| 1 | %%% |
| 2 | %% |
| 3 | %% This page has been alphabetized. Please add new examples in the correct order. Thanks! |
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| 6 | |
| 7 | [[quoteright:350:[[WebAnimation/HomestarRunner https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/killingyouguy_1.png]]]] |
| 8 | [[caption-width-right:350:And his actor's name is "Strong Mad".]] |
| 9 | ->''"If a guy named Foulfellow asks to take you to a place called Pleasure Island, don't go. I mean he's got the word 'foul' right in his name."'' |
| 10 | -->-- '''[[WesternAnimation/{{Pinocchio}} Jiminy Cricket]]''', ''WesternAnimation/HouseOfMouse'' |
| 11 | |
| 12 | %% Quote changed per thread: https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/posts.php?discussion=1327331003042025100&page=217 |
| 13 | |
| 14 | People make a big deal out of names, and writers are no exception. Even if they eschew ThemeNaming and other NamingConventions they'll still use names they think are cool and dignified, powerful and appropriate, or sinister and fearsome. This is why there are inevitably certain Names To Run Away From Really Fast. For much the same reason it's unlikely [[AliceAndBob Bob]] will turn out to be the [[EvilMakeover outrageously stylish villain]] bent on absorbing the planet's [[TheLifestream life stream]] [[VideoGame/FinalFantasyVII t]][[VideoGame/LastScenario o]] [[AGodAmI ascend to godhood]], and someone with a name like oh, say, Hannibal Murder von Uberbastard, probably won't be selling cookies for charity. If he does, [[{{Series/Hannibal}} don't eat the cookies]]. |
| 15 | |
| 16 | These come in various flavors (not the cookies, the names), some of them used by [[AntiHero Anti Heroes]] from the DarkAgeOfSupernames and villains of the fearsomely competent and world destroying kind, for whom the mere [[TheScottishTrope mention of their name]] can bring down DramaticThunder. |
| 17 | |
| 18 | Note that this is different from all those characters who got their names ''[[RedBaron because]]'' [[RedBaron they are a badass.]] It's one thing to be called Blade because you use one on vampires; it's another when a deadly fighter has the birth name "Blade" for no in-story reason. |
| 19 | |
| 20 | So basically, when the villain's name hints towards some sort of disaster in history, mythological monster, or just means something bad, this trope applies. |
| 21 | |
| 22 | Note that a villain having a name like this isn't necessarily a bad idea. Some names like this are [[AwesomeMcCoolname downright cool]]. |
| 23 | |
| 24 | A subtrope of MeaningfulName, ObviouslyEvil, and sometimes AwesomeMcCoolName. |
| 25 | |
| 26 | See also RedBaron, TheMagnificent, SpeakOfTheDevil, NamedAfterTheInjury, and WhatDidYouExpectWhenYouNamedIt; often overlaps with DarknessVonGothickname. |
| 27 | |
| 28 | Compare FluffyTheTerrible, TomTheDarkLord, and JustTheFirstCitizen, where the name fails to describe the nastiness, and DeathbringerTheAdorable, where the nastiness fails to live up to the name. |
| 29 | |
| 30 | Contrast NamesToTrustImmediately. |
| 31 | |
| 32 | For location names, see IDontLikeTheSoundOfThatPlace. |
| 33 | ---- |
| 34 | '''When adding examples, keep in mind: It's not enough when a character just has a name of any of the following types.''' This trope applies only when the name is an indicator of the character's true nature, and if the character thus described is evil, deceptive, dangerous or (if not evil) in other ways commanding fear or respect. As always, [[AvertedTrope aversions]] are usually not worth listing, but [[SubvertedTrope subversions]] are probably fair game. Total [[InvertedTrope inversions]] should go on UnfortunateNames instead. |
| 35 | |
| 36 | Also, '''please provide context''' as to why the character lives up to their scary name. Just listing the character's name with no explanation is a Administrivia/ZeroContextExample, something we don't want. If you see a Zero Context Example and can give it context, that would be appreciated. |
| 37 | ---- |
| 38 | !!The following types of Names To Run From have their own trope pages: |
| 39 | [[index]] |
| 40 | * {{Alucard}} (Dracula spelled backwards) |
| 41 | * ABeastInNameAndNature |
| 42 | * TheButcher |
| 43 | * NameOfCain |
| 44 | * DarknessVonGothickname |
| 45 | * DoomyDoomsOfDoom |
| 46 | * DrFakenstein |
| 47 | * TheGroup |
| 48 | * GunmanWithThreeNames |
| 49 | * IDontLikeTheSoundOfThatPlace |
| 50 | * LouisCypher (Lucifer) |
| 51 | * TheMaster |
| 52 | * MorallyAmbiguousDoctorate |
| 53 | * MyHeroZero |
| 54 | * OneBadMother |
| 55 | * RedBaron |
| 56 | * SpellMyNameWithAThe |
| 57 | * TheyCallHimSword |
| 58 | * VillainBaal |
| 59 | * AVillainNamedKhan |
| 60 | * AVillainNamedZrg |
| 61 | * XMakesAnythingCool |
| 62 | * XtremeKoolLetterz |
| 63 | [[/index]] |
| 64 | |
| 65 | !!Examples: |
| 66 | |
| 67 | [[foldercontrol]] |
| 68 | |
| 69 | [[folder:Anime and Manga]] |
| 70 | * ''Anime/{{Albegas}}'': The villains are called the "Dellingers" (as in, [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Derringer the gun]]). Oddly, their names are quite bland, like "Dally", "Duston", "Azas", "Deran" and "Bios". And of course, their TokenGoodTeammate, [[TomTheDarkLord Julia]]. |
| 71 | * ''Anime/{{Astroganger}}'': "Blasters" is an appropriate name for an alien race that want to destroy planets and ruin every planet they've ever touched. |
| 72 | * ''Anime/BeybladeBurst'': Lui Shirosagi is known as The White Tyrant for good reason, he is one of the greatest bladers there is and utterly merciless inside and outside of battle. Other nicknames include the White Dragon King, Absolute Champ, Frozen Ogre &, in the dub, The Winter Knight. |
| 73 | * ''Anime/CControl'': The Midas Bank is named after a king who destroyed everything he cared for due to his own short-sighted, greedy wish. It should not be hard to guess the odds on a loan from ''them'' having unpleasant, unexpected outcomes. |
| 74 | * ''Anime/FutariWaPrettyCure'': The third ArcVillain is named Poisony, which is just "poison" with a "Y" at the end. She poisons peoples' minds with her trickery, including mind-controlling two girls to (almost) jump off a building. |
| 75 | * ''Manga/{{magico}}'': Shion's older brother's name is Myth/{{Faust}}. It really explains [[DealWithTheDevil everything you need to know about him]]. |
| 76 | * ''Manga/OnePiece'': The Kid Pirates' first mate's has an [[RedBaron epithet]] that like many other pirates falls under this trope (literally translates as "Massacre Soldier", or "Murder Machine" in the official translation), but his ''real name'' is scary enough that he didn't really need an epithet: ''Killer''. |
| 77 | * ''Manga/ReikoTheZombieShop'': Roses Killmister is technically just a flunky, but she does her best to justify her name. |
| 78 | * ''Manga/TisTimeForTorturePrincess'': The Grand Inquisitor of Hellholm, and the first "torturer" the Princess and Ex are faced with is literally named Torture Tortura... but it's subverted when it turns out Torture's "tortures" involve [[PokeThePoodle feeding the princess]] [[FoodPorn delicious food.]] |
| 79 | [[/folder]] |
| 80 | |
| 81 | [[folder:Asian Animation]] |
| 82 | * ''Animation/HappyHeroes'': Season 8 episode 3 makes fun of the trope when Big M. asks Little M. to search for a character in the magic book for Huo Haha to transform into. Little M. first suggests a character named the Killer King, but Big M. wants one that even the Killer King would be afraid of. Little M. then suggests the King of the Killer King, but this doesn't cut it either, so Little M. comes up with one last idea - the King of the Killer King's wife. |
| 83 | * In ''Animation/PleasantGoatAndBigBigWolf'', the wolves have an ancestor called the Slayer of a Thousand Goats whose greatest achievement is summed up right in his name. Suffice it to say that if you're a goat yourself and you see this guy, you'd better get running. |
| 84 | [[/folder]] |
| 85 | |
| 86 | [[folder:Comic Books]] |
