When the Big Bad wants to visually flex his power, he shoves his hands into big (usually black) gloves with an upward thrusting motion, then makes an evil fist (although a clawed semi-fist, as if clutching something unseen, is sometimes also done). Putting on the gloves while doing this can be optional (in an upward move similar to a Glove Snap). Actually wearing gloves while making the gesture can be optional, but the gloves seem to add gravitas to the move. For extra points, we get a scrunchy-leathery-rubbery sound effect as the fist is clenched.
Pretty much a Mad Scientist staple, but the fisted glove is also a trope of megalomaniacs in general, showing off their power.
Could also be an Evil Hand, and include a Fist of Rage. When it's a Mad Doctor performing it, it might also include a Glove Snap. When the heroes do it, it's a Bicep-Polishing Gesture. Compare Milking the Giant Cow. Not related to a Victory Fist Pump, though it may be related to the anime Fist Pump. Not to be confused with Giant Hands of Doom. Also not to be confused with the Power Fist. Or the Black Power Fist.
Examples:
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Anime and Manga
- Fullmetal Alchemist: When Colonel Roy Mustang prepares to fake the killing of Maria Ross, there is a scene of him putting on his trademark "ignition gloves" in the classic evil fashion, complete with a closeup of the flame transmutation circle. Subverted in that he only pretends to kill her to create cover for her escape, using a pile of meat transmuted into a fake carcass as a decoy Ross, and thus does not do anything evil. Not that Ed knew that at the time.
- Sakura Haruno of Naruto inverts the trope, usually with a nice Glove Snap to go with it. She's one of the good guys, but if she uses this gesture then beware.
Comic Books
- Marvel Universe:
- The aptly named Doctor Doom does this a lot, both closed- and open-fisted, as does Magneto.
- This is practically a prerequisite for anyone who puts on The Infinity Gauntlet, both villain and hero alike.
Fan Works
- From the Parody Fic Captain Proton and the Planet of Lesbians.
"You don't know the power of the Dyke Side!" snarled Sapphia, clenching a leather-clad fist.
- In the Star Wars fan trailer Dark Resurrection — Keepers of the Force, Sith Lord Sorran does this trope and causes an entire planet to undergo an Earth-Shattering Kaboom.
- Plan 7 of 9 from Outer Space. The spaceship of a notorious alien is emblazoned with a black fist "clenched tight but for a raised middle finger."
Film — Animated
- Jaffar in Aladdin makes the move - sans gloves - when he turns into a genie. "THE ABSOLUTE POWER!"
- Despicable Me: Though he never dons gloves, Gru does this when he announces his plans to steal the moon.
- Syndrome does it in The Incredibles, with a semi-closed fist◊ (reversing the trope with white gloves). His zero-point energy rays are generated by his gloves and he likes to gesture with them.
- Rothbart does it in The Swan Princess while asserting "No, Odette... is MINE!" to Derek.
- The Flying Glove from Yellow Submarine is this personified and magnified.
Film — Live-Action
- In what has to be an Actor Allusion, Thulsa Doom (played by James Earl Jones) does a non-gloved variant in Conan the Barbarian (1982) when lecturing Conan about the uselessness of steel compared to the hand that wields it.
- In Death Race 2000 the Flag of the United Provinces featured a gloved fist with a lightning bolt running up the side. This symbol appears all over the place in the movie.
- Parodied (sans glove)◊ by Charlie Chaplin in The Great Dictator.
- The Lord of the Rings
- Boromir does this at least once in The Fellowship of the Ring while contemplating the power of the One Ring.
- As does the Witch-King during the lead-up to his dramatic reveal in The Return of the King.
- The prototypical Mad Scientist, Rotwang, does this◊ in Metropolis (though he never does quite close his fist; his hand was said to have been prosthetic). Possibly the Ur-Example and Trope Maker.
- Star Wars: Darth Vader does this so often he comes close to being the Trope Codifier. "If you only knew the power◊ of the Dark Side..." "Luke, join me..." And because he's a Force-wielder, it sometimes comes with a side order of Psychic Strangle.
- Street Fighter. General M. Bison (Raúl Juliá) clenches a gloved (red) fist◊ in an upward motion as he exclaims, "Pax Bisonica!"
- He also does a double-fisted one when he shouts, "Game Over!"◊ He was almost as fond of this move as Darth Vader.
- He also does a double-fisted one when he shouts, "Game Over!"
- In Stroker Ace, Aubrey James thinks he gonna have fun diving into a Bar Brawl and pulls on his black driving gloves. Subverted when Stroker floors him with a single punch before he can jump into the fray.
