During the investigation of recent hollers in the Complete Monster thread, it's become apparent to the staff that an insular, unfriendly culture has evolved in the Complete Monster and Magnificent Bastard threads that is causing problems.
Specific issues include:
- Overzealous hollers on tropers who come into the threads without being familiar with all the rules and traditions of the tropes. And when they are familiar with said rules and traditions, they get accused (with little evidence) of being ban evaders.
- A few tropers in the thread habitually engage in snotty, impolite mini-modding. There are also regular complaints about excessive, offtopic "socializing" posts.
- Many many thread regulars barely post/edit anywhere else, making the threads look like they are divorced from the rest of TV Tropes.
- Following that, there are often complaints about the threads and their regulars violating wiki rules, such as on indexing, crosswicking, example context and example categorization. Some folks are working on resolving the issues, but...
- Often moderator action against thread regulars leads to a lot of participants suddenly showing up in the moderation threads to protest and speak on their behalf, like a clique.
It is not a super high level problem, but it has been going on for years and we cannot ignore it any longer. There will be a thread in Wiki Talk
to discuss the problem; in the meantime there is a moratorium on further Complete Monster and Magnificent Bastard example discussion until we have gotten this sorted out.
Update: The new threads have been made and can be found here:
for the earliest date a work can be discussed, (usually two weeks from the US release), as well as who's reserved discussion.
- Why do a cleanup?: This trope definitely exists and has a well documented history of use. That being said, it frequently gets misused to a character who meets one of the components, namely that they are smart, charming while not necessarily even being a villain, or create good plans. While these are components, there is also a certain personality required, not to mention that all of the above are required to be present for a character to be a true Magnificent Bastard. As the trope attracts interest, it unfortunately brings in a lot of misuse and I thought the best way to rectify this would be a Perpetual Cleanup Thread, as is being done and has seen success with Complete Monster.
- What makes a Magnificent Bastard: Below is a list of the individual components to make this character. Note that they must all be present, not just some, which has lead to frequent misuse:
- Must be intelligent: Goes without saying, to be a Magnificent Bastard, the character has to be smart in the first place and use their brain to work towards whatever their end goal may be;
- Must be a Bastard: While going overboard in how vile the character is can be detrimental, a key aspect is the Bastard part of the trope, whether the character is an out-and-out antagonist in the work, some manner of Villain Protagonist, or something in between, they at least have some unscrupulous qualities to qualify for this trope;
- Must not be too detestable: Again, there is a ceiling on how bad the character can be before they just become too nefarious, blocking out the Magnificent part of the trope. A genocidal racist or child-raping Sadist aren't going to make the cut;
- Think on their feet: In addition to being a Chessmaster, a Magnificent Bastard, if the character deals with situations in which their initial plan is ruined, has to be able to pull a Xanatos Speed Chess and at least come up with a competent strategy to make up for lost time, otherwise they fail for being unable to think in tough spots;
- Have charm: Even if they don't necessarily make every character they meet fall in love with them and can even be detested by others, the audience has to find an amicable social relation to the character, or they are failing to make the impact required for this trope.
- What to do if a character is listed on a page but has not been approved?: They need to be removed, all candidates need to come through the cleanup thread first. The character could well count but they need to be analyzed properly and voted on first.
- Do we list Playing With this trope?: No; as a YMMV trope, this cannot be Played With, so we only want examples that are Played Straight.
- What do I do if I want a character to be listed as a Magnificent Bastard?: The greatest success Complete Monster saw for its cleanup effort was from the invention of the effort post format, so, borrowing from that, a troper wishing to propose a Magnificent Bastard will create such a post in the following format:
- Begin by describing The work, this will help establish the setting the character is in and for the reader to understand what kind of a scenario they are in;
- Summarize The character's actions, this will provide a listing for readers to understand what they do and how it applies to this trope because charm and lack of smugness are so crucial, this is a good time to be incorporating exactly the flavor of how they operate to explain this;
- List circumstances in which the character must Think on their feet, these are times where a wrench might be thrown in their initial plan and they have to adapt on the spot or even come up with a new scheme all together, this is also a good time to explain how the villain reacts to defeat when they have to face it, a true Magnificent Bastard won't break down into tears at the thought of death, they should have known such a possibility could occur and be able to handle it with more dignity;
- The competition, similar to the Heinous Standard dealt with for a Complete Monster, this section is to deal with how successful the character is in carrying out their plans compared to other characters. While, as a villain, they probably are going to lose in the end, it is good to explain how other characters handle the same situation. There is no exceptionalism case to be made for this trope but explaining the variety helps the reader have a better understanding of the proposal.