| 87 | * ''ComicBook/AstroCity'': The Deathwalker robots, made by mad South Korean scientists in the 50s. Steeljack dryly notes that even if they weren't lumbering, entirely black death-robots, the name would still be a hint as to what they're like. |
| 88 | * In ''ComicBook/{{Batgirl}}'' story arc ''ComicBook/TheAttackOfTheAnnihilator'', a seriously disturbed and self-centered scientist called Kenneth Anderson is transformed into a psychic mutant, whereupon he renames himself "The Annihilator" to show off both his destructive powers and his intention to obliterate Gotham. |
| 89 | * [[Comicbook/InvasionDCComics Invasion!]]: The Dominators, a race of geneticists and conquerors who wish to use humans as guinea pigs and weapons out of sheer prejudice. Not that most of their allies realized it. |
| 90 | * ''ComicBook/{{Invincible}}'': As more and more Viltrumites enter the story, we're introduced to ''Conquest'', a sadistic, hulking BloodKnight who, up to the point he met Mark, had never failed to conquer a world. What's more, he loves causing destruction and cutting loose as much as possible, given how he felt hampered in past missions where he got orders to spare or capture certain targets and not be allowed to go all-out. He badly mauls Oliver, Atom Eve, and Mark, only narrowly being defeated at the end. And Cecil even stated there were maybe six heroes on Earth at max who could probably last more than one minute against Conquest. |
| 91 | * ''ComicBook/SpiderMan'': |
| 92 | ** Every single Symbiote has names such as Venom, Carnage, Toxin, Riot, and Scorn, and all have a tendency to turn those bonded to them into murderous psychopaths. That said, some of these have been depicted as heroic as well. |
| 93 | ** The main villain of ''ComicBook/SpiderManBeyond'' is [[CorruptCorporateExecutive Maxine]] [[TheSociopath Danger]]. The head of the [[EvilInc Beyond Corporation]]'s Hero Department, Maxine offers Ben Reilly the chance to do some good in the world Beyond's CorporateSponsoredSuperhero. However, Maxine's motives are far from benevolent; [[spoiler:Beyond's true intention is to control the news cycle by capitalizing on the collateral damage caused by superhero fights, distracting the media with superpowered spectacles while that the incidents which actually need attention fly under the radar. This also gives the Beyond Corporation the ability to destroy incriminating evidence through controlled devastation of an area, with nobody would being the wiser since the damage will be written off as typical superhero shenanigans.]] |
| 94 | * In ''ComicBook/SupermanSupergirlMaelstrom'': The main antagonist is called "Maelstrom", a Darkseid's soldier who tends to cause chaos wherever she goes. |
| 95 | * [[Characters/FantasticFourCentralRoguesGallery Annihilus]] wants to annihlate all other life in the universe, [[ShapedLikeItself and is named Annihilus]]. |
| 96 | * ComicBook/XMen villain ComicBook/{{Mystique}}'s real name is Raven Darkholme. |
| 97 | * The ComicBook/BlackPanther's arch-enemy is Ulysses Klaw. |
| 98 | * ''ComicBook/{{The Warlord|DCComics}}'': Morgan's arch-enemy is an evil sorcerer named Deimos (which sounds like "demon"). |
| 99 | * [[Characters/BatmanRasAlGhul Ras Al Ghul]]'s name translates very roughly from Arabic as "the Demon's Head." His grandson is named Damien, though he has fortunately become a good guy. |
| 100 | * And perhaps the best exemplar of this trope, ever: [[ComicBook/DoctorDoom Doctor Victor Von Doom]]. |
| 101 | * ''ComicBook/TheTransformersIDW'': You need to ''commit'' to stand out in a faction where Bludgeon, Ravage, Buzzsaw, Dreadwing, Frenzy, Ransack and Stranglehold are ordinary things to call yourself, which brings us to the AxCrazy-even-by-Decepticon-standards elite warrior Killmaster from ''ComicBook/TheTransformersMoreThanMeetsTheEye'', whose main interests are "murdering people" and "inventing new ways to murder people". |
| 102 | -->'''Whirl:''' His real name's Murderking, but he changed it to Killmaster. Don't ask me why. [[LampshadeHanging I mean, it's not exactly striking a blow against nominative determinism, is it?]] |
| 103 | [[/folder]] |
| 104 | |
| 105 | [[folder:Fan Works]] |
| 106 | * ''Fanfic/ANewLifeEra'': Erik Masspunch qualifies. The name is backed up by the fact that he weighs 500 pounds of muscle. |
| 107 | * ''Fanfic/TheAceSavvyExtendedUniverse'': A lot of the villains have intimidating names, such as Lady Killstrike and the Death Reaper. |
| 108 | * ''Fanfic/AlwaysVisible'': Doctor Baselard has a surname similar to one type of dagger. Guess who is person and what he did? That's right, he was first a surgeon and then a gynecologist, and in both cases described in the work, he kills his patients! |
| 109 | * ''Fanfic/{{Contraptionology}}'': The MadScientist whose arrival sets Ponyville off on a course of events that sees it as ground zero for a full-on mad science war is named Dr. Stranger von Danger -- Stranger Danger for short. |
| 110 | * ''Fanfic/TheNightUnfurls'': |
| 111 | ** Orcs are AlwaysChaoticEvil, so it is not a surprise that several infamous orc war-chiefs that Kyril had killed prior to the series have names like this, including the Defiler, Ozgriz the Mighty, and the Arsonist. |
| 112 | *** The list is altered a little in the remastered version. The very first chapter has Kyril finding the head of the Arch-Arsonist, one of the many orcs that he has slain including Ozgriz the Defiler, Gruzbad the Warlord, and the Eater of Men. He would later kill another orc chieftain named Thurog the Tall with his bare hands in Chapter 4. |
| 113 | ** Olga's last name, ''Discordia''. She's set up as the EvilOverlord who has engaged in war, or rather, sown ''discord'' for [[ForeverWar centuries]]. |
| 114 | ** For the remastered version, the [[IHaveManyNames many names]] of The Rat (e.g. King-Spawn of All Vermin, He Who Feasts on Ambition, etc.) sound anything but pleasing. Fitting for someone with an InUniverse reputation as a [[DealWithTheDevil malicious]] [[OurDemonsAreDifferent entity]]. |
| 115 | * ''Fanfic/MiraculousThePhoenixRises'' has a villain named ''The Nightmare King'' barge in at the end of chapter 15. Need we say more? |
| 116 | * In ''Fanfic/RiskItAll'', [[KidHero Ren]] becomes known as "the Breaker" on the internet for leaving his opponents with broken bones that will never heal properly. The threatening label along with accusations of him being a villain stings when he's risking his life trying to stop an evil mobster and his gang. |
| 117 | * ''Fanfic/ShadowsOverMeridian'': The [[SuperPersistentPredator Frostbiter]], the fierce apex predator of Meridian's northern mountains, is [[OneManArmy strong enough to crush a squad of fully armed soldiers]] and known by the Mogriffs as "the White Death". |
| 118 | * ''Fanfic/TruePotential'': |
| 119 | ** Koharu is the "Grim Reaper of Konoha". Chapter 57 shows that she more than lives up to the name. |
| 120 | ** [[FantasticRacism Karitoriki]] is Kirigakure's [[FinalSolution "Bloodline Hunter/Executioner"]]. In his first appearance, in Chapter 45, he executes five people who happened to have bloodlines. |
| 121 | * In the ''WesternAnimation/TurningRed'' fic ''Fanfic/TurningRedSecretsOfThePanda'', Xióngmāo shāshǒu translates to "Panda Killer". |
| 122 | * ''Fanfic/InfinityTrainSeekerOfCrocus'': Chloe's new RedBaron is "Demon Lord of the Vermillion" and she demonstrates this by turning into a flaming wolf who fires a Flamethrower that destroys half an army of Mirage Pokémon along with the demon imagery she carries on her. |
| 123 | [[/folder]] |
| 124 | |
| 125 | [[folder:Films -- Animated]] |
| 126 | * Ono Nono from ''WesternAnimation/{{Animalympics}}'' is a freestyle swimmer. And a huge 200-ton orca. The reason for the name becomes obvious when he does his turn, whale-style -- and causes a tsunami. |
| 127 | * ''WesternAnimation/Epic2013'': Mandrake, which otherwise refers to a magical plant with human-shaped roots that emitted a deadly scream upon being picked and the leaves of which were poison. |
