Faux Affably Evil / Marvel Universe

Marvel Universe

Faux Affably Evil in this franchise.

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Comic Books

Comic Books

• Erik Killmonger from the Black Panther series. He presents himself as a Well-Intentioned Extremist who wants to conquer Wakanda because he genuinely thinks he'd be better for the country than T'Challa, but in reality, he's mostly motivated by revenge. He even boasts that he'd murder the entire population just so long as it meant that T'Challa would no longer be able to rule over them.
• The Daredevil villain Bullseye. He may be a Psycho for Hire with few redeeming features, but he does love to quip. His MAX counterpart is even more friendly, seeming downright cheerful most of the time. But that's probably because he's a complete and utter maniac who makes mainstream-Bullseye look sane.
• The Kingpin is usually genuinely Affably Evil, but his more monstrous iterations, such as his MAX counterpart, lean more toward this, being more smug and lacking the main Kingpin's more noble traits.
• Deadpool varies between this and being genuinely Affably Evil. He's always had Success Through Insanity, but he varies between being a Noble Demon and being Faux Affably Evil, depending on his current state of sanity/writer. When Nolan North voiced him, he played a Composite Character version, with the personality and dashing good looks of Deadpool in the main universe (in which his morality and sanity varies) and the motivation of Ultimate Marvel Deadpool (in which he is a Cape Buster and straight up villain).
• The Xenophage, an alien that preys on symbiotes like Venom, is a very eloquent brain-eating monster.
• Ultimate X-Men (2001): Magneto can try to talk a good game, but he's still a violent old bastard, and barely tries to hide it.

Films

Films

• Marvel Cinematic Universe:
  • Iron Man: Iron Monger/Obadiah Stane, especially in the scene where he's talking to Pepper Potts. He's as affable as always, but she doesn't know whether he's just making small talk or interrogating her.
  • Iron Man 2:
    • This continues with Ivan Vanko. In battle, Vanko lets his rage and vengeance run wild, but in the few brief conversations he has with his nemesis, Tony Stark, he is measured and almost friendly, bantering and taking technical advice from Tony, who he likely sees as a Worthy Opponent. One can't help but chuckle at the casual, almost friendly way he talks as he threatens Tony over the phone.
      Ivan: Hey, Tony! How you doin'? Heh heh. I double cycle.
      Tony: What?
      Ivan: You told me "double cycle, more power." Good advice.
      Tony: You sound pretty sprightly for a dead guy.
      Ivan: You too... Ha ha!
    • Justin Hammer will act like your best friend when it's clear he can't stand your guts.
  • In Iron Man 3, Aldritch Killian comes across as a classy guy, but all he cares about is getting back at Tony for standing him up 13 years ago.
  • Avengers: Age of Ultron: Ultron is calm, eloquent and has a quick wit, but wants to wipe out the entire human race for the crime of not being perfect. He lied to his allies, showing that he views everyone as pawns for his master plan. He kidnaps one of the Avengers, casually converses with them and tries to freak them the hell out by ripping off his own head. In the end Ultron chats with Vision before deciding that he can't stand him and attempts one last attack.
  • Ego, the Living Planet from Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2. A jovial, somewhat humorous man who saves the Guardians from a fleet of starships. A father who wants to reconnect with his long-lost son. A vile, genocidal monster who murders his own children if they fail to inherit his powers, gives his wife (Peter's mother) a slow, agonizing death via brain cancer, plans to wipe out the universe and replace it with extensions of himself, and also plans to use his immortal son as a conductor to keep his "expansion" up and running for all eternity.
  • Killmonger from Black Panther (2018) puts a veneer of cordiality and politeness when it strikes his fancy, but it's pretty clear he's too far gone and it's all an act to rile people up. At one point, he addresses Ramonda by "aunty", except the would-be term of endearment is dripping with sarcasm and contempt.
  • Avengers: Endgame shows Thanos wasn't always Affably Evil, his past self calmly states he is going to destroy the whole universe and rebuild it to his image. He also says he is going to enjoy wiping out the Earth for having the audacity of trying to restore his culling. Not only that, but since he never went through the loss and grief of losing Gamora, his sympathetic qualities were never strengthened and were instead outright crushed. It appears that Thanos is courteous only as long as he is still in control.
  • Spider-Man: Far From Home: Quentin Beck a.k.a Mysterio was introduced as a space hero fighting the Elementals to save the world. He also acted like a friend to Peter and even gave him advice on how to impress his crush as well as encouraging him to live up to Tony's legacy. In reality, Beck is a vain, sadistic, and vengeful former Stark Industries employee who staged the Elemental attacks so he can stop them and be declared a hero. He was only nice to Peter to trick him into giving him E.D.I.T.H so he can have more killer drones. When Peter found out, he tries to kill Peter and his classmates and even feigns regret over his actions just so he could shoot Peter.
  • Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3: The High Evolutionary would often cradle Rocket in his lap, akin to a father and his son, and tell him of the wonders he had envisioned for the future. He's also very calm and patient with Rocket when he's still a child, and he praises his intellect. However, every positive or affirming trait he has in the film is entirely undone when he coldly tells Rocket he was always nothing more than just an experiment he'll discard as a failure once he creates something better, and he never actually intended for Rocket or his friends to join in his new world. It's clear that he's only polite and patient with those who serve a purpose for him. Those who don't, he'll gladly incinerate.
• X-Men Film Series:
  • X-Men: First Class:
    • Sebastian Shaw is impeccably polite even when he's going to kill your mom. When he murders people who have slighted him, it's based more on principle than any outright anger.
  • In X-Men Origins: Wolverine, Stryker is very polite and charming, often calling Wolverine "Old friend". This doesn't change the fact that he's unrepentantly homicidal and manipulative.
  • The Wolverine:
    • Viper talks in a polite and seductive tone when discussing her evil plans.
    • Ichirō Yashida continues to discuss philosophy and talk like a kindly grandfather even as he is literally sucking out the life of Wolverine. He also seems to genuinely want Logan to find peace in death.
  • X-Men: Apocalypse: En Sabah Nur recruits mutants he considers strong enough to be worthy, names them his "children" with affection, and promises them privileged positions in his new world. The moment they underperform, he brushes them off with a contemptuous "Useless." It's cold enough to break the pedestal that Storm put him on.
  • Logan :
    • Donald Pierce acts like a goofy Good Ol' Boy, but it doesn't change the fact that he's a ruthless assassin out to kill an 11-year-old girl.
    • His boss Zander Rice also qualifies. He puts on a polite, grandfatherly facade, but in reality he's a completely amoral Mad Scientist.

