Line #61 Main/BorrowinSamedi


1	[[quoteright:300:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/baronsamedi_cropped_8.jpg]]
2	[[caption-width-right:300:They've got friends on the other side.[[note]]Clockwise from top left: [[Film/LiveAndLetDie Baron Samedi]], [[WesternAnimation/ThePrincessAndTheFrog Dr. Facilier]], [[Manga/OnePiece Brook]], and [[VideoGame/{{Smite}} Baron Samedi (the actual deity, in this case)]].[[/note]]]]
3
4	A character uses Baron Samedi -- also occasionally spelled Bawon Samdi -- a loa (i.e. deity/spirit) of death, healing, resurrection, history, and heritage from Haitian UsefulNotes/{{Voudoun}} folklore, as a design template.
5
6	This means they'll probably:
7	* Be a tall, lean ScaryBlackMan;
8	* Wear [[HatOfAuthority top hat]], [[SharpDressedMan tails]], glasses with one missing lens, and brandish a cane;
9	* Have a skeletal face, possibly by use of VillainousCheekbones, white face paint, or an actual SkullForAHead;
10	* Have the {{Color Motif}}s of black, white, and purple;
11	* Have a high-pitched, nasal voice.
12
13	Personality-wise, they'll probably be sly, ghoulish, sinister, and maybe a bit of a hedonist -- in Voudoun, the Baron is a festive sort who loves drinking rum, smoking cigars, partying, swearing, and sex. Where they fall on the morality axis is a little less consistent: as far as the original is concerned, DarkIsNotEvil, but characters who fit the archetype may be villainous or diabolical, since EveryoneHatesHades.
14
15	They will often practice (or be worshipped by practitioners of) HollywoodVoodoo; this makes a small degree of sense, since possession by spirits is a big part of Vodoun doctrine, and someone hoping to be "ridden" by the Baron might dress like him to try and associate with him.
16
17	See also WitchDoctor (fiction often conflates voodoo with tribal rituals from across the rainforest belt), and RedplicaBaron for another feared [[RedBaron Baron]].
18	----
19
20	!!Examples
21
22	[[foldercontrol]]
23	[[folder:Anime and Manga]]
24	* Brook in ''Manga/OnePiece'' doesn't just look skeletal, he is in fact a walking skeleton and dresses in a nice suit and top hat as a matter of course. About the only switch-up is the huge afro. His love of music, upbeat and fun-loving personality, and horrible manners might be further references to Samedi. Even after the time skip his style doesn't change much, unlike most of the Straw Hat crew. On top of all that, the people of Zou name him "Baron Corpse."
25	[[/folder]]
26
27	[[folder:Comic Books]]
28	* One of ''ComicBook/GhostRider'''s fellow Spirits of Vengeance is Baron Skullfire of the Congo. Top hat, tails, and all, complete with the big blazing skull head.
29	* Papa Midnite, the voodoo sorcerer in ''ComicBook/{{Hellblazer}}'', will get into traditional Samedi dress when he's getting ready to perform magic, although his top hat is usually white. No matter ''what'' he's doing, he still got the "ScaryBlackMan in a really nice suit" thing down.
30	* Voodoo priest Jim Crow from ''ComicBook/TheInvisibles'' often wore a top hat and black jacket. There was a bit of a joke in his debut, where a character notes that he was expecting Crow to look like the James Bond example below. Once Crow starts a ritual, the same character hallucinates him ''as'' the Baron Samedi from that same Bond movie.
31	* The ComicBook/{{Superman}} villain Baron Sunday, a gangster who utilizes voodoo sorcery to dispatch his enemies, exploiting Superman's vulnerability to magic.
32	[[/folder]]
33
34	[[folder:Films -- Animation]]
35	* ''WesternAnimation/ThePrincessAndTheFrog'': Dr. Facilier, the main villain, is a con artist (in the sense that he swindles people out of money; his voodoo abilities are genuine) who always wears top hat and tails, and is skeletally thin. During his VillainSong, his clothing briefly switches to pure black and he dons a skull mask, which completes the image.