| 128 | * In ''WesternAnimation/{{Pinocchio}}'', the titular character and Jiminy Cricket try to find Geppetto, who was swallowed by a whale named Monstro, they ask the creatures under the sea but they all run away when his name is mentioned, even a [[MamaBear mother fish who was about to kick Jiminy's butt because he messed with her child]]. |
| 129 | * ''WesternAnimation/TheSeaBeast'': The Sea Witch introduces Captain Crow to a weapon of her own creation that she has dubbed "The Hand of God" — a giant harpoon gun with a payload of vicious poison in the tip. |
| 130 | * ''Westernanimation/SleepingBeauty'' has the evil sorcerer Maleficent, which is downright an adjective for evil and harmful. [[Film/{{Maleficent}} The live-action adaptation]] says it's her birth name, making it weird to see this scary name applied to [[DeathbringerTheAdorable her innocent child self]]. |
| 131 | [[/folder]] |
| 132 | |
| 133 | [[folder:Films -- Live-Action]] |
| 134 | * ''Film/AnAmericanWerewolfInLondon'': "The Slaughtered Lamb," with a grisly picture of a severed wolf's head on the sign. Old British pubs do tend to have rather blunt names, though. |
| 135 | * ''Film/BladeTrilogy'': "Blade" is actually his hero name (birth name Eric Brooks), but here it's obviously being milked for sounding scary. |
| 136 | * Killin' , TheDragon to "Black" Jack Pickett in ''Film/GhostRock''. |
| 137 | * ''Film/TheDevilsMirror'' features a bloodthirsty sect called the "Bloody Ghouls Clan" as the antagonists. |
| 138 | * In ''Film/ISpitOnYourGrave'' sequel ''Vengeance Is Mine'' the AntiHero [[spoiler:eventually falling morally to VillainProtagonist]] Jennifer Hills uses a pseudonym and at the first group therapy session a man comes up to her to [[AsYouKnow inform her and the audience]] that the last name she's chosen means [[{{Satan}} "Morning Star"]]. She spends the film luring sinful men (rapists before [[spoiler:she starts expanding her scope]]) to what, for them, is [[GroinAttack ironic hell]]. |
| 139 | * One of the cats featured in ''Film/{{Kedi}}'', a documentary about street cats in Istanbul, is called "Psychopath" because she beats the crap out of other cats, not to mention dogs bigger than her. Humans do better not approach her either. She is characterized as the "neighborhood terrorist". |
| 140 | * ''Film/MadMax'' has many villains with colorful and threatening names, such as "[[Film/MadMax1 the Toecutter]]", "[[Film/MadMax2TheRoadWarrior Lord Humongus]]", "[[Film/MadMaxBeyondThunderdome MasterBlaster]]", and "[[Film/MadMaxFuryRoad the Immortan Joe]]" |
| 141 | * In the 2002 sci-fi film, ''The Wesley's Mysterious File'', the two main villains are a pair of ruthless, parasitic alien bounty hunters named "Kill" and "Rape". They live up to their name as well -- both of them are responsible for millions of deaths across the galaxy, and during the film itself both of them left behind entire piles of dead bodies in San Francisco and Hong Kong in the aftermath of their rampage, many of their victims being killed via tentacle penetration. |
| 142 | * In ''Film/TheRunningMan'', is it really a mystery that a man with a name like Damon Killian grew up to be the host of a gameshow where unjustly convicted criminals are forced to run a gauntlet while being chased down and brutally murdered by colourfully violent and psychotic hunters? |
| 143 | * ''Franchise/StarWars'': |
| 144 | ** The Sith apprentice from ''Film/ThePhantomMenace'' is Darth ''Maul''. Guess what he does to his enemies... |
| 145 | ** The head of the Separatists' military forces is called General Grievous. "Grievous" is an adjective that means to cause a great amount of pain or suffering, somewhat fitting for the slaughterer of millions. |
| 146 | [[/folder]] |
| 147 | |
| 148 | [[folder:Literature]] |
| 149 | * ''Literature/ArcOfAScythe'': [[SarcasmMode Who on Earth would be intimidated]] by "The Grande Dame of Death", or [[spoiler:Scythe Lucifer]]? Interestingly, neither of these people are the story's antagonists. They are, however, "Scythes"; humans who are assigned to deal out death in an immortal world after the BenevolentAI which replaces human government worldwide refuses to bear the responsibility of absolute, infinite death. |
| 150 | * ''Literature/BazilBroketail'': |
| 151 | ** Mach Ingbok, a cruel despot, was known as the Demon Lord. |
| 152 | ** Waakzaam, the series' SatanicArchetype, is called the Dominator of Twelve Worlds and Lord of Evil. |
| 153 | * ''Literature/BeesongChronicles'': The monster sealed under the Duchy is called an Apocalypse Spider. The queen of the Shimmerwood apis hive notes that she doesn't want ''anything'' to do with a monster with "apocalypse" in its name, and since they're BeePeople they're not too fond of the "spider" part either. |
| 154 | * ''Literature/{{Bolo}}'': The arm of the Concordiat military responsible for Bolos is affectionately referred to as "Dinochrome Brigade". |
| 155 | * ''Literature/CharlieAndTheChocolateFactory'': |
| 156 | ** Mr. Wonka's corrupt rivals are Prodnose, Ficklegruber, and Slugworth. Prodnose suggests someone who is prodding and nosy -- all three were this, utilizing spies to steal recipes from the Wonka factory. The latter two have names that bring disgusting creatures to mind (grubs and slugs) and also have a K sound and a TH ending, respectively. (Also counts as MisterDescriptor.) |
| 157 | ** The PunnyName of the Golden Ticket forger? Charlotte Russe (pronounced ''ruse''), which is also a Shady Name. |
| 158 | * ''Literature/CradleSeries'': The Akura clan names its main family after virtues. However, since Cradle is an AsskickingLeadsToLeadership DeathWorld, many of their virtues are things like Fury (a BoisterousBruiser WarGod known for [[PersonOfMassDestruction personally destroying cities]]) and their matriarch, '''Malice'''. |
| 159 | -->Malice's smirk widened into a smile. "Sometimes I wonder if you know me at all, Sesh. Your people destroyed the Rising Earth sect and tried to destroy two more of my teams." Northstrider sensed something in the great distance. The dragon and the lion looked up at the same time. "[[BestServedCold Did you think that I would let that go?]]" Malice continued. "Did you think I couldn't reach you?" Her smile widened further into a fierce, maniacal grin. "''[[MeaningfulName Did you forget my name]]?''" |
| 160 | * In ''Literature/CursedWorld'', the big bad is ultimately revealed to be named Lord Orochi, after the giant eight-branched serpent of Japanese Legend. |
| 161 | * ''Literature/TheEmpiriumTrilogy'': BigBad Corien (whose angelic name was Kalmaroth) is a genocidal maniac who has no compunctions about using anyone and anything in any way he sees fit so long as doing so benefits him in some way. |
| 162 | * ''Literature/GhostInTheNoondaySun:'' One of the pirates, a Fiji islander, is called Cannibal and is said to be a ScarilyCompetentTracker who can trail someone by the smell of meat. |
| 163 | * If you're wielding a sword in ''Literature/GrentsFall'', you do NOT want to fight [[spoiler:the Bladecleaver]], as [[spoiler:Duke Abel Marnhull]] found out the hard way. |
| 164 | * ''Literature/IDidNotGiveThatSpiderSuperhumanIntelligence'': The ([[TheGhost unseen]]) biggest KnightTemplar {{Nominal Hero}}es in Los Angeles are named Judgment, Inquisition, Winnow (as in separating the wheat from the chaff), and Purity, emphasizing their uncompromising natures and desire to remove the parts of society that they view as corrupt or impure. The bottom-of-the-barrel villains who form a StartXToStopX alliance with Inquisition and Purity have the equally uninviting names of Executor, Anarchy, and Bad Dog. |
| 165 | * ''Literature/KnavesOnWaves'' has Carnage, Captain of the ''Bloodbath''. He's about as pleasant as you'd expect. |
| 166 | * ''Literature/LaszloHadronAndTheWargodsTomb'': The ominousness of the name "Wargod's Tomb" is repeatedly acknowledged. |