- Who Framed Roger Rabbit. While in the Acme factory, Judge Doom pulls on a large rubber glove before putting a Toon shoe in the Dip. (Watch it here, 4:00-5:20. He doesn't make the fist, but he does put it on menacingly.
- Avengers: Infinity War: Thanos uses this pose while wearing the Infinity Gauntlet. Justified, as he needs to clench his fist to use it, an Achilles' Heel exploited by Iron Man and Doctor Strange.
Literature
- Star Wars Legends: There was a kids' series titled The Glove of Darth Vader, and it was about the eponymous glove as a Memento MacGuffin. Presumably the bad guy made this gesture some more after he found it. It was actually turned into a literal Artifact of Doom with some installed circuitry that allowed the user to fake Force lightning, at the expense of burning his hand and ongoing nerve damage that rendered him blind. Naturally he refused to take it off anyway, although he did have the circuitry removed.
Live-Action TV
- Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Gwendolyn Post, the evil Watcher, does this after putting on the magical power glove in the episode "Revelations".
- Star Trek: Voyager: In "Prototype", Unit 3947 clenches a fist when talking of how they will now destroy the enemy in their Robot War. As the emotionless android lacks the Large Ham associated with such evil ranting, it looks a bit narm.
Video Games
- Magus in Chrono Trigger adjusts his gloves like this while charging a spell. There is no discernible reason why he would need to do this, but damned if it doesn't look cool.
- City of Heroes' first expansion — City of Villains — has boxart that features President Evil Lord Recluse in the open-fisted pose. Moreover, Nazi-inspired villain (and M. Bison-lookalike) Reichsman raises a gloved fist in the middle of a fight before punching the ground with enough force to knock out Player Characters' Hit Points and Endurance. Gloved Fist of Doom, indeed.
- Shockingly, Yuna does this in a moment of rebelliousness in Final Fantasy X-2.
- The Didact in Halo 4 uses this to grip Master Chief with a constraint field, right before attempting to throw him off a bridge into a swirling Slipspace vortex.
- Ansem/Xehanort's Heartless ends his "Darkness is the heart's true essence" speech in Kingdom Hearts with one of these.
- Done by Ganondorf in The Legend of Zelda series several times, most notably in Ocarina of Time, usually to show off his Triforce of Power.
- Liquid Snake does this so frequently in Metal Gear Solid one can tell when he's doing his whole Split-Personality Takeover didjeridoo when Revolver Ocelot starts posing in this fashion◊ in Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty and Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots. Or faking it, in the latter case.
- In this trailer for Overwatch, the aptly named "Doomfist" does this. (Obviously.)
- Not surprisingly, many of the Empire NPCs in Star Wars: The Old Republic do this often.
- Illidan Stormrage does this in the opening cinematic of Warcraft III: The Frozen Throne. He's conjuring up a storm to summon minions from the bottom of the sea.
Web Original
- Doctor Steel does this near the beginning of The Dr. Steel Show, episode 2◊ (actually pulling gloves on over his gloves!), and is sometimes depicted that way in his propaganda art and photos.◊
- Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog: Dr. Horrible does it at least once, at the end of the Sing-Along Blog, just before he enters the room to join the Evil League of Evil.◊ Symbolically, they look just like Captain Hammer's gloves.
Western Animation
- In Aladdin: The Series, recurring villain Mozenrath, another Evil Sorcerer, frequently uses the Gloved Fist of Doom, and he does actually have a glove; specifically, one that gave him magic powers but turned his right hand skeletal.
- Arcane. When Vi first straps on an Atlas Gauntlet, she does this trope and asks if Jayce invented it "so people notice you when you raise your hand in the boardroom."
- G.I. Joe: Cobra Commander often does this.
- Darkseid does this on the penultimate episode of Justice League Unlimited, complete with aforementioned scrunchy-leathery-rubbery sound effect, to punctuate his announcement of his return.
- Dr. Drakken does this in Kim Possible, often two-fisted.
- Masters of the Universe: Skeletor is fond of this.
Real Life
- Recent studies have shown that clenching one's fist in this manner does indeed increase one's sense of power and increase willpower. Especially if you're thinking evil thoughts while doing so. (see: Schubert, T.W., & Koole, S.L. (2009). The embodied self: Making a fist enhances men’s power-related self-conceptions. Journal of Experimental Social Psychology, 45, 828–834.)
- Benito Mussolini loved to do this gesture during speeches, though not always wearing gloves.◊
- The 501st Legion, a Star Wars fan club that dresses up in screen-accurate Imperial uniforms, has the nickname "Vader's Fist", an allusion to Vader's use of this trope.