- How do you know when the character's arc is done so they can be proposed? When their tenure as a villain or antagonist finishes. This could happen in a single Story Arc in an entire work, a single work of a franchise, or the whole series in general. We'll show lenience to Long-Runners with constantly recurring candidates or series with outstanding continuities (ex. comic books), and it's entirely possible to count in a work or two but not in general for a reason like Depending on the Writer.
- What about candidates evil because of external sources? Those Made of Evil can qualify if they show enough individuality and tactical acumen — in other words, they have the personality to fulfill the magnificence requirement. Conversely, those brainwashed, especially if they're a better person without it, may fail the individuality aspect and cannot count.
- What if they are under orders from a higher-up? Depends. If the boss created the plans down to the letter and the candidate is just following them, sounds like we should discuss the boss instead. However, if the candidate takes creative liberties with the orders, adds their own charm and flair to them, fills in holes in the orders, and/or actively deals with obstacles their boss did not talk about, the candidate shows enough individual thinking to qualify.
- What about Character Development? An MB is something a character can develop into... a nice person who plots well might become more morally gray as the work goes on and hits the "Bastard" criteria, thus making them viable. Likewise, a Smug Snake might shed their ego, become more understanding of the threat others pose and gain the personality or "Magnificent" criteria, likewise making them viable. Conversely, a character who looks like this trope might suffer from a Sanity Slippage or just get outed as not being as smart as they thought they were and become incompatible with MB.
- Can an MB be a good guy? Not in the conventional sense... it is required they have at least some dubious traits lest they fail the "Bastard" criteria. That being said, a character who pulls a Heel–Face Turn or eventually stops taking villainous actions is still fair game: as there was a point in time where they were both "Magnificent" and a "Bastard" at the same time and they've merely adapted as time goes on. Now... if such a character begins showing other issues (i.e.: becomes prone to freak outs or starts getting outwitted) then they're compromising their Magnificence and will probably be deemed a cut. What's important is stylishly operating while at least for some time being willing to take at best underhanded methods to see a job done. A Heel–Face Turn in itself isn't a disqualifier but they do have to have been "Magnificent" and a "Bastard" at the same time and afterwards can't start slipping on the former front.
- What about characters whose stories can take different routes?: When proposing a character in a form of media that has them in multiple story routes. Said character must be consistent with their characteristics in all routes. (ex.: Can't have an example who shows promise on one route yet fails in another.) The only exception is if a later installment of the series confirms the character's actions which made them worth proposing are the canon route.
- Is there a timeframe rule like with Complete Monster?: Yes, please wait two weeks until after the work has concluded before proposing a character (again, usually using the North American air date). As is the case with CM, we want to give a reasonable time frame so that everyone interested in seeing the work has done so and can participate in the discussion without having anything spoiled.
- What about groups like with Complete Monster?: This is a point of divergence between the two tropes. While CM does not allow for a single entry encompassing more than three characters lest their heinousness for crimes becomes too watered down, with MB as long as they are treated as one "unit" it is acceptable to lump all characters provided they share acts of charm and intelligence.
- Can I propose my own work's character as a Magnificent Bastard?: No, this is a YMMV subject and the creator of a content is way too biased to be able to evaluate the criteria we're looking for without a second opinion taking over. That being said, you are more than welcome to encourage someone to consume your creation and if they feel a character counts, are more than welcome to suggest them.
- My example/edit has been approved, but the example subpage is locked! How do I get it added?: The moderators do not add examples to locked example subpages in the MagnificentBastard/ namespace directly. Rather, you need to do the edit to a sandbox page that follows the format Sandbox.MagnificentBastard<Name of the example subpage> (e.g for MagnificentBastard.Fullmetal Alchemist it's Sandbox.Magnificent Bastard Fullmetal Alchemist) and on a Friday, ask in the locked pages edit requests thread for the content to be swapped in.
Thread rules
When voting a troper must specify the effort post they're voting on and cannot merely vote on "Everything I missed" as in the past it has indicated the poster didn't read the effort post and is guessing instead of analyzing.
Resolved items
In general, a character listed on this trope is considered "settled". This means they should not be challenged unless information used to list them was incorrect or information was missed in the initial discussion.
However, when re-litigating a candidate, the same rules apply for when they were originally proposed. If they do not have five or more upvotes than downvotes for approval upon a re-litigation, including votes from the initial discussion if they do not change, then they are a cut.