| 167 | --> "Now, I don't know what that might have meant to the Sagittarians, but to me it means trouble." |
| 168 | * ''Literature/TheLordOfTheRings'': |
| 169 | ** {{Mordor}} the Black Land, for one, ruled by the the DarkLord Sauron, guarded by the Morannon, the Black Gate, and Minas Morgul, the Tower of Sorcery. |
| 170 | ** Deliberately evoked by Tolkien when he designed Orcish and the Black Speech: he wanted everything (including names) to seem furious, discordant, and threatening. |
| 171 | ** A more minor example: Gríma ''Wormtongue''. Appropriately, more creepy and insinuating then a direct threat. A bit of a subversion at Wormtongue is a sobriquet given by his enemies. He is properly addressed as Gríma, son of Gálmód. |
| 172 | * An interesting in-universe example in ''[[Literature/TheBelgariad The Mallorean]]'': when Belgarath tells the Ulgrim (the leader of the Ulgo people) that they're looking for someone named Zandramas, the Ulgrim is shocked. Turns out "Zandramas" is the worst profanity in the Ulgo tongue (with an approximate meaning of "FUBAR"). When Belgarath notes he didn't think Ulgos even knew ''how'' to swear, the Ulgrim points out that none of them are going to say that word to ''him''. |
| 173 | * ''Literature/MissEllicottsSchoolForTheMagicallyMinded'': Franklin, the Marauder boy that Chantel, Anna, and Bowser meet outside Seven Buttons is apparently on the run from a Marauder known as "Karl the Bloody". |
| 174 | * In ''Literature/ThePilgrimsProgress'' our hero is hindered by many by people. These include: Lord Hategood, Giant Despair, Mr. Malice, Mr. Enmity, and Mr. Cruelty. Subtle the book is not. |
| 175 | * ''Literature/SpaceGlass'': The [[EldritchAbomination World Eater]], a monster many times larger than the average planet that eats, well, planets. Also, the Marauder, Marvelous Dagon's nigh-invincible and extremely dangerous machine companion. |
| 176 | * ''Literature/TheWitchOfKnightcharm'': An evil witch has a wolf familiar named Sica, whose name not only sounds like the command that someone uses to order a canine to attack, but is also a type of ancient dagger which was associated with assassins. |
| 177 | * ''Literature/TheYellowBag'' has Terrível (Portuguese for "Terrible"), a name fitting for his status as a cockfighting rooster. |
| 178 | [[/folder]] |
| 179 | |
| 180 | [[folder:Live-Action TV]] |
| 181 | * The titular character from ''Series/{{Blackadder}}'', combining DarkIsEvil and SnakesAreSinister, is overall an unpleasant individual and not above doing immoral things for his own benefit. Unfortunately for him, he's the ButtMonkey of the show, and is LaughablyEvil. |
| 182 | * ''Series/{{Bones}}'': Subverted with series protagonist Bones (she's a forensic anthropologist, it's her father who's the murderer in the family, and he answers to plain, ordinary "Max Keenan"). Played straight with a variety of criminals including The Gormogon, Arthur Graves, and The Gravedigger. It's {{Discussed}} and {{Lampshaded}} late in the series, when Cam expresses her opinion that the one they're currently after should be called "Puppito" (Italian for "little puppet"). Booth agrees that "serial killers shouldn't get cool names". |
| 183 | * ''Series/{{Capadocia}}'': Inmate La Saiko. Her name is the word "psycho" in Spanish phonetics. She stalks another inmate, a madam who had been involved in [[HumanTraffickers human trafficking]], as she reminded La Saiko of her own past. Eventually, la Saiko attacks the madam and bites off a piece of her ear. |
| 184 | * ''Series/CriminalMindsBeyondBorders'': The final episode was named after the villain of the week, "The Ripper of Riga," who was a sadistic kidnapper who tortured his victims and even severed one's toe and sent it to the investigators. |
| 185 | * ''Series/DoctorWho'': The title character has dozens of nicknames given him by his enemies, many of which fall under this trope, including "Fate's Accomplice", "The Vessel of the Final Darkness", "The Evil One", "The Great Scourge", "Shadow-thief", and "The Beast". While the Doctor isn't evil, he's certainly dangerous enough to deserve many of them (especially if ''you're'' evil). |
| 186 | * ''Series/Gladiators2024'': All of the Gladiators use imposing names, but Viper's an antisocial {{Heel}} with anger issues who cheats when facing competitors. A snake-in-the-grass name suits him very well. |
| 187 | * ''Series/GreysAnatomy'': The doctors have nicknamed the hospital "Seattle Grace Mercy Death" because of [[{{lampshading}} their awareness]] of one's inexplicably likely chances of dying or being seconds from death if you work there. Thankfully it doesn't extend to the patients, who actually have a pretty good survival rate because the (remaining) doctors are really good at saving lives. After the plane crash, Cristina curses it, and Alex refrains from asking a girl out with this excuse, completely seriously. |
| 188 | -->'''Alex:''' She works here at Seattle Grace Mercy Death. So I'm sure she's pretty much going to go crazy, or get cancer, or be shot by a gunman, or hit by a truck. |
| 189 | * ''Series/{{Grimm}}'': If you know German (and can get past the BlindIdiotTranslation pain/giggles), then names like Blutbad and Daemonfeuer are this in spades. (Means "Blood Bath" and "Demon Fire" respectively). Some of the other Wesen names are none too cuddly sounding as well. |
| 190 | * ''Series/{{Hex}}'': Azazeal and most of the Nephilim (Baraquel, Araquiel, Sariel, Ramiel). On the good side, Ella Dee, daughter of John Dee. |
| 191 | * ''Franchise/KamenRider'' will often give their villains, including villainous Riders, very intimidating names: |
| 192 | ** In the original ''Series/KamenRider'' series, the Shocker executives included Dr. {{Shinigami}} (aka "Dr. Death"), Ambassador Hell, and General Black. |
| 193 | ** Series/KamenRiderX fought an organization called the Government of Darkness. Which would be bad enough, but they commonly abbreviated the name to GOD. And two of the group's leaders qualify as well, Apollo Geist and King Dark. |
| 194 | ** ''Series/KamenRiderRyuki'', the first series to have villainous Riders, includes Kamen Riders Ohja ("King Snake"), Ryuga ("Dragon Fang", an EvilCounterpart to Ryuki's "Dragon Knight"), and Odin. Ohja also had some of the Mirror Monsters FusionDance, creating a beast called ''Genocider''. When adapted for America as ''Series/KamenRiderDragonKnight'', most of the replacement names weren't as strong, but Odin's counterpart was named Kamen Rider Wrath. |
| 195 | ** ''Series/KamenRiderDenO'' included villains in tie-in movies named Kamen Riders Gaoh ("Fang King") and Yuuki ("Miasma"). Yuuki has different forms that aren't named very nicely either, called Skull Form and Hijack Form. |
| 196 | ** ''Series/KamenRiderDecade''[='s=] SixthRanger is Kamen Rider Diend, pronounced similar to "the end" and spelled with "die". That said, he's not evil, just a {{Jerkass}}. |
| 197 | ** ''Series/KamenRiderDouble'' features "Dopant" monsters based on different random concepts, with the Terror Dopant as the BigBad and the Taboo Dopant as one of his main [[TheDragon Dragons]]. Plus there's the show's FinalBoss the Utopia Dopant and tie-in film villain Kamen Rider Eternal, who both have way-too-grandiose AGodAmI-style names. |
| 198 | ** ''Series/KamenRiderGaim'' has several one-shot villainous Riders in tie-ins, including Mars (a war god, and can also be read in Japanese as "Malus", Latin for "evil"), Jam ("Evil Warrior"), Tyrant, and a stage show has Maja ("Demon Snake"). |
| 199 | ** In ''Series/KamenRiderExAid'', the BigBad is Kamen Rider Cronus, named for the leader of the Titans and father of the Olympian gods in Greek mythology, as well as Chronos the personification of time. In addition, the nastiest monster at his disposal is Gamedeus ("Game God"). The series also has Parado aka Kamen Rider Para-DX; with both his names based on "paradox" as something that shouldn't exist. |