36	[[/folder]]
37
38	[[folder:Films -- Live-Action]]
39	* In the "Sloosha's Crossin' an' Ev'rythin' After" segment of ''Film/CloudAtlas'', the devilish spirit named Old Georgie (Creator/HugoWeaving) tempts Zachry in various ways and sports ruined black clothes with a top hat, slightly invoking the trope.
40	* In James Bond's ''Film/LiveAndLetDie'', the BigBad uses an EnigmaticMinion who acts the part of Baron Samedi in some kind of festival for tourists in Haiti, played by Creator/GeoffreyHolder. One of the [[RiddleForTheAges bigger mysteries]] in the film is exactly who the guy is, with the [[MaybeMagicMaybeMundane implication]] that he may be the Baron himself.
41	[[/folder]]
42
43	[[folder:Literature]]
44	* An example in ''Literature/AmericanGods'' by Neil Gaiman. The Baron himself shows up, but manifested in a highly atypical fashion: as a teenage goth girl from Chattanooga (she had her own top hat).
45	* An unorthodox example the Skin-taker from the Creepypasta ''Literature/CandleCove'', who is a villainous glass-eyed skeleton who wears a top hat and cloak made of [[GenuineHumanHide the skin of children]].
46	* An unconventional example is Minty Fresh from ''Literature/ADirtyJob''. A [[TheGrimReaper death merchant]] whose job is to collect and then redistribute souls, he's a tall and menacing (but ultimately good and even friendly on a good day) black man with a penchant for suits. So far so good... but, due to his new attempts to embrace his moniker after a lifetime of being embarrassed by it, his suits are all fairly bright green and silky.
47	* ''Literature/LiveAndLetDie'': slightly different from the film version (mentioned above), the main villain is a Haitian-American gangster who keeps superstitious underlings under control by spreading rumors that he is the Baron himself. [[note]] While the filmmakers were probably thinking of Francois Duvalier- check the Real Life folder- when they wrote the BigBad, Ian Fleming probably wasn't, for the simple reason that his book predated Papa Doc's presidency by at least three years [[/note]]
48	* One of Black Shadow's cover identities in ''Literature/WildCards'' is Mr. Gravemold, a semi-respected Joker who always dresses in a nice suit and a skull mask (masks don't really stand out in Jokertown), and smells of formaldehyde to boot.
49	* In the Discworld novel ''Literature/WitchesAbroad'', the former ruler of Genua (a FantasyCounterpartCulture to New Orleans) is Baron Saturday, a literal translation of "Samedi" into English. He is raised as a zombie in the traditional evening dress by his ex-lover, a voodoo lady, and helps to depose the evil witch who usurped him.
50	[[/folder]]
51
52	[[folder:Live-Action TV]]
53	* ''Series/AmericanHorrorStoryCoven'' introduces Papa Legba, the loa that Marie [=LaVaeu=] sold her soul for immortality for her and Delphine [=LaLaurie=]. While Papa Legba is an actual loa of the Voodoo faith (being the patron loa of communication, understanding and the mediation between the Loas and humanity) everything about Papa Legba in the show - ruling over the voodoo afterlife, the white face-paint and top-hat, his taste for drugs and his dark sense of humor - are all actually attributed to Baron Samedi, making it both a case of CompositeCharacter and SadlyMythtaken. Papa Legba in the actual religion is a kind old man who dresses humbly and his traditional offering is rum, ''not'' cocaine.
54	* ''Series/{{Grimm}}'' featured an arc villain called Baron Samedi (a "Cracher-Mortal"), who, by the series' basic premise, is probably the inspiration for voodoo in-universe. Not only did he dress the part, his true form was a pufferfish creature whose venom turned people into zombies (referencing the idea that voodoo priests may have created "real" zombies by drugging people with tetrodotoxin).
55	* ''Series/{{Heroes}}'': the Haitian's brother is a crime lord who uses the name Baron Samedi. His power was indestructible skin, since you're curious.