This especially applies to the characters listed below, who have been discussed excessively and repeated attempts to get them listed/cut may result in punitive action for bogging down the thread.
Definitely an MB
- Pokémon Mystery Dungeon: Explorers: Any sadism Darkrai displays is limited in effect thanks to the game's nature and any cowardice which can be inferred about him is Alternative Character Interpretation about his tactical retreats.
- Avatar: The Last Airbender: Azula's Villainous Breakdown is undone in the sequel comic Smoke & Shadow where she regains her composure and ends up stable and in control enough to count.
Definitely not an MB
- South Park: The show's frequent use of vulgar comedy and mean-spirited humor leaves any potential candidates devoid of the dignity or charm to qualify.
Edited by GastonRabbit on Aug 31st 2023 at 4:15:22 AM
Has anyone here seen Puss in Boots lately? I've wondered if Humpty Dumpty could count.
The Moron
If he hasn't been discussed before, I've got the movie on DVD, I could watch it real quick - from what I recall, he'd be great, but I could be wrong
Couldn’t hurt if you wanna give it a quick check STAR.
Gotta love Jaws!
I've seen it and enjoyed it, he probably counts from what I remember but I'll still wait for an EP before making my mind up.
"For a second there, I mistook ya for a threat... but you're just a dirty little man!"
I was definitely wondering about Humpty Alexander Dumpty myself too. When I saw the movie this past summer, I originally thought his Chronic Backstabbing Disorder was a major problem.
Be interested to get a Shrek keeper though since the actual Shrek movie villains are...well...not this.
Edited by futuremoviewriter on Feb 28th 2021 at 11:01:28 AM
I always find it funny when franchises only get characters out of the non-main works (see: Highlander).
The Moron
And the Puss in Boots series got a surprisingly strong CM keeper recently, so it's got precedent for the Big Two
Lizzid people!
Kind of funny because I was actually considering Humpty Dumpty earlier when I started off on the forum but given the past discussion of the Fairy Godmother and the idea that there couldn't be a straight example of one in the Shrek franchise, I put that one on the backburner.
The wifi here sucks
You know I actually may have a Shrek keeper from a video game, I just need to rewatch the cutscenes.
Hope your prepared for an unforgettable luncheon
Huh, well that would be cool if we could nab a few.
Definitely interested to see that game one too.
Yeah, the Fairy Godmother’s totally not this.
I don't know, I could see the Shrek franchise having a keeper. More than South Park, anyway.
Gotta love Jaws!
Ow, fuck I thought of Shrek The Third and I immediately got a pain in the head. I'm not even joking. I swear that film's cursed, man...
"For a second there, I mistook ya for a threat... but you're just a dirty little man!"
The Moron
Wow, that movie was shorter than I remembered, and it's suddenly much more manageable when you write as you go along.
Alright, I can safely say that this is my most unorthodox proposal so far - thanks to Trash for suggesting this. Today, I'll be discussing Puss in Boots.
What is the work?
...Do I really need to explain? Our favorite Spanish cat goes on an adventure, and one of his allies is Humpty Alexander Dumpty, an old friend of his.
Who is Humpty Alexander Dumpty?
When Puss was a young lad, he lived in an orphanage and quickly became good friends with one Humpty Dumpty, a fellow social outcast. They set a plan to find a set of three magic beans (a la Jack and the Beanstalk), but ultimately, they never succeeded. As they got older, they became pranksters, pulling pranks on the fellow orphans who had a tendency to bully them - but as they became teens (or at least when they start acting like teens, they're a cat and an egg), these "pranks" became outright crimes. During one of these crimes, Puss saved the mother of one of the guards, earning himself the respect of the town and leaving poor Humpty even further in the dust.
One night, Humpty wakes Puss up, claiming that he's gotten in debt with bad people and needs to get out of town, enlisting Puss's help to do so. Puss agrees, and helps him sneak to and over what he believes to be the town wall - but in reality is actually a bank wall, and Puss is now helping Humpty rob a bank. As they attempt to escape in a carriage, it falls off a bridge and the two fall out. While Humpty gets stuck on his back and can't get up, he begs Puss for help, but with Puss too nervous about getting caught, he flees and leaves Humpty behind. After he's arrested, Humpty craves revenge, and once he gets out, he sets out to take it.
