
| 134 | * Yuen Wah's character in ''Film/EasternCondors'' at first seemed like a comic relief villain (mostly due to his weird laugh) but turned out to be an incredibly intense martial artist at the end of the movie. |
| 135 | * Christian Winters, the BigBad of ''Film/ExtraOrdinary2019'', comes across as a hammy hack who is trying to be a menacing threat, but his less than invested wife combined with his lackluster attempts at seeming like an evil mastermind make him look more like a dork. That being said, he is versed in the Dark Arts enough to perform a Gloating on two virgins, is perfectly willing to have said virgin (both of which were teenage girls) raped to death by demons and he kills his wife in cold-blood when he loses his patience with her. |
| 136 | * ''Film/ForestWarrior'' : Thorne's bumbling attorneys get him a temporary permit to clear cut the forest before the townspeople can vote on the lumber project. |
| 137 | * Early in ''Film/GetShorty'', main character Chili Palmer punks his [[TheRival rival]] in the mob, Ray "Bones" Barboni, several times, and between that and the tendency of Bones's temper and ways of saying things being played for laughs, it might lead the audience to completely dismiss him. Then we get to see him in action against someone who isn't the hyper-competent ConsummateProfessional Chili Palmer and watch in horror as he ruthlessly and brutally beats the crap out of Harry Zim when he gets tired of Harry attempting to bs him, blows Ronnie away with a smile and without any need or provocation when Ronnie walks in on the beating, then perfectly arranges the scene so that the police never even suspect that he was there and scares Harry into taking the blame for Ronnie's death rather than get another visit from Ray Bones. |
| 138 | * Michael's arc in the first of ''Film/TheGodfather'' movies. As the initially straight-and-narrow youngest son of the Corleones, hardly anyone -- even within the Corleone circle -- take him seriously when he expresses interest in the family business after the failed assassination of his father. Sonny, Clemenza, and Tessio openly laugh when Michael offers to kill Sollozzo and corrupt police captain [=McClusky=] in retaliation, while the latter two arrange a truce meeting with Michael ''specifically'' because they don't see him as a threat. Towards the end of the movie, there's a plot to asassinate Michael when he takes control, perceived as a weak don that can easily be duped and disposed of. By the end of the movie, after Michael [[spoiler: orders successful hits on the heads of the Five Families and the traitors who tried to sell him and his family out]], ''everyone'' now takes Michael seriously. |
| 139 | * ''Franchise/{{Godzilla}}'': Don't let Gigan's bizarre design, comical gestures, and cowardly nature fool you; he's a cunning, sadistic, cold-blooded sociopath of a {{Kaiju}} who kills for pleasure, enjoys hurting his enemies in the most painful ways available, and all that weaponry on his body isn't for show, as proven by feats like shoving Anguirus into his sawblade stomach ''[[FacialHorror face first]]'', battering Godzilla to near-death with his arm claws, and [[spoiler:brutalizing one version of Mothra so badly that it takes a MutualKill to bring him down]]. |
| 140 | * ''Film/GodzillaVsKong'': This trope shows up in regards to Mechagodzilla's [[Characters/MonsterVerseKingGhidorah partly-organic piloting system]]. [[spoiler:The skull came from ''[[{{Cloudcuckoolander}} Kevin]]'s'' head, but when its consciousness overtakes the system and grants Ghidorah's SoulFragment to Mechagodzilla, the Mecha ruthlessly and efficiently murders and destroys all humans in its sights, then proceeds to mercilessly brutalize Godzilla and it almost succeeds in killing both him ''and'' Kong. Notably, Mechagodzilla exhibits none of Kevin's clumsiness, curiosity, childness, distractibility nor his fear of confronting Godzilla, whilst fully possessing Ghidorah's murderous and sadistic impulses]]. |
| 141 | * ''Film/{{Gus}}'': Spinner and Crankcase spend about sixty percent of their screen time being a classic, slapstick-prone BumblingHenchmanDuo, but they do successfully make Gus and/or Andy miss several games or be in no state to perform at them. |
| 142 | * ''Film/HocusPocus'': [[DumbBlonde Sarah]] appears as a [[TheDitz ditzy]], childlike ButtMonkey to her sister Winnifred. But then she creepily flies over Salem beautifully singing "[[SignatureSong Come Little Children]]" and every child in Salem mindlessly walks toward the sisters' house, where the sisters await to drain their life force. One realizes that ''she'' was the singer who originally lured Emily to her death at the start of the film. Moreover, Creator/SarahJessicaParker's delivery of her character's lines may make them funny, but really listen to what she is saying and try to say she doesn't sound like a [[PsychopathicManchild Psychopathic Womanchild]]. |
| 143 | -->'''Sarah''' (''on a child'') Ooh! Put him on a hook and let me play with him. |
| 144 | ** ''All'' of the Sanderson sisters are this; it's easy to forget as they spend so much of the movie being the butt of jokes and playing up their FishOutOfTemporalWater gags, but the opening scene of the movie has them ''successfully murder a kidnapped little girl''. Their current plan is to do the same, but ''en masse'' to all the children of an entire town. And they come ''terrifyingly close''. To top it off, they are all but stated to have gotten their powers via a DealWithTheDevil. Past the comic relief, these women are everything the victims of the original Salem witch trials were accused of, but very, very real. |
| 145 | * ''Film/HomeAlone'': Harry usually seems to be just as bumbling as his partner Marv, however, in the first film, he actually manages to gain information by impersonating a police officer. At the climax of the first two films, Harry and Marv manage to catch Kevin. In the first film, Harry was going to bite Kevin's fingers off. In the second film, [[spoiler:he was going to shoot him in the face]]. |
| 146 | * Chris D'Amico/The Motherfucker in ''Film/KickAss2'' is quite incompetent and LaughablyEvil... until he [[spoiler:has the Colonel killed]]. He then starts crossing the MoralEventHorizon ''repeatedly''. |
| 147 | * In the ''Film/KillBill'' movies, Budd is the only member of the Deadly Viper Assassination Squad to be down-on-his luck and there is some lip service paid to his lack of fighting ability. Bill has no doubt the Bride would be too much for him, Elle has a long list of insults for him, and the Bride herself seems overly confident when going after him. Despite this, [[spoiler:he is the only member who defeats and captures the Bride since he's a CombatPragmatist, saw her coming, and just blasted her with a shotgun the moment she got close]]. |
| 148 | * In ''Film/TheManFromUNCLE2015'', Alexander Vinciguerra was initially written off as a playboy who does nothing but pursue his hobbies and flirt with other women while his wife Victoria did most of the work. But he is a BadAssDriver and uses those skills to take on both Solo and Kuryakin at the same time. |
| 149 | * ''Film/MenInBlack'': Defied when Jay is being tested and they hit the firing range; he ignores the military officers shooting all the alien targets and fires one shot... at the target depicting a small, human girl. When asked why "Tiffany" had to die, Jay completely dismantled the aliens' apparently threatening appearances as doing harmless activities and notes the books on advanced physics the girl was carrying, books ''way'' too advanced for a kid her age as well as the fact that she was hanging around a dark alleyway in the first place, concluding that she's there to cause some trouble. This impresses the testers, although it's not stated whether it's more due to his quick thinking or because he was actually right.[[note]]In the novelization, it was the latter, to the point that Kay poked fun at Zed for how the applicants he brought in fired on targets that were completely harmless, just as Jay had concluded.[[/note]] |