| 200 | ** ''Series/KamenRiderBuild'': The main villains at the beginning went by the names Blood Stalk and Night Rogue. And then later on, Utsumi went insane and became a Kamen Rider with a variation on Night Rogue's powers; and he was aptly named Kamen Rider [=MadRogue=]. A post-series movie also features the OmnicidalManiac Kamen Rider Killbus. |
| 201 | ** The evil future self of Series/KamenRiderZiO is Ohma Zi-O, with "Ohma" derived from both MaouTheDemonKing and "ohmagatoki", the twilight hour when evil spirits appear. |
| 202 | ** ''Series/KamenRiderZeroOne'': |
| 203 | *** The main villains are the group [=MetsubouJinrai.net=] ("[=DownfallThunderclap.net=]"), and each of its members takes one of the kanji in the name as their personal and Rider name. While the ones named after "Thunderclap" aren't so bad (Jin and Ikazuchi, meaning "Quick" and "Thunder"), the other two members have the names Horobi and Naki -- "Destroy" and "Death". |
| 204 | *** A post-series movie uses heavy religious imagery, with Kamen Rider Eden as the main threat leading an army of Kamen Rider Abaddon {{Mooks}} ("Abbadon" being either a bottomless pit, or an angel who commands a locust swarm). One of the Abaddons then goes rogue and steals Eden's powers, becoming Kamen Rider Lucifer. |
| 205 | ** ''Series/KamenRiderRevice'', themed around the DealWithTheDevil, has several Riders with demonic names: |
| 206 | *** One half of the duo that make up Revice is Kamen Rider Vice, as in the opposite of virtue (but also referring to him being Revi's second; the show's Vice-Rider). Though as one of the title characters, he mellows into an AntiHero pretty quickly. |
| 207 | *** One particularly on-the-nose name is Kamen Rider Evil, though to be fair it's part of a SdrawkcabName pun -- it's a JekyllAndHyde situation, and his good side is named Kamen Rider Live. |
| 208 | *** After Evil comes Kamen Rider Demons. Ironically, Demons is completely heroic, but there's a reason he has such a dark name: [[spoiler:the powers were designed for, and later briefly claimed by, a villain. The hero Demons was just a test subject.]] |
| 209 | *** The villain of the movie is Kamen Rider Daimon. |
| 210 | ** ''Series/KamenRiderGeats'' has FallenHero [[spoiler:Keiwa Sakurai]], who uses the Bujin Sword buckle starting from episode 42. "Bujin Sword" roughly translates to "War God Sword", perfectly encapsulating [[spoiler:Keiwa's more brutal fighting style and manipulative tendencies brought about by a thirst for vengeance, which Buffa learns the hard way.]] |
| 211 | ** The initial villains of ''Series/KamenRiderGotchard'' are the Three Sisters of Darkness, with "Darkness" involving a kanji that refers to the underworld. And when they create an EvilKnockoff of Gotchard, they give it the oh-so-friendly name Kamen Rider Dread. |
| 212 | * ''Series/KillingEve'': The show's antagonist is a female villain, a psychopathic assassin, who answers to the codename Villanelle. |
| 213 | * ''Series/{{Leverage}}'': The Butcher of Kyiv. |
| 214 | -->'''Hardison''': Have you ever been to Kyiv? The Cakemaker of Kyiv could whoop all our asses! This is the ''butcher.'' |
| 215 | %%* NamesToRunAwayFromReallyFast: In "Finale: Part One", Brian points out how having a scary name or nickname is actually detrimental to a drug dealer named Hades (after the Greek God of the underworld), as a large part of his customer base is easily intimidated college kids, yuppies, and minimum wage employees who likely seek out drug dealers whose names don't make them think they're in danger of being killed. |
| 216 | * ''Series/OneFootInTheGrave'': Victor is justifiably nervous about performing a cheesy ventriloquist's act for the same audience that came to watch rock bands such as 'Anthrax Attack' and 'Orphanage Explosion'. Subverted when the audience and even the grungy band-members themselves are shown enjoying his act immensely. |
| 217 | * Quite a few ''Franchise/SuperSentai'' villains have these kinds of names. |
| 218 | ** ''Series/TaiyouSentaiSunVulcan'' may have one of the most notable examples with a BigBad named ''[[GratuitousNazis Führer]]'' [[FireAndBrimstoneHell Hell]] Saturn (or Hell ''Satan'' depending on the translation). |
| 219 | ** ''Series/DaiSentaiGoggleFive'' has the {{Dark|IsEvil}} Science [[TheEmpire Empire]] Deathdark, led by the ominously-named Führer Taboo and staffed with executives who have names like General Deathgiller and Grand Marshal Deathmark. |
| 220 | * ''Series/WalkerTexasRanger'': The show's villains have plenty of these to go around. |
| 221 | [[/folder]] |
| 222 | |
| 223 | [[folder:Podcasts]] |
| 224 | * Podcast/HeroClub: ''The Rift Rats'''s King Thor's-beard-ravens-wolf. His name involves Norse myths and powerful mystical animals, and rules over a race of brutal and powerful aliens. These aliens eat and might be made of plutonium, snort giant killer insects for fun, and routinely kill and enslave people they come across. He also captains a very big and dangerous spaceship, and is an arch-enemy of a Flash Gordon-like hero, Bravus Boss |
| 225 | [[/folder]] |
| 226 | |
| 227 | [[folder:Tabletop Games]] |
| 228 | * ''TabletopGame/{{Aberrant}}'': |
| 229 | ** A lot of them exist, but Totentanz comes to mind most readily. Translated from German, his alias means "''The Dance of Death''". Fitting, considering he's a Nova mercenary with absolutely ''monstrous'' fighting abilities. |
| 230 | ** Divis Mal means something along the lines of "Wicked God". |
| 231 | * ''TabletopGame/{{Cyberpunk}}'' gave us Adam Smasher. While a PunnyName based on atom smashers ([[{{Zeerust}} nowadays called partcle accelerators]]), Smasher is a [[TheDreaded dreaded]] PsychoForHire who enjoys smashing people to death for his sheer {{sadis|t}}m. |
| 232 | * ''TabletopGame/{{Lancer}}'' has many mechs and weapons with names that are disconcerting: the Balor, a giant mech made of a massive swarm of nanites; the Barbarossa's Apocalypse Rail, a weapon made for capital ships being used on an infantry/mech scale; and, most concerning, the TBK, a weapon system so horrific that its only implied via flavor text, and stands for [[ApocalypseHow Total Biome Kill]]. |
| 233 | * ''TabletopGame/{{Planescape}}'' features The Lady of Pain. She is every bit as terrifying and vicious as the name implies, but not in a malicious or sadistic way--she simply doesn't want your worship, your gratitude, or your attention. You still don't want to cross her, because at best she will place you in an endless maze of corridors...[[GoMadFromTheIsolation alone, for centuries]]. If she feels compelled to do worse, she will simply employ her ''other'' preferred method of solving problems: [[FlayingAlive peeling you like a banana]]. As infamously stated by [[WebVideo/CounterMonkey Noah Antwiler]], "[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CnMzDyIJT2g Thou Shalt Not Fuck with The Lady of Pain]]." |
| 234 | * ''TabletopGame/{{Shadowrun}}'' gives us the Deathspiral Butterfly. In short, it [[FaceFullOfAlienWingWong injects its eggs into living people,]] [[ChestBurster who then proceed to eat them from the inside out.]] To make matters worse, it injects a painkiller that masks its presence, [[ParanoiaFuel so you don't know they're there until it's too late.]] |
| 235 | * ''TabletopGame/Warhammer40000'' has plenty, but one standout is the Imperial Guard's Death Korps of Krieg. Not only are they a bunch of GasMaskMooks (with all the anonymity and indoctrination it implies), they're all ''psychotically'' loyal to the Emperor and do their fighting down in the muck of trenches--bayonets, shovels, and flamethrowers are the order of the day among the Korps. It's not an exaggeration to say that Kriegers ''will'' die for the Emperor and ''will'' take their enemies with them. They ''especially'' hate heretics, so any Chaos worshippers or rebel factions are best advised to leave if they hear a Death Korps regiment has been called in. |
| 236 | [[/folder]] |
| 237 | |
| 238 | [[folder:Toys]] |
