"Fine. I'll do it myself."
"He's purple. He has a magic glove. He doesn't like standing up."
— Thor on Thanos, "Team Thor" short
"Mordegon's pathetic. He sends his minions to do his dirty work while he just sits back and watches."
—Erik, Dragon Quest XI
"What is Kyros' problem? Can't get off your damn throne and actually visit your subjects? How do we know Kyros isn't already dead? Or it's like a title that gets handed off mother-to-son. I spent three years slogging through the Tiers for this ass and you know what — I don't REALLY know if Kyros exists!"
The Nameless One: What if your enemy strikes from a distance, from shadows, and never shows himself?
Coaxmetal: Then that is the fragment of the enemy you must use. The actions of your enemy have told you much. Your enemy does not wish to engage you directly. That is a weakness.
The Nameless One: Or... for some reason, it cannot engage me directly.
Coaxmetal: That is an equal possibility. Either possibility reveals weakness.
The Nameless One: How do I exploit that?
Coaxmetal: If the enemy does not wish to confront you directly, deny its wish. Take the battle to the enemy. If it is not allowed to confront you directly, find the reason. The reason will reveal a weakness.
"Does Thanos ever get up off that chair? I mean, he's been in three films now yet this supposed Big Bad is lazier than my best friend Mikey."
— The Film Theorists reviewing Guardians of the Galaxy (2014)
Guardians of the Galaxy (2014)Dark Lord: Gloating is great, almost as good as sitting around doing nothing until the third act! "Why obliterate when you can delegate", I always say!
Dimentio: Ah ha ha. Oh, I'm afraid so, my count. In fact, [the heroes] will be here before long.
O'Chunks: Whuh?! Izzat true, then? What're we doing twiddling our biscuits 'ere?
The leader of the Yiga Clan, a group formed with just a single objective: eliminate Link. He sends his minions all over Hyrule in search of you but tends to spend most of his own time napping and generally loafing about.
— Hyrule Compendium entry for Master Kohga, The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild
Master Kohga: You've got some nerve, thinking you can go toe to toe with Master Kohga! I'll show you...
[Yiga Footsoldiers appear]
Master Kohga: YIGA, ASSEMBLE! Me excluded, of course. [vanishes]
"Kill me now."
— Kefka Palazzo, discovering just how boring this trope is for Orcus, Dissidia Final Fantasy NT
Like, have you ever wondered why most stereotypical villains never get off their throne until it's their time to personally take the fight to the battlefield? It's because in order to convince us that this person never does anything not evil, they have to continuously live in this poorly lit room, on this skull-encrusted throne, or perhaps for variety, a single Sinister Laboratory with blood and screaming so we know that all science that takes place here is Evil.
They cannot move, cannot do anything, unless it is immediately shown as because they're evil, and they are doing an Evil interaction. If a villain like this does something for public relations we see them expressing how disgusted they are with how Good that was, or else planning something malicious to ruin it, purely so we know they didn't actually enjoy doing good.
— ganymedesclock lampshading how this trope works.
lampshading how this trope works.