Live-Action TV

Live-Action TV

• Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.:
  • Raina. She manipulates, kidnaps, and tortures while never saying a single harsh word. The most egregious example is when she purposefully leaves Debbie to her death and says "I wish you all the best" as the elevator doors close between them.
  • The Big Bad of the first season, The Clairvoyant, is eventually revealed to be this. He maintains the chummy attitude he'd previously been using in a civilian disguise, even after his true identity is revealed. Even when The Dragon is experiencing a Villainous BSoD, he kept laughing and joking, not caring about what was happening. His charm and affability is only a charade though, and there's no one he won't sacrifice to further his goals.
  • Daniel Whitehall. While he's a high-ranking member of HYDRA (and a former SS officer, to boot), Whitehall comes across as well-spoken, polite, even charming at times. He's also an insane Torture Technician that even other members of HYDRA are terrified of.
• Jessica Jones (2015): David Tennant's natural charm and likability is used to great effect in his performance as the mind-controlling Kilgrave, who can be funny and put up a charming front when he wants to, yet he consistently remains arguably the single most disturbing villain in the entire Marvel Cinematic Universe.
• WandaVision: Agatha Harkness a.k.a Agnes acts like a friendly neighbor to Wanda, but that's just to manipulate her and control her actions around Westview. Even while forcing Wanda to relive her most traumatic memories, she still calls her cute nicknames like "Buttercup".

Video Games

Video Games

• Spider-Man: Miles Morales: Simon Krieger. Hoo boy, Simon Krieger. To the general populace, he's an altruistic businessman on the verge of ending the energy crisis, but the second he gets behind closed doors, the cruel, money-hungry sociopath underneath comes out swinging.

Western Animation

Western Animation

• The Spectacular Spider-Man
  • As in the comics, Norman Osborn veers closer to Affably Evil until the Affable part is revealed to be a lie fueled by his ego.
  • Shocker ("Montana") speaks in a polite, somewhat aphoristic way, which is enhanced by his strong Texan accent, but he's definitely not a nice person by any means (even outside of the whole "killing people for money" thing).
  • Both the Venom symbiote and Eddie himself, over time.
    • While bonded with Peter, the symbiote speaks and acts somewhat casually, offering (admittedly unethical) advice on his life's problems. It quickly becomes more aggressive when Peter tries to get rid of it.
    • When rebonded with the symbiote, Eddie resumes acting like a trustworthy big brother figure and employee, even offering to treat Gwen (whom he kidnapped and tried to kill) to coffee. He drops the act whenever it's just him and Peter.

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