| 239 | * ''Franchise/{{Transformers}}'': The Decepticons being the bad guys (or in some media, the least morally ethical side) often have threatening or violent-sounding naming conventions, such as Bludgeon, Onslaught, Ravage, Bonecrusher[[note]]Ironically given to a heroic (but still pretty tough) Maximal in ''Beast Wars''.[[/note]] or Deathsaurus. Megatron himself is named after megaton units. |
| 240 | [[/folder]] |
| 241 | |
| 242 | [[folder:Video Games]] |
| 243 | * ''VideoGame/Action52'': ''Satan'' Hosain, the apparent main antagonist of ''Storm over the Desert''. |
| 244 | * ''Videogame/AiWarFleetCommand'' features the Hunter/Killer as one of the strongest units that the AI will deploy against you. It can quickly destroy any static defenses you set up, and can just as easily demolish most super-weapons you can bring to bear upon it. [[SerialEscalation The sequel introduces its more powerful brothers]], the Hunter/Seeker, and the Hunter/Annihilator. |
| 245 | ->''Extremely powerful AI Guardian that specializes in destroying all traces of human civilization.'' |
| 246 | -->--''AI Hunter/Killer description '' |
| 247 | * ''VideoGame/{{Awakening}}'': Dreadmyre. [[spoiler:It's a twist, though, in that the ''original'' Dreadmyre - Patrick Dreadmyre, the royal magician - was a really nice guy.]] |
| 248 | * ''VideoGame/BaldursGateIII'': The player character known as The Dark Urge suffers from uncontrollable murderous impulses. And you can, as The Dark Urge, introduce yourself to people as that too. |
| 249 | * ''VideoGame/BattleFantasia'': The BigBad of the game is a knight known as "Deathbringer". The final boss of the game is his OneWingedAngel form, named "End of Deathbringer". |
| 250 | * ''VideoGame/{{Bloodwash}}'': The antagonist is a serial killer called "The Womb Ripper", because they murder pregnant women, disembody them, then murder their unborn babies too. |
| 251 | * ''VideoGame/DensetsuNoStafy3'': You don't get any more blatant than with a powerful villain named ''Evil''. |
| 252 | * Dr. Malcolm Betruger, the BigBad of ''VideoGame/{{Doom 3}}'', has the double-whammy of having both a "Mal" name (which means "bad" in Latin) and a last name that means "deceiver" or "trickster" in German and which sounds a lot like "betrayer". He's a demon cultist who is not only responsible for the demon invasion in this continuity, but plans to [[HellOnEarth bring Hell to Earth]]. |
| 253 | * ''VideoGame/{{Drakensang}}'': The game's plot revolves around the elder dragon ''Umbracor The Destroyer'', a name that'd certainly qualify for this trope even if it wasn't attached to a near godlike dragon of nigh-infinite destructive power. [[spoiler:It's a subversion, though...while Umbracor is certainly ''capable'' of world-ending destruction, he is actually a force of ''balance'' and only strikes down those whose power becomes so great that it threatens the fabric of reality itself. His actual role in the game is that of SealedGoodInACan.]] |
| 254 | * ''Franchise/TheElderScrolls'': The Daedric Prince, [[SatanicArchetype Molag Bal]]. His name in old Aldmeris means "[[{{Hellfire}} Fire Stone]]", in addition to his other titles; "[[ObviouslyEvil Lord of Darkness]]", "[[ZeroPercentApprovalRating The Hated One]]", "[[YourSoulIsMine Harvester of Souls]]", "[[TheChessmaster Prince of Schemes]]", "Lord of [[TheUndead the Undead]]", "[[TheCorrupter King of Corruption]]", and "'''''[[RapeIsASpecialKindOfEvil The King of Rape]]'''''". |
| 255 | * ''VideoGame/FableI'': The protagonist can pick an ominous name like "Reaper" or "Assassin" from the Title Vendor, but special mention goes to "Necromancer", which can only be earned through repeated HumanSacrifice to the GodOfEvil. Nearby [=NPCs=] sometimes [[LampshadeHanging make fearful comments]] about the implications of such a name. |
| 256 | * ''VideoGame/{{Fallout}}'': |
| 257 | ** Deathclaws are huge [[BioweaponBeast genetically-engineered]] lizard monsters that can rip apart anyone who gets on their bad side. |
| 258 | ** ''VideoGame/FalloutNewVegas'' has a {{Subversion}} in Mean Sonofabitch, a Super Mutant who protects the city of Westside. He is just as strong and powerful as a Super Mutant can be and not someone to trifle with, but is also a GentleGiant to those who help maintain the peace in his hometown. |
| 259 | * ''VideoGame/{{Fears}}'', an obscure, mostly-terrible 90s FPS for the Amiga, has it's main villain, Dr. '''Blood'''heart. |
| 260 | * ''VideoGame/GoldenAxe'': The BigBad of the game is Death Adder, a war lord who steals the titular weapon and uses it to go on a conquest of Yuria, causing particular devastation to the Firewood Kingdom, [[YouKilledMyFather killing family members of the three protagonists]] in the process. The console ports introduced a new character with an even more intimidating name, Death Bringer. While Bringer is much less defined as a character, the main known thing is that he's the ManBehindTheMan for Adder, making him the true cause of all the horror Yuria has gone through. |
| 261 | * ''Franchise/{{Kirby}}'': |
| 262 | ** Zero from ''VideoGame/KirbysDreamLand3'' takes MyHeroZero and completely flips it on its head. |
| 263 | ** Necrodeus, the BigBad of ''VideoGame/KirbyMassAttack'', whose name literally means ''"Death God"''. Need we say more? |
| 264 | ** The FinalBoss of ''VideoGame/KirbyStarAllies'' and GreaterScopeVillain of the whole franchise is named Void Termina, with Termina commonly meaning to end. On top of that, his BossSubtitles call him the '''Destroyer of Worlds'''. |
| 265 | * ''VideoGame/MaxBlasterAndDorisDeLightningAgainstTheParrotCreaturesOfVenus'': The evil overlords Captain Dotar Sojat can consider selling his microchips to are Ivan the Implacable, Racquelle the Ruthless, and Undor the Unkind. |
| 266 | * Nex, a boss in ''VideoGame/RuneScape'', strikes fear into the gods herself. Her name even translates to "violent death" in Latin. |
| 267 | * ''VideoGame/{{Ristar}}'': The game's main villain, Kaiser Greedy, doesn't have a name that screams "good ruler", trying to take over the titular character's home solar system. |
| 268 | * In ''VideoGame/Splatoon3'', there is a [[{{Superboss}} King Salmonid]] that's a mixture of a {{dragon|sAreDemonic}} and an [[SlipperyAsAnEel eel]], named the Horrorboros. [[FlyingSeafoodSpecial It flies around the stage]] launching colossal bombs from an apparatus in its mouth, [[HellIsThatNoise and just wait until you hear]] [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3AtcNid_M0w its howling screams]]. |
| 269 | * ''VideoGame/WorldOfHorror'' has a fair number of EldritchAbomination[=s=] with names befitting their terrifying nature, including "Goizo, the Thing Forsaken by God" and "Ithotu, the Devouring Flame". Special mentions goes to a unique enemy encounter known simply as "[[MadeOfEvil Something Truly Evil]]". |
| 270 | * ''VideoGame/WorldOfWarcraft'': Given the game's love of ham and cheese, you can find plenty of names like this. |
| 271 | ** Archlich Kel'Thuzad. After being rejected by the [[TheMagocracy Kirin Tor]] for studying necromancy, he discovered the recently-created Lich King and formed the Cult of the Damned, a group that worshipped the Scourge and sought to become undead themselves. He would later be killed then resurrected as a powerful lich. It does get a bit weird when you learn that his actual birthname ''really is'' [[AerithAndBob Kel'Thuzad]], no surname or anything. |
| 272 | ** Deathwing the Destroyer, the Aspect of Death. He used to be known as Neltharion, but gave that whole elaborate title to himself after going insane and betraying his fellow dragons. For bonus points, the night elves call him [[XMakesAnythingCool Xaxas]]. |
| 273 | *** Black dragons in general tend to have needlessly evil names, like Onyxia, Nefarian, and Sinestra. They're almost always servants of the Old Gods, but even good guys follow this, so apparently that's just their MO. ''VideoGame/{{Hearthstone}}'' even berates you for trusting a guy calling himself "Lord Victor ''Nefarious''", who was actually Nefarian in disguise. |