Years later, Puss gets in an altercation with one Kitty Softpaws, the Catwoman of the tale. When he wins, he learns that she was hired by Humpty to locate and bring him in to talk. Humpty greets him as a brother, pretending that everything is water under the bridge because he found what they were looking for as kids - the magic beans, and they're held by outlaw couple Jack and Jill. Puss agrees to the journey, so the trio work together to steal the beans, plant them for the magic beanstalk, and steal the great treasure to be found; despite some hiccups thanks to Jack and Jill, they succeed at all three steps.
The treasure turns out to be a goose that lays golden eggs, and while they have to tiptoe around the Great Terror that guards it, Humpty manages to steal it and they flee the castle. However, as they're celebrating, Jack and Jill sneak up on them and knock them all out; when Puss wakes up, he's alone in the desert, with Kitty and Humpty nowhere to be found. He tracks Jack and Jill back to San Ricardo, and when he hears what he thinks is Humpty being killed, Puss rushes in - and discovers Humpty, Jack, Jill, and the other thugs they encountered opening champagne and celebrating.
At this point, Humpty reveals his plan was to bring Puss back to San Ricardo to get him arrested for the heist Humpty pulled in the past, getting revenge for being left on the bridge, plus he also gets to be the hero of the town and be filthy rich while he's at it. He succeeds, and Puss gets arrested - but while in prison with the Jack from the beanstalk tale, he learns a horrifying truth - the Great Terror is the mother of the Golden Goose, and she'll be willing to destroy the entire town to get her child back. With Kitty breaking him out of prison, she and Puss find Humpty, convincing him of the true danger when the Great Terror herself shows up and begins destroying the town.
Not wanting to outright destroy the town, Humpty teams up with Puss to get the Goose out of town and lead the Terror away, and despite Jack and Jill betraying them and attempting to take the Goose for themselves, they get the Goose in a carriage and begin to flee the town. On the same bridge Humpty was abandoned on before, the Terror attacks, and once the carriage falls, Humpty, the Goose, and Puss are all left hanging off of it. Realizing that Puss can't hold them both up but also can't bring himself to make the choice again, Humpty willingly lets go of the rope, falling to his death and revealing himself to be a golden egg inside.
Is he Magnificent?
His vengeance took years to plan and execute, requires manipulating literally everything around Puss's life to convince him to come along, and if the Great Terror hadn't turned out to be the Goose's mother (something he had no way to plan for), he would've come out of the story a filthy rich hero, having gotten complete vengeance on his oldest friend. He's an absolute mastermind, and I don't use that term lightly - so surprisingly enough for this franchise, he easily surpasses the bar. I mean, just watch his most iconic scene here, where he details how he's been in control of the situation this whole time. Even when he dies, he does so on his own terms with no regrets. A master manipulator and Chessmaster - easy yes.
Can he think on his feet?
He doesn't really need to, but it's there. The only complication in the plan is Jack and Jill's rebellion (as well as the Great Terror showing up), and for both of those developments he and Puss are able to work together to solve the problem and ultimately win. He ultimately dies, but it's through no fault of his own, and even his own death is a form of quick thinking - piecing together that it's either his life or San Ricardo, he makes the choice and lets himself fall.
Mitigating factors?
He's a bit of an Attention Whore, but it's not a massive part of his character. The adoration of the people of San Ricardo, otherwise known as the people who disregarded him before, is a good reward for him, but it's clear that his primary goal was revenge - the heaps of praise is just a nice bonus. I'm willing to argue that as much as he loves the positive reception, it's not to disqualifying levels.
Competition?
Pretty much nonexistent. Everyone in the film besides Puss himself is working on his orders, and Jack and Jill's little rebellion attempt lasts for maybe three minutes altogether. He's the essentially uncontested top dog.
Is he a bastard?
Even as a teenager, he has a rebellious and vengeful streak a mile wide and is willing to go through many hoops just to get revenge on Puss for something that was ultimately his own fault. He's willing to work with criminals and lie to his oldest friend, ultimately to have him arrested for crimes he didn't commit. Despite that, however, he ultimately doesn't want to see San Ricardo destroyed, puts that grudge aside in order to work with Puss to prevent it, and when the choice comes down to him or the Goose, he doesn't hesitate to let go of the rope. He's a vengeful manipulator willing to frame his oldest friend for his own crimes, but he ends up proving his own heart of gold, and through it all he manages to remain very sympathetic.
Final verdict?
A yes to one of the few characters whose deaths I've ever cried at - I was 12 at the time. What about you?
Edited by STARCRUSHER99 on Feb 27th 2021 at 12:23:47 PM
Happy yes!