| 150 | * ''Film/TheSuicideSquad'' features MemeticLoser Polka-Dot Man [[AscendedExtra as part of the main team]]. Everyone in the film expects him to be an IneffectualSympatheticVillain like he is in the comics but as it turns out this version of him doesn't just wear Polka Dots, [[AdaptationalBadass he fires deadly interdimensional Polka Dot's from his body]] powerful enough to harm a NighInvulnerable {{Kaiju}}. |
| 151 | * ''Franchise/StarWars'': |
| 152 | ** By the time ''Film/ReturnOfTheJedi'' rolls around, the audience knows the Emperor is extremely evil. The movie itself then shows him to be terrifying intelligent and cunning, but he still looks like [[NonActionBigBad a frail and harmless old man who needs Vader to do the fighting]]. Then he starts blasting Luke with Force Lightning, effortlessly defeating him and showing everyone all how deadly he really is. As Yoda had said earlier in the film: "Do not underestimate the powers of the Emperor." |
| 153 | ** Similarly in ''Film/RevengeOfTheSith'', the audience now knows just how dangerous Darth Sidious is in planning and using the Force, but he still doesn't exactly seem like a physically-inclined fighter. This movie then shows he is also a MasterSwordsman, [[spoiler:taking out three Jedi Masters in ten seconds]]. |
| 154 | [[/folder]] |
| 155 | |
| 156 | [[folder:Music]] |
| 157 | * Music/{{Voltaire}}'s "When You're Evil" is a cheerful show tune with a singer who's cartoonishly pure Evil-with-an-E. |
| 158 | -->''I'm the fly in your soup\ |
| 159 | I'm the pebble in your shoe\ |
| 160 | I'm the pea beneath your bed\ |
| 161 | I'm a bump on every head'' |
| 162 | ::It takes about three verses to realize that he's serious. |
| 163 | -->''... Lord Beelzebub\ |
| 164 | Has never seen a soldier quite like me\ |
| 165 | Not only does his job, but does it happily.\ |
| 166 | ...\ |
| 167 | I'm a dagger in your back\ |
| 168 | An extra turn upon the rack\ |
| 169 | I'm the quivering of your heart\ |
| 170 | A stabbing pain, a sudden start.'' |
| 171 | * Alberich in Music/RichardWagner's ''Theatre/DerRingDesNibelungen'' stats off as a harmless lovesick dwarf. Foiled in his amorous attempts, he steals the Rheingold and becomes [[FromNobodyToNightmare absolute ruler]] of the Dwarves. And that's just the beginning... |
| 172 | [[/folder]] |
| 173 | |
| 174 | [[folder:Mythology and Religion]] |
| 175 | * Loki of Myth/NorseMythology. Most of the tales starring Loki cast him as a harmless trickster. He gets into amusing antics with Thor, cheats Dwarves with a [[MeaninglessVillainVictory meaningless victory]], helps the Norse gods swindle a giant by seducing his horse (giving birth to Sleipnir in the process), and cuts off Sif's (Thor's wife) hair as a prank. Oh, and he also fathers three of the most dangerous beings in the mythos; one becomes the ruler of (and namesake) of the underworld, one becomes a sea serpent big enough to encircle the world, and the third becomes the [[CanisMajor biggest wolf ever]]. But Loki only ''really'' gets nasty when he finds out that he's destined to suffer a horrific fate at the hands of the other gods, and decides that he might as well ''earn'' it. He does so by killing Baldur and ensuring that he ''stayed'' dead. Then when Ragnarok arrives, he breaks free of his imprisonment, leads an army of the damned, and kills the bridge guardian of the gods, Heimdallr (though he dies as well), doing his part to seal the Norse gods' defeat. |
| 176 | * Coyote, in [[Myth/NativeAmericanMythology Navajo mythology]], is never really a trickster god but varies between AttentionDeficitOohShiny and EldritchAbomination. Early on, he mostly just [[WhatDoesThisButtonDo messes up First Man's work]] and [[HorribleJudgeOfCharacter gets tricked by blackbirds]], the Navajo's ''real'' trickster-figures. Later, though, Coyote [[MyDeathIsJustTheBeginning lets himself be murdered...four times...resurrecting himself each time]], thus becoming the only Navajo supernatural who can use [[BlackMagic Corpse Poison]] without having gotten it from First Man. Then his wife, [[MeaningfulName Woman Who Becomes a Bear]], invents {{s|hapeshifting}}kinwalking (and to the Navajo, ''all'' skinwalkers are diabolically evil). |
| 177 | [[/folder]] |
| 178 | |
| 179 | [[folder:Podcasts]] |
| 180 | * Greg Frickard from ''Podcast/KingFallsAM'' starts off as merely a SitcomArchnemesis for Ben and a romantic rival to him for Emily's affections. He's a bit creepy, but mostly seems like a normal fellow. After a while, however, he becomes increasingly malicious both in his quest to make Emily his girlfriend and his hatred of Ben to a truly loathsome level. Among other things, he [[spoiler:exploits Emily's LaserGuidedAmnesia to gaslight her into thinking she's his girlfriend, outs Sammy as gay live on radio just to be a dick, and is heavily implied to be part of an evil conspiracy.]] |
| 181 | * Hailey Solomanari of ''Podcast/KakosIndustries'' becomes this more and more over time. At first, she seems like an UncannyValleyGirl at best with her silly personality, cute voice, and her strange ability to discentegtste human bodies through making love with them. This could even be passed up as her being naive until she received her ADayInTheLimelight episode and gleefully informs the listeners about the people she's maimed and killed when given just a small taste of power. Even the two main [[CorruptCorporateExecutive evil executives]] grow terrified of her. |
| 182 | [[/folder]] |
| 183 | |
| 184 | [[folder:Professional Wrestling]] |
| 185 | * The infamous "You will not look past me" rant from Wrestling/ChrisJericho to [[Wrestling/DwayneJohnson The Rock]] in the buildup to ''Royal Rumble 2002''. Everyone assumed Rock would beat Jericho for the belt and go on to the Wrestling/WrestleMania main event. Nope. Nor did Wrestling/StoneColdSteveAustin the following month. |
| 186 | * A really bizarre case of this was [[Wrestling/LisaMarieVaron Victoria]], who first appeared on television as a happy ho who liked to dance but became a sadistic psychopath with Wrestling/StevieRichards wrapped around her little finger with no explanation or foreshadowing whatsoever. Her entire career from that point on is unexplained shifts between fun-loving ex-ho and deranged loon, with very few exceptions (she once purposefully tried to make herself crazy in hopes it would help her beat Wrestling/MickieJames). |
| 187 | * Wrestling/ChrisHero and Wrestling/NecroButcher first appeared at Wrestling/RingOfHonor events as hecklers who were frequently removed from the premises by security. Little did anyone know that this was the beginning of a feud, one that would be considered a contender for greatest in ROH history, as it would progress to Hero having ([[Wrestling/KevinSteen nearly]])the entire Wrestling/{{CZW}} locker room behind him and Wrestling/ClaudioCastagnoli defecting from ROH to join them in their attempt to destroy the company. Even after the CZW incursions were put to an end The Kings Of Wrestling continued to cause trouble in ROH for years to come. |
| 188 | * This was the whole basis of the 2009 feud between Wrestling/JohnCena and Wrestling/TheMiz. Cena is the top star on ''Wrestling/WWERaw'', and once Miz was traded to the brand he instantly started calling him out. The feud played out for months with the idea that Cena was much more focused on his other feud with Wrestling/BigShow and couldn't be bothered to care about Miz running his mouth -- as things went on and Miz began to do such things as attacking him and Big Show alike any time he could, Cena began to take him more and more seriously. Then [[FanonDisContinuity their match at The Bash didn't happen, honest,]] but in a showdown on Raw Miz put up a losing effort but dominated Cena through the entire match and showed that he was just as able to hang with Cena as Big Show is. Miz eventually became a long-running WWE champion. However, he suffered BadassDecay shortly thereafter and was relegated to the midcard once more; his title run mentioned only to boost the credibility of whoever was beating him up that week. While The Miz still seems to be playing this trope hard, he ultimately had his Championship reclaimed by Cena, albeit only to have it snatched by... |