56	* ''Series/LoisAndClark'': Baron Sunday (see Comics) appeared in one episode. He uses voodoo to try and invoke images of being BuriedAlive, but it fails to kill Supes because by this point he's engaged to Lois and the image he's seeing is actually [[spoiler: his parents closing him into his ship on Krypton before it exploded, an image of self-sacrifice and life, not death]]. At their confrontation, Superman leaves Sunday tied to a plane seat but when the police arrive he's gone, as the camera focuses in on a snake slithering away unnoticed.
57	* ''Series/MacGyver1985'': In "Walking Dead", FormerRegimePersonnel exiled from Haiti has settled down in Little Haiti, in [=MacGyver=]'s neighborhood. They are selling drugs, collecting protection payments and threatening shopkeepers with "Baron Samedi". One of the gang poses as the Baron, in a black suit and white-pained face to help sell the illusion. At the end of the episode, [=MacGyver=] dresses up like Baron Samedi and tells the people that they've been lied to.
58	* ''Series/TheMightyBoosh'' has the Spirit of Jazz, who wears a white suit and top hat, skeletal makeup and dreadlocks. Howard [[DealWithTheDevil sells his soul]] to him in exchange for jazz music skills.
59	* ''Series/MightyMorphinPowerRangers'': Bones, the series' very first monster (and thus the first monster of the entire ''Power Rangers'' franchise), is a skeletal Samedi monster.
60	* Lampshaded on ''Series/OnceUponATime'', where [[WesternAnimation/ThePrincessAndTheFrog Doctor Facilier's]] counterpart in the Land Without Magic is named Mr. Barron Samdi.
61	[[/folder]]
62
63	[[folder:Music]]
64	* In the [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UNAr5tzZxdk music video]] for the Cartoons cover of "Witch Doctor" (a.k.a. "Ooh Eeh Ooh Ah Ah Ting Tang Walla Walla Bing Bang"), the eponymous witch doctor is a guy with skull-themed face paint and a black suit and top hat evoking Baron Samedi.
65	[[/folder]]
66
67	[[folder:Professional Wrestling]]
68	* Wrestling/CharlesWright started his career in the WWF playing Papa Shango, a wrestling Voodoo Priest who used this look. He also used the name Baron Samedi in the independents.
69	[[/folder]]
70
71	[[folder:Tabletop Games]]
72	* ''TabletopGame/{{Atmosfear}}'': Baron Samedi is a Haitian witch-doctor who turned himself into a zombie.
73	* The ''TabletopGame/MutantsAndMasterminds'' Freedom City setting has Baron Samedi show up as an [[EverybodyHatesHades evil god]] whose goal is to kill all humans and turn them into zombies.
74	* ''TabletopGame/VampireTheMasquerade'': The Samedi Bloodline are vampires who assume a decaying corpse appearance after their Embrace. The oldest known member and probable founder of the Bloodline is Baron Samedi, possibly that one.
75	* ''TabletopGame/{{Scion}}'' has you play as the [[DivineParentage children of gods]], and Baron Samedi and the rest of the Loa are available as possible divine patrons. One of the sample Scions provided is Brigitte de la Croix, daughter of the Baron himself, specializing in [[{{Necromancer}} necromancy]], top hats and suit coats, skull body paint, and having a great time.
76	[[/folder]]
77
78
79	[[folder:Theatre]]
80	* Papa Ge, the "sly demon of death" from ''Theatre/OnceOnThisIsland'', is a capricious trickster god and the primary antagonist. He's basically a [[TheGadfly gadfly]] who likes to con people for the hell of it, and his costume is a skeleton outfit.
81	[[/folder]]
82
83	[[folder:Video Games]]
84	* The voodoo-themed video game ''VideoGame/AkujiTheHeartless'' have none other than Samedi ''himself'' as a major character. Namely, he's the grim reaper who offers the titular hero a second chance to return to the plane of living.
85	* ''VideoGame/BountyOfOne'' has [[BigBad The Undertaker]]. [[https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/bounty_of_one_undertaker.png He wears a]] black top hat, a huge black coat, has a literal SkullForAHead with VillainousCheekbones due to being an undead skeleton, and is a necromancer with SoulPower.