| 274 | ** Ragnaros the Firelord, the Elemental Lord of Fire whose both an OmnicidalManiac and a BadBoss to the minions he has. After being killed, he was replaced by the (comparatively) heroic and nicer-sounding Smolderon the Firelord. |
| 275 | ** Out of all the normal-sounding places in Stormwind, there's one rundown pub in the Magic Quarter named "The Slaughtered Lamb". This is where all the [[BlackMagic Warlock]] trainers practice in secret. |
| 276 | ** There's a hundred thousand one-note Dungeon bosses that have badass names to let you know how serious they are. Bloodmage Thalnos? Admiral Ripsnarl? Mutanus the Devourer? None of these bosses are higher than level 30. |
| 277 | [[/folder]] |
| 278 | |
| 279 | [[folder:Web Animation]] |
| 280 | * ''WebAnimation/{{Shrapnel}}'': Reznya’s name means '''massacre''' in Russian. |
| 281 | * Parodied in ''WebAnimation/StrongBadEmail'' episode dangeresque3 where, [[ShowWithinAShow in Strong Bad's (very) amateur action movie]], Strong Mad plays the henchman with the most threatening name ever, Killingyouguy! |
| 282 | * ''WebAnimation/AnimatorVsAnimation'': Names have power, literally. A stick figure created by the Animator would be given a name, and their strength and power would be equal to how badass their name sounds. A character named ''Victim'' would be a weak, throwaway character, meant only to be killed, while characters named ''TheChosenOne'' or ''The Dark Lord'' would be powerful enough to destroy the world--or save it. |
| 283 | [[/folder]] |
| 284 | |
| 285 | [[folder:Webcomics]] |
| 286 | * ''Webcomic/AwfulHospital'' has ''Harm''burger, a [[AnthropomorphicFood giant, rotting hamburger]] who works as a chef and mascot for LethalEatery Fleshcorp Tissue Recombinators Unlimited. |
| 287 | * ''Webcomic/BeyondTheEnd'' has Rig, Ore, and their owner, Mortis - Rigor Mortis. Rig and Ore are two hellhounds, while Mortis is a demon employed by Lucifer to bring Hal back. |
| 288 | * ''Webcomic/ElGoonishShive'' has Pandora Chaos Raven. "Younger" immortals tend to give themselves pretentious names, which, given that she's ''not'' young, says a lot about [[ImmortalImmaturity her personality]]. Although in her defense, she did originally want to call herself "Box", but no one got the reference. |
| 289 | * ''Webcomic/{{Gaia}}'': Bhaal, a [[GodOfEvil Demon God]]. Seemingly subverted with Lili--her full name is ''Lilith'', but to all appearances she's the nicest person in the comic. [[spoiler: At least until we learn she's destined to destroy the world. And then it's subverted again when it turns out that both Bhaal ''and'' Gaia are JerkassGods and Lilith's destruction of their influence is a good thing.]] |
| 290 | * ''Webcomic/HumanityLost:'' General Deicide started out commanding an army of mutated humans engaged in a war of conquest against the alien races. Then he and his army mutinied, and joined the aliens, so now someone else needs to run away really fast. |
| 291 | * ''Webcomic/KillSixBillionDemons'' has a few characters. Mathanga Ten Meti's proper name is "Murder The Gods And Topple Their Thrones", an angel named "6 Juggernaut Star Scours The Universe" and Allison's proper name, "Kill Six Billion Demons". |
| 292 | * ''Webcomic/{{Paranatural}}'': The rather sadistic and creepy-looking vice principal of Mayview Middle school, who basically runs the whole thing while [[PuppetKing Principal Pleezdoo]] is too meek to contradict, is revealed to be named Devilora Demonelle [=DuNacht=]. [[spoiler: The fact that this is revealed when she is revealed to also be in cahoots with some dangerous spirits just make it evident she's more than just a SadistTeacher]]. |
| 293 | * ''Webcomic/SchlockMercenary'': |
| 294 | ** The incomprehensibly old and insane Oafan AI in charge of an ancient space station is named "T'kkuts Afa," which is translated as "Broken Wind." This is not a fart joke. The word "t'kkkuts" is an Oafa curse, denoting something broken or destructive. Afa means "wind," and has religious connotations, such as "unmoved mover" and "God." So while a literal translation of her name is "Broken Wind," a more ''useful'' one is "Angry God." |
| 295 | ** Later, an ancient Oafan librarian finds the translation "Broken Wind" inappropriate, but also lacking - The word "Wind" lacks the mysticism it implies to the Oafa, and "Broken" isn't violent enough. He suggests an alternative: "Breath Weapon". |
| 296 | ** Captain Kevyn's girlfriend breaks up with him over his invention of a new type of teraport: Something to teraport someone's mind directly into virtual reality, leaving their corpse behind. Petey tells him that ancient civilizations referred to this as a "soulgig." Kevyn notes that doesn't sound too bad. The bartender notes he clearly hasn't seen a [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gigging fishgig]] -- a brutal multi-pronged spear that very painfully rips fish out of the water. |
| 297 | * ''WebComic/SluggyFreelance'': |
| 298 | ** Demon lords, and/or demon aristocracy, automatically seem to have names suggestive of nasty things, such as Lord Horribus. Eventually we even see several demons promoted to aristocracy and having their names upgraded this way -- Horribus used to be called Horb. |
| 299 | ** In "KITTEN", the mysterious killer is at first only known as "The Evil". ([[ParodiedTrope This is explained to be because someone named it after his mother.]]) It turns out to be [[spoiler: a litter of indestructible murder kittens fathered by Satan.]] |
| 300 | ** The sisters Monicruel and Slaughteresa are both hardened criminals. |
| 301 | [[/folder]] |
| 302 | |
| 303 | [[folder:Web Original]] |
| 304 | * A really dangerous item in ''WebOriginal/TheBackrooms'' which gives people a FateWorseThanDeath when they drink it is called Liquid Pain. '''LIQUID'''. '''PAIN'''. Take one look at that name and tell us that’s safe to drink. |
| 305 | * The above mentioned may be a reference to the anti-meme of [[https://knowyourmeme.com/memes/bone-hurting-juice Bone-Hurting Juice]]. Why would anyone want to drink it is anyone's guess. |
| 306 | * MediaNotes/JennyEverywhere's archnemesis and EvilCounterpart, Jenny Nowhere, usually depicted as every bit the walking embodiment of nihilism that the name implies. |
| 307 | [[/folder]] |
| 308 | |
| 309 | [[folder:Western Animation]] |
| 310 | * ''WesternAnimation/AvatarTheLastAirbender'': Long Feng, the corrupt leader of Ba Sing Se's secret police force, the Dai Li. His name translates from Chinese as "dragon phoenix". |
| 311 | ** Bonus points for history nuts: Dai Li, also known as "China's Himmler", was the head of the [[StateSec Blue Shirts Society]] in the 1930s. |
| 312 | * ''WesternAnimation/DuckDodgers'': Queen Tyr'anhnee ([[MeaningfulName pronounced like the word "tyranny"]]), ruler of the Martian invaders who is feared by the people of Earth. Ironically, she does command respect from her people, so it's a [[SubvertedTrope subversion]]. |
| 313 | * ''WesternAnimation/TheFairlyOddParents'': |
| 314 | ** BabysitterFromHell Vicky; as both Timmy and Wanda note, her name is the term "icky" with a V. |
| 315 | ** Mark Chang's AxCrazy fiancee Princess Mandie (pronounced Man-DIE). |
| 316 | * ''WesternAnimation/MoonGirlAndDevilDinosaur2023'': Devil Dinosaur is an intimidating name already, but that’s actually tamer than his true name: "[[NameThatUnfoldsLikeLotusBlossom Terrifying Fire Beast Who Will Bring About The End Of All Things]]". |
| 317 | * ''WesternAnimation/StarWarsTheCloneWars'' has several villains. |
| 318 | ** Savage Oppress, the brute who is Maul's brother and just as bad as him. |
| 319 | ** One of the Separatist generals is called Whorm Loathsom, and he is indeed a vile man who isn't above killing civilians. |
| 320 | ** Cad Bane the bounty hunter. Cad is someone who disrespects women, bane refers to destruction, and this bounty hunter is extremely ruthless. |