| 189 | * Wrestling/AlbertoDelRio. Much like The Miz, his "Juan Bradshaw Layfield" is incredibly narcissistic and [[DirtyCoward will frequently balk from a match]]. When riled enough, however, he is disturbingly ferocious. Cena labelled Del Rio pathetic for cashing in his Money In The Bank match on a champ post-match (never mind that pretty much ''everybody'' who wins the Money In The Bank uses it that way) and swiped it back; a few nasty beatdowns later, Del Rio won it ''again''. |
| 190 | * The dancing Cloudcuckoolander Wrestling/PinkieSanchez proved how not harmless he was during Wrestling/{{Chikara}}'s eighth season when he disguised himself as Carpenter Ant to win the Torneo Cibernetico and join Wrestling/DieBruderschaftDesKreuzes. |
| 191 | * Another example involving the BDK was [[Wrestling/HunterJohnston Delirious]], who wasn't even a villain until Wrestling/UltraMantisBlack mind controlled him with [[ArtifactOfDoom The Eye Of Tyr]]. It was assumed by a repentant [=UltraMantis=] that simply removing Delirious of this control would solve all problems but instead Delirious wanted revenge, first against Black, and then against society in general, leading him to join what seemed to be an end of the world cult. |
| 192 | * A good chunk of Wrestling/TheNexus became a lot more dangerous after they formed their group. Wrestling/JustinGabriel began wearing black trunks and delivering stares of death before a 450 splash, [[Wrestling/{{Ryback}} Skip Sheffield]] became a lot more vicious in the ring. And Michael Tarver...well, actually became awesome, especially after the booking on NXT Season 1 did everything to make you think he wasn't. |
| 193 | * Marty "The Moth" Martinez first appeared on ''Wrestling/LuchaUnderground'' as a chubby, goofy, CloudCuckoolander fanboy convinced he was a descendant of the Aztec tribes and was treated as a JokeCharacter by everyone (and for the entire first season he was just a {{Jobber}}, although he did at least show himself as a pretty proficient wrestler). Then at the end of Season 1 he actually ''kidnapped'' his recurring opponent [[ActionGirl Sexy Star]] and held her captive for over half a year, showing himself to be [[AxCrazy completely insane]] and [[SurprisinglyCreepyMoment actually kinda scary]]. |
| 194 | -->'''Marty:''' You thought I was ''[[WhosLaughingNow amusing?!]]'' |
| 195 | [[/folder]] |
| 196 | |
| 197 | [[folder:Radio]] |
| 198 | * AudioPlay/BigFinishDoctorWho gives this to a couple of notorious joke villains from the TV show, like other expanded universe canons. |
| 199 | ** In "Seasons of Fear" the villains are given a major [[TheReveal reveal]] as the [[spoiler:Nimons]]. They were the monsters in the poorly-thought-of story [[spoiler:"The Horns of Nimon", where their costumes were a laughable SpecialEffectFailure]]. However in a sound-only medium the [[spoiler:Nimon]] are a credible threat, coming very close to conquering Earth and it is shown that if they succeeded they would have conquered many other worlds and become the masters of time. |
| 200 | ** The Meddling Monk was a rather comedic villain on his two appearances in the TV series. In Big Finish he shows himself to be dangerous, helping the Ice Warriors in a plan to kill 300,000 Martian colonists and in Lucie Miller/To the Death he helps the Daleks invade Earth again. |
| 201 | [[/folder]] |
| 202 | |
| 203 | [[folder:Roleplay]] |
| 204 | * ''Roleplay/SurvivalOfTheFittest'' has Jimmy Brennan, who started out as a MilesGloriosus type who ran around the forest screaming and [[BringMyBrownPants pissing his pants]] in the first thread he appeared in and bragging about being a badass in the next. For the most part, his antics are fun in a CrossesTheLineTwice sort of way, up until he [[spoiler:beats resident JerkJock Philip Ward to death with a branch]]. |
| 205 | [[/folder]] |
| 206 | |
| 207 | [[folder:Tabletop Games]] |
| 208 | * ''TabletopGame/DungeonsAndDragons'': |
| 209 | ** In the ''TabletopGame/ForgottenRealms'', Cyric, while undeniably evil, was always considered a minor threat at best because he's so freaking [[AxCrazy insane]] that most of his plans fall through. Then, in 4th edition, he orchestrates the death of Helm, ''personally'' murders Mystra (possibly for [[KilledOffForReal good]] this time), ''and'' unleashes the devastating Spell Plague, all without breaking a sweat. ''Wow''. In 5th Edition, all of that got retconned into having not happening (like pretty much every other change 4th Edition made) but Cyric is still treated as a legitimately threatening god. |
| 210 | ** In the first ''TabletopGame/{{Pathfinder}}'' adventure, ''Burnt Offerings'', the players fend off an attack from goblins that act like pyromaniac 5th-graders who injure themselves as often as their opponents. But weeks after the raid, they discover a goblin who ran and hid under a house, where he slowly went mad from hunger and isolation and ''killed and ate a man who tried to stop him doing the same to his child''. A definite case of MoodWhiplash. |
| 211 | ** Kobolds started out as cowardly little dog-lizard things and were even more cannon fodder than goblins... then came Tucker's Kobolds, and in ''TabletopGame/{{Pathfinder}}'' they came back as WeakButSkilled tactical geniuses that could utterly slaughter a party of adventurers without even directly fighting them. |
| 212 | ** In a broader sense, original D&D made heavy use of the SortingAlgorithmOfEvil, with the "humanoid" monsters - kobolds, goblins, orcs, hobgoblins, bugbears and ogres - being essentially the same creature at different power levels. By the time 4th Edition rolled around each of these was given more distinctiveness, including variants of different power levels within the creature type, so while orcs as a whole were more powerful than kobolds as a whole, there were elite and end-boss level kobolds in the standard stat blocks as well. |
| 213 | ** "The Bandits of Bunglewood" from ''Dungeon Adventures 51'' seems to be inspired by Tucker's Kobolds. The eponymous Bandits are kobolds who have gotten more training than the typical ones, and investigating their misdeeds is difficult bnobody is willing to admit they were beaten up and robbed by mere kobolds. As a result, their actions around the town the module takes place are clouded by stories of orcs, lycanthropes, trolls, and other "respectable" monsters. |
| 214 | ** ''Any'' monster can be amped up to a potential TotalPartyKill in the hands of a KillerGameMaster, or one looking for the ultimate challenge for his players. |
| 215 | * ''TabletopGame/NewWorldOfDarkness'': |