86	* Sam B from ''VideoGame/DeadIsland'' is this InUniverse. He's a rapper whose scene persona wears a black longcoat and a black top hat, and his two songs ("Who Do You Voodoo, Bitch?" in the opening cutscene of the first game, and "No Room in Hell", a live-action music video serving as promotional material for the ''VideoGame/DeadIslandRiptide'' sequel) are voodoo-themed; there's also the "Sam B"[=/=]"Samedi" pun. In proper game, he's merely a CelebritySurvivor with purely mundane ability. He's also a player character and a good guy (though not a nice person).
87	* ''VideoGame/DeathRoadToCanada'' has the rare character Samedi, a woman with skeletal face paint wearing a top hat. She has the ability to summon skeletons every time she gets hit. When she dies, she resurrects herself as a skeleton.
88	* A few of the armours for the Witch Doctor in ''VideoGame/DiabloIII'' sometimes have Baron-Samedi like appearances.
89	* Present and correct in ''VideoGame/DungeonsOfDredmor'' - two enemies called "Samedi" and "The Baron" appear early on with this appearance, with variant versions showing up later in the game.
90	* Tensay the shaman from ''VideoGame/FarCryPrimal'' looks vaguely like the Baron despite predating Voudoun as a religion. Apart from being a ScaryBlackMan, Tensay is thin and wears white TribalFacePaint that makes him appear skeletal. He carries a simple staff in place of a ClassyCane, wears a [[NemeanSkinning wolfskin headdress]] instead of a top hat, and has pretty crass manners, urinating on a mask before letting Takkar put it on his face, and urinating on a captive Izila who he doesn't like. He's also [[NightmareFetishist eager to serve Takkar his blood potions]] and is something of TheHedonist, as whenever he's not doing creepy things, he's doing a dance with his staff, or encouraging other Wenja to "dance with spirits", as he does in celebration [[spoiler:of Takkar killing Batari]].
91	* Josey from ''VideoGame/LollipopChainsaw'' is the Master of Funk and one of the five Dark Purveyors, five powerful zombies summoned by Swan from the Rotten World who unleash a ZombieApocalypse on the world. Josey is the only Black member, with skull make-up and a top-hat meant to evoke Baron Samedi's iconography.
92	* An outfit in ''Videogame/LoveNikkiDressUpQueen'' called Demon's Game is likely a reference. The clothes are almost monochrome, contrasting against bone-white skin and a face like a desiccated corpse, with a prominent top hat, and the figure carries both a creepy doll and an oversized scythe (bringing in European iconography of death). Ghosts swirl around it, and the item descriptions all refer to lost souls, lamentations, the brevity of life and the inevitability of death.
93	* ''VideoGame/MadWorld'' has the Black Baron ("Stop staring"), who gives the shout out to Baron Semedi a pimp twist; rather than a top hat he has a wide-brimmed hat and instead of wearing black, he's wearing garish leopard print. He is, however, superhumanly powerful and aside from his name has an interesting connection to death, as [[TheyKilledKennyAgain he's killed to demonstrate each level's gimmicks]] and comes back with no explanation. The semi-sequel ''VideoGame/AnarchyReigns'' has the Blacker Baron, who may or may not be the same guy.
94	* In obscure Amiga game ''Master Axe: The Genesis of Myster X'' (1997), one of the opponents is named ''Le Baron''. Some pre-gameplay info calls him a "Voodoo swamp lord". Pre-battle text calls him "Mistah Midnite", whose HomeStage is Devil's Bayou, Louisiana.
95	* ''VideoGame/MutantFootballLeague'' features the Brawltimore Razors as a team (a parody of the Baltimore Ravens NFL franchise.) Their team logo is a skull and crossbones, where the crossbones are knives, and the skull is wearing a styling red and purple tophat and has a streak of blood down one of its eyes.
96	* ''VideoGame/PathOfExile'' has the unique helmet "[[https://www.poewiki.net/wiki/The_Baron The Baron]]", which looks like a skull mask, a top hat, and a black hood adorned with bones, and empowers the player's [[NightOfTheLivingMooks zombie minions]].