| 321 | * ''WesternAnimation/StarTrekLowerDecks'' has D'Vana Tendi, a bubbly and good-natured Ensign (later Lieutenant J.G.). On her home world of Orion, she's known as '''Mistress of the Winter Constellations''', Prime daughter of the fifth largest criminal syndicate and trained from birth to be a ruthless assassin. Because Orion culture is still kind of a mystery to the Federation, and because Tendi mostly keeps quiet about it, her friends and crewmates in Starfleet don't think much of it. When she's around other Orions though, [[OhCrap they crap their pants in fear]] because they know how important she is and what she's capable of. |
| 322 | * ''WesternAnimation/{{WITCH}}'': The BigBad of Season 1 (and the last few episodes of Season 2), Prince Phobos, the evil ruler of Meridian who usurped the throne from his sister. His name comes from the Greek God/Personification of Fear, Phobos, which is still the Greek word for fear. And his people fear him, that's for sure. |
| 323 | * ''WesternAnimation/{{Wunschpunsch}}'' has the evil [[HarmlessVillain but incompetent]] Tyrannia and Bubonic. |
| 324 | * ''WesternAnimation/UglyAmericans'': Twayne Boneraper, despite considered being wimpy for a demon, is scary and dangerous whenever he's angry (or horny). He's even perfectly capable of [[spoiler: using the forces of Hell to conquer the world]] with the proper motivation. |
| 325 | [[/folder]] |
| 326 | |
| 327 | [[folder:Real Life]] |
| 328 | * Military leaders will often get a nickname that can fit this, like "Stormin' Norman" Schwarzkopf or "Mad Dog" Mattis. |
| 329 | * When professional wrestlers aren't using their real name, they often have names like this. You'd want to run away too if you heard you were fighting people called Wrestling/HulkHogan, Wrestling/AndreTheGiant, Fray Tormenta ("Friar Tempest"), or Wrestling/TheUndertaker. This is more common with {{heel}} wrestlers, of course (and keep in mind that Hogan did start as one, which is why he's named after [[ComicBook/TheIncredibleHulk a giant, destructive monster]]). One particularly famous inversion is Ricky Steamboat, who was born Richard Blood, but was too nice to be able to live up to his birth name. Also, Fray Tormenta was a técnico (the Mexican equivalent of a face) for most if not all of his in-ring career |
| 330 | * Finnish all-around badass and hero of the Battle of Kollaa Aarne Juutilainen earned the nickname "The Terror of Morocco" after serving there with the French Foreign Legion. |
| 331 | ** There was also his countryman Simo Häyhä, "the White Death". |
| 332 | * Oda Nobunaga obtained the sobriquet [[https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/DemonKingNobunaga “Demon King of the Sixth Heaven”.]][[note]]"Sixth Heaven" meaning the lowest path of Buddhist reincarnation, a.k.a. Hell[[/note]] Works featuring him will sometimes make him a literal demon or other supernatural being. |
| 333 | * Particularly beloved military ''vehicles'' will also often get a dangerous nickname - for example, the highly-agile, extremely well-armed General Dynamics F-16 is officially called Fighting Falcon, but its pilots almost universally refer to it as the 'Viper.' |
| 334 | * A vehicle whose nickname is more of a warning than an intimidation is the NASA airplane used for zero gravity training, "Vomit Comet", meaning the easily nauseated better not even apply. |
| 335 | * Quite a few names of dinosaurs (and other prehistoric animals) count as this, including ''Deinonychus'' ("terrible claw"), ''Deinosuchus'' ("terrible crocodile"), ''Megalodon'' ("great tooth") and, of course, ''Tyrannosaurus rex'' ("tyrant-lizard king"). |
| 336 | * While most poisonous plants and mushrooms get a FluffyTheTerrible name, some of them get names that reflect their toxic nature. Some prime examples: |
| 337 | ** ''[[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cerbera_odollam Cerbera odollam]]'', known as the suicide tree for the use of its seeds in homicide and suicide. |
| 338 | ** ''[[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Galerina_marginata Galerina marginata]]'', known as the funeral bell or deadly skullcap for containing the same liver and kidney destroying amatoxins found in the Death Cap, ''Amanita phalloides'' and the Destroying Angel, ''Amanita bisporigera''. Yes, those two mushrooms fall under this trope as well. |
| 339 | ** ''[[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Digitalis Digitalis]]'' species are sometimes known as "Dead Man's Bells" or "Witch's Gloves" in reference to their toxicity. |
| 340 | ** ''[[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Deathcamas Death camas]]'' are a group of very similar looking flowering plants that are highly toxic and are sometimes [[PoisonMushroom mistaken]] for [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Camassia edible camas]] with dangerous or even lethal results. |
| 341 | ** ''[[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Excoecaria_agallocha Excoecaria agallocha]]'' is an unremarkable looking mangrove tree with ''severely'' irritating and toxic sap that can cause blindness. Hence its common names of blind-your-eye mangrove, blinding tree, poisonfish tree, and river poison tree. |
| 342 | ** ''[[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Manchineel Manchineel]]'' trees are named from Spanish for "[[FluffyTheTerrible little apple]]", because their fruit look like small apples. But a longer Spanish name for the trees is "manzanilla de la muerte" or "little apple of death". The trees are so poisonous that even standing under one in a rainstorm can blister skin. |
| 343 | * The great grey shrike is a rather adorable grey and black songbird with the scientific name being ''Lanius excubitor'', literally translating to ''sentinel butcher''. Look closer, and you'll notice its hooked beak, and things start to become a little bit clearer. As they [[ImpaledWithExtremePrejudice regularly impale their prey]] - both to eat it more easily, as they're meat eaters but lack the talons birds of prey use to hold their food, but also to ''store it for later consumption'' - it's not that hard to see where it comes from. |
| 344 | * An alternative name for [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anatoxin-a Anatoxin-a]] is "Very Fast Death Factor". Predictably, it's a neurotoxin that kills you within minutes. |
| 345 | * [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Africanized_bee Africanized bees]] are a notorious hybrid breed of honey bee that are colloquially known as "killer bees", a moniker they earned for being so fiercely defensive of their hives that they will chase perceived threats for hundreds of meters and attack with such ferocity that they have been known to kill humans and animals alike. |
| 346 | * The last stretch of the Appalachian Trail, a hiking trail in America running from Georgia to Maine, is called the "Hundred Mile Wilderness". As the name suggests, it's a one hundred mile stretch of wilderness with ''no way to replenish your supplies therein'': no towns, no outposts, ''nothing''. Signs leading into the trail warn you that you should not attempt this trek without at least ten days worth of supplies on hand, and your chances of being found and rescued in the event of a serious injury are, at best, remote. |
| 347 | * As a young man, Ramesses II owned a pet lion who even fought alongside him at the Battle of Kadesh. That lion's name? Slayer of His Foes. |
| 348 | * The Vandal tribe, who famously sacked Rome and plundered the Mediterranean, is a retroactive example as they were so destructive that the very word "vandal" was named after them. |
| 349 | * There's an infamous stretch of the River Wharfe known as the Strid, sometimes called "a river on its side" for being only two meters wide but ''five'' meters ''deep''. What's more, the banks are undercut, so if you fall in you're not climbing back out. "Strid" comes from the Old English "stryh"... which means ''turmoil''. |
| 350 | [[/folder]] |
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