| 216 | ** Humans are slow, feeble, ignorant, nearly powerless, and only an actual danger to supernaturals in significant numbers. Until the supernaturals find themselves facing [[TabletopGame/HunterTheVigil the exceptions]], who are ''very'' capable of fighting the supernaturals on their own turf and winning, by means as diverse as Task Force: VALKYRIE's [[PlasmaCannon plasma cannons and bullets]] that phase into the spirit realm and harm incorporeal entities, to the Malleus Maleficarum's habit of calling down the literal wrath of God, to an insanely brave and fiendishly clever group of everyday men and women who have gotten fed up with the things that go bump in the night and broken out whatever weapons or tools that are handy. To put it another way: most supernatural effects have damage, targeting, and so on that scale with "power" dots (gnosis, etc) plus stat dots plus "skill" dots (sphere ranks, renowns, etc) and occasionally some miscellaneous dots from a third pool. Until players hit the 'epic' point where their supernatural power is over 5, vanilla mortals use the vital stat + skill points + specialties system, which scales in exactly the same way, meaning that statistically a 0 [=XP=] mortal specialist using her specialty can likely do things that are more powerful than the supernatural players. A skilled DM refrains from pointing this out until the party has decided to take a shortcut through an active SWAT site to reach their "real" opponents or something similar. Then HilarityEnsues, up to and including a TotalPartyKill. |
| 217 | ** In fan-supplement ''TabletopGame/PrincessTheHopeful'', the ''[[BigBad All-Consuming Darkness]]'', of all things, used to be this to the Princesses. Back when the Kingdom existed, they were treated as a nuisance the Nobles had a duty to take care of and were routinely [[CurbStompBattle curb-stomped]]. Then the Hopefuls grew self-righteous and suffered infighting, giving minions of the Darkness enough time to actually fester and come up with a plan. Once that was done, they completely obliterated the Kingdom, [[SealedGoodInACan trapping most servants of the Light in the Dreamlands]]. Nowadays, they are by far the side with the upper hand. |
| 218 | * ''TabletopGame/Warhammer40000'': |
| 219 | ** The Imperial Guard are generally portrayed as the Imperium's trillions strong RedshirtArmy. A popular joke in the fandom goes "what do you call a lasgun (the Imperial guard's main weapon) with a laser sight? Double-barreled." But as ''TabletopGame/BlackCrusade'' reminds us, "The [[SuperSoldier Legionnaire]] that scoffs at a lasgun has not charged across an open field against a hundred of them." |
| 220 | ** [[NamesToRunAwayFromReallyFast Abbadon The Despoiler]] is nominally the setting's BigBad (or at least the biggest bad short of a [[GodOfEvil Chaos God]]), but despite being trumpeted as the man who could succeed in finally toppling Terra, the fandom had problems taking him seriously because his twelve Black Crusades were either dismal failures or somewhat redeemed by having one of his plans out of many come to fruition. Then came the Eye of Terror event, and when it was over, Abaddon's 13th Black Crusade had ransacked Cadia, establishing a solid beachhead on the fortress-world that stood between the forces of Chaos and the rest of the galaxy. Later supplements did more to rebuild his reputation, explaining that the previous Black Crusades weren't attempts to conquer the galaxy, but to achieve certain goals which Abaddon met. The Fall of Cadia event took this even further by having Abbadon [[spoiler:blow the whole planet to kingdom come despite the efforts of the Imperium, Eldar, Dark Eldar, and Necrons, with the added detail that the Imperium is effectively broken in half]]. |
| 221 | ** Perturabo, Primarch of the Iron Warriors. Before the Horus Heresy, the Iron Warriors legion got repeatedly shit on and disrespected, being treated as semi-expendable workhorses and given all the most brutal garrison and siege duties without being recognised for their contributions to the final victory or even really being thanked. When Horus turned traitor, the Iron Warriors followed; they gleefully dismantled the Imperial defences during the Siege of Terra and wrecked much of the Imperial Palace, and then nearly massacred their rivals the Imperial Fists. Now they're one of the most ruthless and terrifying Chaos Space Marine legions in the entire galaxy, valuing nothing beyond their hatred and their means of expressing it. Even Chaos itself is just another weapon in their IndustrializedEvil approach to fighting war. |
| 222 | ** Orks are a wacky, silly comic relief faction with a tendency to be the warm-up villains in other stories before the Chaos Marines reveal themselves / the Tyranids start landing / the Necrons wake up. They wield crudely made guns and drive over-the-top scrap metal cars. They talk like English football hooligans. They think the biggest person in a force has to be the leader because that's how it works for them. However, during the War of the Beast, relatively early in the Imperium's history, they managed to rip the Imperium open and threaten Terra itself, and with Ghazghkull Thraka currently standing taller than a Mortis pattern Dreadnought, he could well be the Beast's true successor... |
| 223 | * In ''TabletopGame/{{Rifts}}'', the Power Leeches introduced in ''Psyscape'' start out tiny and relatively weak, but have unlimited growth potential, frightening if assaulted by a friendly unlimited-ammo Cosmo-Knight or Machine Person. |
| 224 | * In ''TabletopGame/{{Nightbane}}'', the Dream Ghouls introduced in ''Between the Shadows:'' are weakest of all the dreamthings, but unlike the others, they can receive an upgrade from absorbing PPE and it is not explicitly a 1-time thing, allowing them potentially unlimited upgrades in size and attributes. |
| 225 | * Out of all the Ancient Ones in ''TabletopGame/ArkhamHorror'', Azathoth the "Idiot Sultan" could be considered to be the most harmless one, since anything he does while he's still asleep is to make it ''harder'' for his cultists to wake him up. The catch is that, when any of the other Ancient Ones wakes up, you get a final chance to stop them [[DidYouJustPunchOutCthulhu via boss fight]]. But if ''Azatoth'' wakes up, you don't get the chance, as [[TheEndOfTheWorldAsWeKnowIt he destroys the entire world]] [[RocksFallEveryoneDies with his first and only attack]]. |
| 226 | * In the ''TabletopGame/MutantsAndMasterminds'' ''TabletopGame/FreedomCity'' setting, there's the Toon Gang. The four of them look and act just like gangsters from [[UsefulNotes/TheGoldenAgeOfAnimation a Golden Age of Animation cartoon]]: they're effectively immortal (anything that kills them only effects them for an instant, for example, a laser would burn them down to a pile of ash with a pair of blinking eyeballs, and then they'd suddenly reform, completely unharmed), they comedically skid on floors when running, and perform other animated tropes. Here's the thing, though: they're in a world that doesn't play by those rules, and they don't realize it. Their idea of "putting a hit" on someone is to [[AnvilOnHead drop a cartoon anvil on them]], which is still completely lethal. They can't be caught for more than a few minutes at best since they'll escape due to RuleOfFunny or via OffscreenTeleportation. And they don't realize that the cartoon bullets from their Tommy Guns will simply kill other people (not that they really understand what death is). Effectively, they're a collection of immortal {{Reality Warper}}s with kleptomania and no ability to comprehend the consequences of their actions. |
| 227 | [[/folder]] |
| 228 | |
| 229 | [[folder:Theater]] |
| 230 | * In ''Theatre/JuliusCaesar'' the conspirators against Caesar consider Marc Antony no threat, saying, "He can do no more than Caesar's arm when Caesar's head is cut off". They're so unafraid of him that Brutus lets him speak at Caesar's funeral! Whatever speech he can make will pale in comparison to the unparalleled generosity of letting him speak at all, right?! [[spoiler:Friends, Romans, Countrymen!]] The audience is privy to a bit of foreshadowing regarding Marc Antony's forthcoming badassness with this line: |
| 231 | -->'''Marc Antony''': ...And Caesar's spirit, ranging for revenge, with Ate by his side come hot from hell, shall in these confines with a monarch's voice [[StockQuotes cry 'Havoc,' and let slip the dogs of war]]. |
| 232 | * In ''Theatre/PokemonLive'', Jessie, James, and Meowth are this. Despite their zero-win track record and seeing ''themselves'' as incompetent, Jessie and James manage to capture both Pikachu and Ash. Delia also takes their threat very seriously, worrying that they may have hurt Ash and knowing that they answer directly to Giovanni. |