The wifi here sucks
![[tup]](https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/Thumbs_up_emoticon_3268.png "[thumb up]"){kind=small}
to Humpty as well. The moment when the Great Terror picks him up when he’s a golden egg and carries him away is a very poignant moment too.
Haven’t seen The Campaign, but that’s another for Zach Galifianakis.
Edited by futuremoviewriter on Feb 27th 2021 at 9:17:45 AM
The Draftsman of Doom
Sure to Humpty.
Rawr.
Will read the EP tomorrow, but the MB in The Campaign is not Zach, it's Dylan McDermott.
You can only write so much in your forum signature. It's not fair that I want to write a piece of writing yet it will cut me off in the mid
![[up]](https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/smiles/arrow_up.png "[up]"){kind=icon}
Oh my mistake. Then it’s his first!
I’m wondering why now I thought that I saw his name in the Sandbox previously though when it clearly wasn’t...
Edited by futuremoviewriter on Feb 27th 2021 at 9:31:27 AM
to Humpty Dumpty
Humpty Dumpty.
Professor Gigachad
~~Futuremoviewriter Unless I missed something I was only able to find three.
- The Prince of Egypt: God (Ravok)
- Spirit: Stallion of the Cimarron: The Colonel of the U.S. Army leads the Calvary into the western frontier with the desire to move it forward in advancement. Capturing and having wild horses trained by the soldiers to be used for battle, the Colonel is enraged by Spirit's unfettered refusal to be broken and takes special interest in getting his men to do so while then attempting and nearly succeeding in doing it himself. The Colonel also leads a charge against the Lakota tribe that Native American Little Creek is part of, having previously detained Little Creek for theft and nearly kills Little Creek and his horse Rain in the chaos. Pursuing Spirit and Little Creek one final time until they escape across a gap between cliffs while also deducing their location based on the trail, the Colonel ultimately stops him men from shooting Spirit and then concedes defeat while giving Spirit an impressed and honorable nod.
- Sinbad: Legend of the Seven Seas: Eris, Goddess of Discord, steals the Book of Peace from the kingdom of Syracuse and frames Sinbad for the theft, causing his friend Prince Proteus to take his place on deaths row to allow Sinbad to retrieve the book. Eris sends numerous obstacles Sinbad's way that he and his crew only narrowly survive, before eventually revealing that she had stolen the book as part of a ploy to maneuver Proteus into Sinbad's place at execution, leaving Syracuse without an heir and causing the kingdom to fall to ruin. She tears Sinbad down and breaks him to the point that he truly believes her perception of him as a black-hearted liar is correct, and when Sinbad proves his heroism by going back to Syracuse to take Proteus' place, Eris stays true to her word and returns the book to him.
- Kung Fu Panda: Master Oogway is a wise old tortoise who founded the Jade Palace and current Furious Five for the purpose of protecting the Valley of Peace. Having turned from his conquering ways of the past following kindness he was shown, Oogway has trained Shifu and assembled the Furious Five from all corners of China, putting them through rigorous tests of physicality and character both to prove their worth. In the events of the first film, Oogway chooses the seemingly useless, untrainable Po to be the new Dragon Warrior, seeing a spark of potential in the panda that proves correct when Po defeats the powerful Tai Lung and becomes the new protector of the Valley of Peace. Oogway's choosing of Po is shown to be even more brilliant in the third film, in which it is revealed Oogway orchestrated Po reuniting with his supposedly dead panda tribe so he could learn Chi and stop Oogway's old rival Kai when he inevitably returned.
Western Animation
- Voltron: Legendary Defender
- Prince Lotor is the handsome, charismatic son of Zarkon and Honerva. Returning when his father is incapacitated, Lotor uses his charisma to win the Galra to his side and proves a deadly enemy of Voltron with his brilliance. Even when Zarkon awakens, Lotor changes gears to ally with Voltron, eventually killing his father and becoming the new head of Galra. Manipulating the Paladins, it is eventually revealed Lotor has preserved the Altean race, albeit while harvesting some for their Quintessence, leading to a massive confrontation. Despite his evil actions, even Allura acknowledges Lotor's good intent in the end, and he remains one of Voltron's most utterly brilliant and capable adversaries.
- Honerva, aka High Priestess Haggar, is Prince Lotor's mother and the ruthlessly capable force behind Zarkon's throne. Nearly eliminating Voltron and all of her opponents in one fell swoop during one gambit, upon regaining her memories, Honerva ends up manipulating the entire Altean colony founded by Lotor into her pawns by using their belief of Lotor as a savior. Using them to assist her in opening up the path to reality itself, Honerva intends to find a reality where she is happy with her husband and son, deciding the rest can burn, before realizing her errors and having a chance to fix it at cost of her life.