97	* The Sons of Samedi from ''VideoGame/SaintsRow2'' are a street gang whose [[GangOfHats hat]] is HollywoodVoodoo. TheLeader of the gang, an enigmatic man known only as The General, doesn't fit this trope very well aside from being a ScaryBlackMan and a bit of a hedonist. That said, his [[TheDragon second-in-command]], [[IronicName Mr. Sunshine]] definitely counts as he's a "psychotic witch doctor" (to borrow a phrase from rival gang leader Maero) who practices voodoo [[MaybeMagicMaybeMundane that may or may not give him magic powers]] and certainly makes him [[MadeOfIron hard to kill]]. He's also [[AxCrazy enthusiastically sadistic and immoral]]. In terms of aesthetics, he's definitely [[LeanAndMean emaciated]] with a long, bony face, he has a skull on top of his staff, and he wears an understated, dark blazer and slacks as an allusion to the usual tailcoat. When the gang are introduced at the beginning of the game, Shaundi even explains who Baron Samedi is as a figure of Vodoun myth.
98	-->'''The Boss:''' What the fuck's a Vodoun?
99	* ''VideoGame/{{Smite}}'' features Baron Samedi as a playable character from the Vodoun pantheon, and he looks exactly as one might expect him to.
100	* In ''VideoGame/TeamFortress2'', the Spy is given not one but two cosmetic items that make him resemble the Baron: the [[https://wiki.teamfortress.com/wiki/Shadowman%27s_Shade Shadowman's Shade]] is a tattered, team-colored top-hat with a skull-shaped charm on the front, while the [[https://wiki.teamfortress.com/wiki/Voodoo_Vizier Voodoo Vizier]] is a skull mask accompanied by a pristine black top-hat.
101	* Sam from ''VideoGame/TwistedWonderland'' arguably also falls here, due to his name and being twisted from [[WesternAnimation/ThePrincessAndTheFrog Dr. Facilier]].
102	* Limbo from ''VideoGame/{{Warframe}}'' is a dapper warframe, clad in a top hat and tailcoat, whose schtick is [[DimensionalTraveler sending himself, his allies and his enemies in and out of the Rift]].
103	* The ''VideoGame/WorldOfWarcraft'' troll loa Bwonsamdi hits many of the right notes. He is the god of death for a race heavily associated with voodoo, has a skull face, is frequently sinister even when he's ostensibly on your side, and always trying to make deals which he'll usually adhere to the letter of, if not the spirit. Throughout the Horde storyline of ''Battle for Azeroth'', Bwonsamdi is making deals and trying to find ways to exploit the situation to his advantage, culminating in [[spoiler:becoming the loa to which the Zandalari king Rastakhan swears fealty.]] He's surprisingly chill--often [[HaveANiceDeath mocking the players when they die]] and even mentions [[DarkIsNotEvil that despite being the loa of death, he is all for balance]] and [[EvenEvilHasStandards is generally against undead]]. Above all, he has the assurance of one who knows that all in time will answer to him.
104	[[/folder]]
105
106	[[folder:Western Animation]]
107	* In ''WesternAnimation/RoswellConspiraciesAliensMythsAndLegends'', the Vodun are a race of alien slugs that are [[PuppeteerParasite puppeteer parasites]] who can only control corpses. Their leader is Baron Samedi, who dresses an acts like the figure from folklore.
108	* ''WesternAnimation/TheSimpsons'' has a ShowWithinAShow example seen in the episode "Bart the Bad Guy" with Black Voodoo, the [[Franchise/MarvelCinematicUniverse Marble Cinematic Universe]]'s equivalent of Film/{{Black Panther\|2018}}. He's got the suit and bone-decorated top hat of Baron Samedi worn over the Vibranium body suit of Black Panther, and even uses a voodoo doll in a fight with Chinnos.
109	* ''WesternAnimation/{{Slugterra}}'' featured a one-off villain named Mister Saturday who fit the image to a T. He used a [[spoiler: ghoulified Cryptogrif slug]] to MindControl all the residents of a mall into {{Voodoo Zombie}}s.
110	[[/folder]]
111
112	[[folder:Real Life]]
113	* The late "Papa Doc" Duvalier, dictator and president of Haiti, actively cultivated the image of him being Baron Samedi.
114	[[/folder]]

Context Main / BorrowinSamedi