| 233 | * In ''Theatre/TwistedTheUntoldStoryOfARoyalVizier'', [[OneShotCharacter Prince Achmed, who only appears briefly]] in the original film, comes back after being laughed at and treated like a gag to enforce a war between their two kingdoms, proving that, yes, [[AttackOnOneIsAnAttackOnAll sending a tiger to attack a prince from a powerful and influential nation has consequences]]. |
| 234 | [[/folder]] |
| 235 | |
| 236 | [[folder:Visual Novels]] |
| 237 | * Most ''Franchise/AceAttorney'' villains don't qualify, as they're [[HiddenVillain not revealed as villains]] until they're past the not-so-harmless point. One exception is the culprit of 3-2, a standard quirky, self-aggrandizing side character who's outed as the GentlemanThief [=Mask☆DeMasque=] within a single trial day (a feat usually reserved for [[WarmupBoss the tutorial]]). [[spoiler:Except this was all planned to give him an alibi for the murder he ''really'' committed and pin the blame on the ''real'' [=Mask☆DeMasque=].]] |
| 238 | * Rider in ''VisualNovel/FateStayNight'' spent the first route having even Shirou calling her weak and in the second route she got killed offscreen by a normal, non magus human. Fierce. But then she shows up in HF and ''starts turning people into stone by looking at them.'' (Surprise! She's [[spoiler:Medusa]]!) Oh and then she makes a [[spoiler:HeelFaceTurn (sort of...) so this overlaps with LetsGetDangerous]]. Her physical capabilities were significantly impaired in the first two routes [[spoiler:due to temporarily being in the service of Shinji, who has no magic power of his own and can't reinforce her with mana. When her true master, Sakura, takes her back, her skills SKYROCKET]]. |
| 239 | [[/folder]] |
| 240 | |
| 241 | [[folder:Web Animation]] |
| 242 | * In ''WebAnimation/DeusExMachina2007'', [[spoiler:Patrick]] is obviously going to be a villain from the moment you see him, but from his nerdy voice and attitude, he doesn't seem very threatening. [[spoiler:Then he gets mind raped by the covenant and dons his supersuit before weakening the earth's defenses to the point that the covenant can easily break through and kill us all WHILE killing off Michael, John's only friend, and making every single attempt to save the world meaningless before throwing him into a pit with two berserkers.]] Even PLAGUE didn't cross the horizon this much. |
| 243 | * ''WebAnimation/HelluvaBoss'': |
| 244 | ** Blitzo is a VillainProtagonist variant. Despite him being the head of an assassination company, it's easy to see him as no real threat since he's a kooky, socially inept, borderline-illiterate weirdo who makes some very questionable business decisions. But one underestimates him at their own peril: he's still a crack shot, capable of shocking ruthlessness, and physically skilled enough to casually [[ArrowCatch catch arrows]] ''with his eyes closed''. |
| 245 | ** Moxxie is a comically uptight ButtMonkey, but he shows himself to be a very dangerous gunman, and it's implied he'd be even ''more'' dangerous if it weren't for his moral standards. |
| 246 | ** While Millie seems like an overly sweet Southern stereotype, she's a PintsizedPowerhouse par exellence, and at one point kills a gigantic mutated fish monster while armed only with a knife. |
| 247 | ** Loona largely comes off as a BrattyTeenageDaughter and is mostly left out of the field work due to her job as the company receptionist. However, she's a lot more dangerous than she seems at first glance. In "Spring Broken", she helps murder dozens of people by acting as a HoneyTrap. And lest one think she's not a good fighter, "Truth Seekers" shows her holding her own in combat against a small army of TheMenInBlack. |
| 248 | ** Stolas mostly seems to be comedically pompus and perverted, but he's still a [[DemonLordsAndArchdevils high-ranking aristocrat of Hell]] and is implied to be enormously powerful, as shown by his [[TakenForGranite turning a would-be kidnapper to stone]] just by [[DeadlyGaze glaring at him]]. [[spoiler:"Truth Seekers" shows a greater taste of his true power, where he appears as a [[OneWingedAngel terrifying shadow beast]] and demonstrates that he can [[DemonicPossession possess humans]] and temporarily reanimate the dead.]] |
| 249 | ** A HeroAntagonist variant in Agents One and Two of D.H.O.R.K.S. Even when they were interrogating Moxxie and Blitzo, neither Imp took them seriously in the slightest, trying to annoy them into losing their cool to the extent that they give the Demonic Duo a chance to escape. Agents One and Two responded by leaving the room and then filling it with so much Truth Serum Gas that both Blitzo and Moxxie went catatonic in a matter of minutes. They then have all four members of I.M.P. completely at their mercy until Stolas comes in with with a villanous BigDamnHeroes moment, but Agents One and Two survive the whole ordeal with definitive proof that hell and demons are real: security camera footage of I.M.P.'s and Stolas's rampage through the facility. Considering that Stolas is able to predict the future, this feat of cunning is even more impressive than it sounds. |
| 250 | * In ''WebAnimation/{{Lackadaisy}}'', the dryly annoying and annoyed bespectacled nebbish in the back of the Marigold Gang's car is some sort of ObstructiveBureaucrat out to ruin SiblingsInCrime the Savoys fun, too DirtyBusiness-averse to put himself in the line of fire. At least that's how it looks, until one suggests he has ConflictingLoyalties. Then out comes the gun. Seconds later, he takes a MenacingStroll out of the car, then wordlessly executes a ''freakishly'' sharp heel turn to line up a shot at SnipingTheCockpit of his fleeing targets. The heroes sight him in their rearview, an ominous ticking clock and tolling bell can be heard, and they begin to ''panic.'' Only their leader Rocky's lunatic driving temporarily saves them from their MysteriousMercenaryPursuer, revealed in the stinger as Mordecai Heller, "ruthless, infamous hatchetman." |
| 251 | * ''WebAnimation/RedVsBlue'': |
| 252 | ** [[AIIsACrapShoot Omega]] from the original series is an unusual example, as the viewer doesn't learn of his Not So Harmless moment until after he's been [[spoiler:absorbed by the [[BigBad Meta]], taking him permanently out of the picture]]. Despite being the BigBad for the show's first five seasons, Omega/O'Malley was always far too cartoonish and [[LargeHam hammy]] to be taken seriously, being more a parody of the BigBad archetype. Then, at the beginning of ''Reconstruction'', a shell-shocked Red soldier named Walter explained to Command over what went down after the Blues at Valhalla scavenged Tex's crashed pelican (see the ending to the Blood Gulch Chronicles). Walter's rather detailed description of an ominous 'infection' to the Blues and Reds, on top of how the Blues massacred one another, made Omega seem much more threatening as an antagonist than his previous incarnation ever did. And THEN we learn that he and Gamma were put in charge of [[spoiler:torturing the Alpha until its mind disintegrated by trapping it in nightmare situations it couldn't escape from]], transforming Omega from a DastardlyWhiplash into a genuine monster. |
| 253 | ** The Meta/[[spoiler:Agent Maine]] gets this in ''Revelation'', being reduced to comic relief for most of the series. Then in the climax he [[spoiler:fights Tex mostly by himself (Wash helped a little), ''stabs her in the face with a giant spike and then gets his powers back'']]. At that point, he's back to his usual KnightOfCerebus status. |
| 254 | ** Genkins is introduced as a goofy {{Troll}} who never takes anything seriously, and generally serves as comic relief. Towards the end of Season 16, it's revealed he's actually [[BigBad Chrovos]]'s [[TheDragon Dragon]], and he quickly establishes himself as being quite ruthless and sociopathic BeneathTheMask. |
| 255 | * ''WebAnimation/WolfSongTheMovie'': Cobalt is pretty cowardly and has an inflated ego, but is also pretty brash and has violent outbursts. In act one, he does start off as the bumbling villain, only winning his first fight because his squad is left to carry after wimping out, but come act two and Cobalt in quick succession manages to rather brutally slaughter [[spoiler: Zar and Alador]]. He might not be as efficient as his master, but he is still deadly |
| 256 | [[/folder]] |
| 257 | |
| 258 | [[folder:Webcomics]] |
| 259 | * ''Webcomic/TheOrderOfTheStick'': |
| 260 | ** The lich sorcerer Xykon is an extreme example. His [[LaughablyEvil humorous dialogue]] and status as a CardCarryingVillain along with the fact that he rarely fights directly (in anything but an instant win) initially led many people to believe he was much less serious or at least genuinely malevolent than he really is. Then he's pushed into exerting himself... As Redcloak puts it: "I know he seems funny and charming, but believe me, when you see for yourself the depths to which he'll sink, you will never sleep well again." |
| 261 | ** Qarr the imp is a definite case of playing with a trope. The first we saw of Qarr was an ominous red and black speech bubble speaking from just off-panel during a CliffHanger. Fans went into a flurry of speculation about this mysterious new being, but nobody expected him to be [[TheImp a tiny imp]] with virtually no power of his own and who isn't even all that bright. However, Qarr's attempts to convince Vaarsuvius into a DealWithTheDevil draws the attention of the [[DemonLordsAndArchdevils IFCC]], a trio of powerful evil beings bent on creating enough chaos, confusion, and disorder so that they can move ahead with their own attempt to seize [[EldritchAbomination The Snarl's]] Gate. Qarr is now working with them, and as a result after starting out as something of an inversion, Qarr is now much more dangerous than he ever was in his previous position. |
| 262 | ** General Tarquin initially comes across as an AffablyEvil NobleDemon type of villain, combined with the same goofy sense of dramatic conventions as his sweet-natured son. While he can be funny and charming, not unlike Xykon, he's as monstrous as any other tyrant -- particularly when he perceives a threat to his superiority and control. [[spoiler:Even if it's from his own sons.]] His charm also belies a string of women he's coerced into marriage with torture. |
| 263 | ** Nale spent ''almost a decade'' (in real-world time) as the epitome of a SmugSnake and BigBadWannabe whose ComplexityAddiction results in every plan he puts into action ending in failure. Then he [[spoiler:casually kills the centuries-old vampire cleric Malack, revealing that he'd been waiting for the right opportunity to do so since he was 9 years old... then confesses the whole thing to his father (the Tarquin mentioned above), completely underestimating him and allowing him to pull off one of these himself when he murders his son in cold blood. A "scared old man protecting his rut" indeed]]. |
| 264 | * ''Webcomic/ILoveYoo'': Yui is first seen as a mother desperate for grandchildren. A bit pushy, but overall harmless. However, she is soon revealed to be very manipulative, messing with the lives of many innocent people. |
| 265 | * ''Webcomic/EightBitTheater'': |
| 266 | ** Black Mage, one of the VillainProtagonist main characters, spends almost all the saga doing nothing but things that are deleterious to himself in his efforts to kill everyone on the planet, starting with his teammates. Thief actually states that he would stop BM if anything BM did would hurt anyone more than himself. And then, towards the end [[spoiler:he calmly takes out all 4 fiends (perhaps the most powerful and certainly the evilest creatures on the planet) AND the other 3 members of the Light Warriors (all also ridiculously powerful- a warrior who can block anything and kill anything that bleeds, a ninja who can dodge anything, including ethereal energies, and a mimic who can cast every spell the universe has ever seen) with simple ease. Course, then Sarda appears and reverts everything]]. |
| 267 | ** Garland is shown to be utterly incompetent as a villain- he simply has no idea how to hurt anyone, and for that matter really doesn't want to. His Dark Warriors consist of a dark elf who would be exceptionally useful if he had his swords (which were stolen by the Light Warriors and which take him almost the entire story to get back), and who is utterly useless without them; a pirate who can't read, write, do anything nautical, or really anything useful; and a goth vampire who is obsessed with roleplaying and spends his time writing poetry. When they tire of his inept leadership, though, we get a sight of the real Garland; he offers to cater the meeting they have about getting rid of him; when Drizz'l, the dark elf, asks him why he would cater a meeting specifically designed to screw him over, he delivers a TheReasonYouSuckSpeech stating how useless the other Dark Warriors are, and informs him that all the food is spiked with amnesia peppers and that everyone will forget the whole idea in an hour or so. It was also shown that he could summon giant monsters (although not controlling them) and took part in killing the Yeti the Dark Warrior met. |
| 268 | ** Hilariously averted with the cultists; after their first plan to destroy the universe ends terribly at the hands of the Light Warriors, they come back a few hundred strips later seeming much more competent; they see through Black Mage's disguise like a window, lock up the rest of the Light Warriors, and actually set up the summoning ritual for the monster that will end the universe. It seems like a massive threat to the universe and the Light Warriors. [[spoiler:Then Black Mage kills them all with his knives in a few seconds and summons the monster, who immediately dies to Red Mage (by accident, no less).]] |
| 269 | * Webcomic/{{Walkyverse}}: |
| 270 | ** The Head Alien is a tiny purple guy with a flair for the over-dramatic whose preferred method of torture involves ''Theatre/TheSoundOfMusic''. And then you find out it's his EvilPlan that's driving the entire strip, and that he's a lot more competent than he seems at first. Remember all those BrainwashedAndCrazy friends you had to kill? Yeah, he set that up years in advance. |
| 271 | ** And then there's Galasso, and ''especially'' Faz in ''Webcomic/{{Shortpacked}}!'', and possibly the Head Alien ''again''. |
| 272 | * ''Webcomic/SluggyFreelance'': |
| 273 | ** For most, Dr. Schlock was more or less a good guy, though he would sometimes betray the good guys on account of being a coward. It never mattered much, though, since his one skill (creating inflatable technology) can be neutralized quite easily (by anything with a sharp edge). Then he actually manages a hostile takeover of Hereti Corp, one of the series' main {{Big Bad}}s, orders the assassination of several FBI agents to cover his tracks, and states, "If we're going to 'take over the world' we're going to do it ''right''." |
| 274 | ** The Dimension of Pain. A bunch of incompetent demons, falling over themselves, scared of bunnies, and used as ''entertainment'' when they invade on Halloween, and the whole ''Meanwhile, in the Dimension of Pain...'' spinoff. Then, in the ''That Which Redeems'' arc, they become serious, powerful villains. They even [[spoiler:kill a dimension's Zoe.]] |
| 275 | * ''Webcomic/EmergencyExit'': The villains seem quite harmless, more annoying than anything else. Until one of them [[spoiler:rips off Karl's face]]. |
| 276 | * ''Webcomic/YetAnotherFantasyGamerComic'' usually portrays Lewie the Lich as a HarmlessVillain. When called upon, however, he points out an important fact about liches: no matter how silly they seem, you only get to be one by being ''very'' powerful. |
| 277 | * ''Webcomic/DeadOfSummer'': |
| 278 | ** Alan Stone falls under this. While not physically imposing [[spoiler:at first]], he beats the tar out of a sympathetic character and is revealed to have SinisterSurveillance almost everywhere, which lets him know a lot of secrets. A crossing of the MoralEventHorizon later and it's hard to remember that he seemed wimpy at first. |
| 279 | ** [[spoiler:[[Music/TheProtomen Doug Fetterman]]]] and his lackeys fall under this too. His two henchmen don't even get names, all three are portrayed as {{Large Ham}}s, and you figure they're no match for the good guys... [[spoiler:Then they assault Commander with a swarm of insects, fry KILROY'S brain and reformat him into a time bomb, and reveal that Panther is apparently [[HeelFaceTurn working for them]]. As Panther kills Dr. Light, [[EyeScream ripping out his eyes]]. And then you realize the extent of Fetterman's {{plan}}]]. |
| 280 | * ''Webcomic/SomethingPositive'': [[spoiler:That Crazy Blue Thing. Second comic on [[http://www.somethingpositive.net/sp01192010.shtml this page.]]]] |
| 281 | * ''Webcomic/GirlGenius'': |
| 282 | ** Zola goes from being an IneffectualSympatheticVillain who constantly [[http://www.girlgeniusonline.com/comic.php?date=20090727 needs to be rescued by the heroes]] to [[http://www.girlgeniusonline.com/comic.php?date=20100712 faking out]] the BigBad (yes, the BigBad is one of the heroes; ItMakesSenseInContext). |
| 283 | ** Gil himself was viewed as mostly harmless by many of his father's minions. [[http://www.girlgeniusonline.com/comic.php?date=20071126 Then he]] [[http://www.girlgeniusonline.com/comic.php?date=20071203 dealt with it.]] |
| 284 | ** Wooster seemed like a borderline comic-relief henchman who'd be scared into serving Gil instead of [[spoiler:his British spymasters]]. [[http://www.girlgeniusonline.com/comic.php?date=20100827 Then this happened.]] Short version, he did something that would tick off Klaus mightily and [[spoiler:saved Agatha's town and probably her life.]] |
| 285 | * ''Webcomic/Collar6'': Butterfly is an extreme example of this. She went from simply being a {{Jerkass}} in her [[http://collar6.com/2009/expensive-toys-10 early appearances]] to sheer horror in [[https://web.archive.org/web/20111114122106/http://collar6.com/archive/collar-6-121 this strip]]. |
| 286 | * ''Webcomic/MonsterLands'': Marcus Rila has no fighting skills and his attempts at cheating are entirely ineffective until he manages to push Othera off a cliff. |
| 287 | * ''Webcomic/{{Homestuck}}'': |
| 288 | ** Okay, nobody considered [[EvilChancellor Archagent]] Jack Noir to be ''harmless'', but then he [[spoiler:ascended to BigBad status, killed off the previous Big Bads, massacred a huge army from both Kingdoms and wrecked two planets]]. |
| 289 | ** Another example is [[FantasticRacism Troll Racist]] Eridan Ampora. After spending most of Act Five failing at genocide and wallowing in [[RunningGag exaggerated emotional theatrics]], [[spoiler:he decides that his best chance of survival after everything goes to hell is to [[FaceHeelTurn side with]] [[BigBad Jack]]. When Sollux and Feferi try to stop him, he knocks the first one out and ''[[MoralEventHorizon kills]]'' [[KillTheCutie the latter]]]]. Then, when Kanaya tries to stop him, he [[spoiler:destroys the Matriorb, thereby destroying the last hope the trolls as a race had of surviving, then ''blasts a hole through her stomach'']]. |
| 290 | ** While Eridan had his issues, no one ever suspected that [[spoiler:Gamzee, upon becoming sober from his sopor slime,]] would attempt to kill everyone on the station as a show of his inherent superiority. |
| 291 | ** Courtyard Droll would like to remind you that he's Clubs Deuce's alternate by [[spoiler:blowing up Jade to death]]. His post-scratch self does the same by [[spoiler:murdering Jake's dream self in his sleep]], although he does feel a little bad about it. |
| 292 | ** And [=undyingUmbrage=]. It was easy enough to write off his verbal aggression and death threats as non-serious - Dirk seemed to, after all. It got even easier in one conversation when uu hilariously demanded that Dirk draw porn for him...of people holding hands and reciting poems to one another, uu all the while acting as though normal human romantic behaviour was the most terrible of all weird fetishes, cementing him as a not-so-heroic ComedicSociopath. And then [[spoiler:he kills Calliope's dream self, thereby taking control of their shared body]]. And he eventually grows up to become [[spoiler:the BigBad Lord English, the most powerful and evil character in the story]]. |
| 293 | * ''Webcomic/ZebraGirl'': Lord Incubus. That little skull-headed demon Jack released from the book that wanted to take over the world, only to get flushed down a dimensional portal shaped like a toilet? Yeah, he's back. And he's genuinely frightening this time. |
| 294 | * In ''Webcomic/ElGoonishShive'', in the eyes of Raven, Abraham became this since initially he's viewed as merely infamous for [[http://egscomics.com/comic/2009-06-09 his stupid and reckless action]] that resulted in the creation of the Dewitchery Diamond. However, Abraham managed to disarm and knock out Raven, a powerful half-immortal wizard in his own right, came ''very'' close to killing Ellen, and given that she's the first time he's baffled by a [[GenderBender strange use of his diamond]], it's implied he's had to put down many actual monstrous creatures over the centuries. |
| 295 | * Hell Joe in ''Webcomic/TowerOfGod'' seems like a pretty comical villain -- EvilOverlord or not -- who spends his time with comic books and television and complains about how bored he is because he can't escape the [[{{Mordor}} Floor of Death]]. When the generally overpowered character Princess Yuri Jahad is asked to kill him, it seems like it would be a CurbStompBattle as soon as she gets to him. Instead, he turns out to be the first character whom she can't beat -- he's got [[spoiler: a piece of the floor's dead Administrator within him]], granting him both extraordinary power and the ability to manipulate the Shinsu around him, limiting others' powers. |
| 296 | * ''Webcomic/SweetHome2017'': [[spoiler: Jay's]] monster form seems easy enough to deal with - just tell him he looks good and he'll walk away. Unfortunately, that need for attention is constant, and so much as running away when his back is turned is enough to set him off, and when he's set off, he unleashes a psychic headache on his victims. [[spoiler: Despite trying to get him away peacefully, Hyun is forced to kill him.]] |
| 297 | [[/folder]] |
| 298 | |
| 299 | [[folder:Web Original]] |
| 300 | * /tg/'s Drew the Lich, an incompetent, CardCarryingVillain [[MinionWithAnFInEvil who can't even get the "villain" part right]] (his phylactery is a Skeletor figurine). Never forget about the ''lich'' part, or [[http://suptg.thisisnotatrueending.com/archive/3144112/ this may happen]]. [[http://suptg.thisisnotatrueending.com/archive/4750158/ And don't let him plot against you]]: [[CombatPragmatist "Whoever said I would act Lawfully?"]] after all! |
| 301 | * The BigBad mastermind of ''Website/GaiaOnline''s deicide storyline? [[spoiler:Don Kuro, the [[ReallySevenHundredYearsOld perpetually]] five-years-old dark elf mob boss]], about whom all we'd known previously was that he [[JustForFun/OneOfUs likes going to anime conventions]] ([[NoFourthWall Gaia conventions, even]]), has an [[CoolBigSis awesome big sister]], is a huge MommasBoy, and owes Devin favors. |
| 302 | * ''Website/SCPFoundation'': |
| 303 | ** Of all the groups that the Foundation has to combat constantly, including a MadArtist coalition with access to reality-warping, a MegaCorp that sells ungodly artifacts to the highest bidder, [[DeusEstMachina machine-god]] cultists, and their [[TheUnfettered Unfettered, more violent rival organization]], a church that resembles a sillier version of the ChurchOfHappyology crossed with NewAge beliefs doesn't sound that bad. [[spoiler:But then you get to read about their bible-slash-self-help book, Star Signals, and how an uncontained outbreak of copies of this book brought them closer than any of these other organizations to [[RealityWarper rewriting the world into an unrecognizable mess]], and realize that they're just as dangerous as any of the aforementioned groups.]] |
| 304 | ** SCP-387 is a bunch of sentient, self-assembling Legos that enjoy being played with and playing with other Legos, and assimilate Lego products added to their toybox. Aside from somehow giving children highly detailed knowledge of WMD construction, they don't harm anyone and were even approved for recreational use by Foundation personnel. One time, someone left a pile of Micro Blok imitation toys in the room... [[BewareTheNiceOnes [DATA EXPUNGED] ensued]]. |
| 305 | --->'''Dr. Arch:'''' ''Jesus [[PrecisionFStrike fucking]] Christ!'' |
| 306 | ** [[http://www.scp-wiki.net/scp-2006 SCP-2006]] is usually harmless, but efforts need to be made to ''keep'' it harmless by convincing it NightmareRetardant B-movie horrors are the epitome of scary, so those are the forms it will try when scaring people; terrifying others as an apparent prank is all it ever wants to do. The site director remarks it should ''never'' progress to not-so-harmless stage because they have ''no idea'' what its upper limits for shapeshifting power are, or if it even has them, and to make sure that doesn't happen it must be kept ignorant of what ''truly'' terrifies humans. And in one tale, it proves it's aware of at least one of those things (the possibility the Foundation itself is the one being fooled into thinking it, and other objects, are genuinely contained) and genuinely terrifies a high-ranking doctor to the point of panic; it found it just as funny as its usual "scares". |
| 307 | ** The "Safe" designation. It is given to SCPs that can be locked in a room and do not supernaturally escape or telepathically makes people interact with it or has other such abilities. It does NOT mean the SCP itself can't extremely dangerous if it is used or interacted with. |
| 308 | * ''Literature/StellarRangerDarkStar Series Three'': Initially, [[MadScientist Dr. Lament]] seems to be less a real villain and more an actor ([[BadBadActing poorly]]) playing one. [[AmbiguousGender Their]] haunted house is built up to be NightmareRetardant [[invoked]] in-universe, with an amateurish, barebones website, a ClicheStorm of a spooky backstory, and a dramatic voiceover by Lament that is simultaneously high-pitched and monotone, as if Lament themself was uninterested. The rangers go visit the house so they can laugh at it. [[spoiler:Then Lament traps them inside and reveals thier knowledge of the Penumbra, sends traps and minions to kill them, reveals themselves to be an agent of [[GreaterScopeVillain Despair]], and later is able to [[DealWithTheDevil coerce Destiny into making a deal to save her life]].]] |
| 309 | * ''Literature/WhateleyUniverse'' has Hekate. While she has a reputation as someone never to cross, she's not particularly successful most of the time and usually sticks to playing TheDragon to Don Sebastiano. [[spoiler:And then it's revealed that the events that led Skybolt and Cavalier to become sex-slaves to the Alphas were her doing, using magic straight out of the Franchise/CthulhuMythos. She came perilously close to making Fey into her mind-slave, and actually killed Jade, who got better.]] Sebastiano spent most of his career riding off the reputation her magic brought him and looks a lot less competent when the truth comes out. He's a rapist thug, but she's on a whole different level of villainy from him. |
| 310 | [[/folder]] |
| 311 | |
| 312 | [[folder:Web Videos]] |
| 313 | * Act III of ''WebVideo/DrHorriblesSingAlongBlog'', when the titular IneffectualSympatheticVillain takes off the kid gloves and decides to MurderTheHypotenuse in response to [[SmugSuper Captain Hammer's]] merciless taunting over the theft of his would-be girlfriend Penny. Subverted when, even with all the provocation in the world and his ArchEnemy helpless before him, he can't bring himself to pull the trigger. DoubleSubversion when Hammer turns the tables and the malfunctioning DeathRay explodes, handing Dr. Horrible the victory anyway. |
| 314 | * On the ''WebVideo/DreamSMP'', Schlatt is an old, sickly, senile alcoholic who [[SuperDrowningSkills sinks like a rock and drowns]] in even the shallowest body of water. He almost never wears armor leading to him being an easy target for assassinations, and relies on others to protect him from mobs. It's very easy to underestimate him and doing so would be a very big mistake; [[ObfuscatingStupidity he is much more clever than he lets on and keeps his cards very close]]. He is also a savvy businessman and [[spoiler:has somehow convinced [[TheDreaded Dream]] to make a contract with him, mitigating any disadvantage he may have had in the manpower department]]. |
| 315 | * ''WebVideo/TheNostalgiaCritic'': |
| 316 | ** The Nostalgia Critic is a pathetic, miserable, useless waste of space, and this carries over to his time as a VillainProtagonist in ''WebVideo/{{Kickassia}}''. Taking over "an acre of land" gives him far more trouble than it should, and even after he succeeds, he's mostly content to [[VillainsOutShopping laze on a couch watching sitcom reruns]]... but it's eventually revealed he rigged his new country with dynamite just in case anyone wanted to take his finally-gained power away. |
| 317 | ** For all his [[LargeHam hamminess]], getting easily trashed in a fight, and inability to spell his own name, Terl from ''WebVideo/ToBoldlyFlee'' counts as this. Most of his plans (imprisoning the Critic in his house, kidnapping Cinema Snob so the Executor can turn him to the dark side, and duping the crew into disabling their weapons) actually work, and he would have finished them off for good in the finale if not for [[spoiler:Linkara's BigDamnHeroes moment]]. And even though it didn't technically work the way he wanted, he's managed to survive (through clones) longer than the Critic's, uh, [[AscendToAHigherPlaneOfExistence mortal existence]], so technically he's achieved his goal. |
| 318 | * Cancrelax from ''WebVideo/FranceFive'' is a simpering little toady who's only dangerous because he [[MakeMyMonsterGrow makes a destroyed monster big]]. Then in the fifth episode, he changes into a buff form and lets the heroes see [[WolverineClaws those claws of his]] aren't just for show. |
| 319 | * In the LetsPlay/HatFilms ''VideoGame/GrandTheftAutoV'' series, Ross designs a course named [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CQimSruLZxc "Mil-Truck Massacre"]]. The premise is relatively simple- steal a military truck, escape the three-star security (which is not that difficult, for reference) and drive the truck back to an extraction point. As it turns out, the cops, who are armed with just handguns and not well armoured, might individually be useless, but Ross has their respawn rates set so high that they are essentially able to ZergRush anyone in the truck and kill them instantly. This forces the trio to angrily ally with one another as they get increasingly frustrated, [[spoiler:yet they still fail]]. |
| 320 | * When Vanilla Ice is first seen in ''WebVideo/VaguelyRecallingJoJo'', he's doing a goofy pose in a spirit picture with DIO. During Joseph's scrying in episode 7 of Jotaro's Journey, he is struggling with a card game. When the heroes explore DIO's mansion, Vanilla Ice kills [[spoiler:Avdol and Iggy]] in cold blood. |
| 321 | [[/folder]] |
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