- Tales of Arcadia: Morgana, also known as the Pale Lady, Baba Yaga, and by many more names, was a young student of Merlin who despaired at her brother Arthur's persecution of magical beings. Falling to darkness when Arthur died, Morgana would manipulate legions over the ensuing centuries to advance her goals of world conquest, having the troll Angor Rot sell his soul to her to use him as her assassin. Upon returning to life in Wizards, Morgana later repents and joins the heroes to help defeat the evil Arcane Order and the resurrected Arthur, giving her life to destroy him when she realizes he is beyond saving while reconciling with her mentor Merlin and following him into the afterlife.
- She-Ra and the Princesses of Power: Double Trouble is an amoral, cheerful mercenary who delights in chaos. Effortlessly tricking Catra as an "audition", Double Trouble infiltrates the Princess Alliance to weaken them, playing all they find against one another to weaken the alliance. Upon being caught, Double Trouble simply switches sides and sabotages the Horde to escape punishment, even delivering a bout of "tough love" to make Catra realize her toxic personality before leaving after they decide they have had enough sport.
Live-Action Films
- The Peacemaker: Dušan Gavrić, a "human man" who eschews the usual stereotypes of the Middle Eastern Terrorists in the action genre, is a Serb who lost his entire family to the Yugoslav Wars and turns to extremism to make his pain known. Disillusioned by the fragmentation of his people and proudly affirming himself as "a Serb, a Croat and a Muslim," Gavrić condemns the West for supplying the weapons with which the wars were fought and the continued dehumanization of his people. Gavrić orchestrates a complex scheme to procure a nuke with General Aleksandr Kodoroff as his disposable courier. Gavrić exploits the fact he looks so inconspicuous to walk straight onto the UN headquarters in New York and plant the nuke in a backpack, and dies defiant to his murderers with his bomb intercepted mere seconds before the bomb can go off.
- MouseHunt: The Mouse is a sentient, mischievous animal who has made his home in a dilapidated mansion which it fiercely defends against new arrivals. When the Smuntz brothers move in after inheriting it from their late father and discover it to potentially be worth millions, the Mouse repeatedly and effortlessly outwits the Smuntz's efforts to kill it, even disposing of a psychotic cat and a seasoned exterminator whom it tortures into insanity. After the house is destroyed, it decides to make peace with the Smuntzes and helps them restore their father's string factory to produce cheese products.
- Small Soldiers: Major Chip Hazard is a charismatic, hammy toy soldier brought to life by a rogue AI chip who seeks to destroy the Gorgonites. Chip is a master at laying traps in order to capture or defeat the enemy and use various tactics such as using Allen's crush as a hostage to draw out the Gorgonites. Improvising weapons to knock out any adults or building new soldiers using his ingenuity, Chip constantly keeps the heroes on their toes as he comes very close to beating them on multiple occasions. Chip also has empathy and genuine care for his men and swears revenge for their defeat, hijacking a new army to do just that. Finally, Chip lays siege to Alan's house using various tactics like cutting the power to ensure their opportunities to escape are curtailed and using loud music to avoid the neighbors hearing the siege and interfering.
- Minority Report: Lamar Burgess is the director and founder of the Precrime program, which uses premonitions extracted from three telepathic humans to predict and prevent all murder within the Washington D.C. area. However, at the same time Burgess is cunning enough to have literally made a career out of faking out Precrime; first by disguising Anne Lively's murder as an "echo", then by disguising all three visions of Crow's death as brown balls by putting the plan in action while Anderton was at the office, ensuring that he would either be arrested immediately or run, so when Crow would be found with the Orgy of Evidence that could lead Anderton to murder him, it looked planned by Anderton. When Federal Agent Danny Witwer catches on to him, Burgess promptly murders him, knowing that the system being deactivated will allow him to get away with it. The only thing Burgess couldn't see coming was Anderton figuring out everything in time to tell it all to his wife, even if he wasn't free to act on the information himself. However, even when his plot is exposed and faced with the impossible choice of either killing Anderton and going to prison or letting him live and discredit Precrime, Burgess manages to go out on his own terms by killing himself instead.
- Road to Perdition: Michael Sullivan is a hitman in service of John Rooney. One of the most feared in the business who maintains a love for his family, Sullivan is betrayed by his boss's son Connor who sets him up for death and murders his wife Annie and son Peter. Alongside his surviving child Michael Jr., Sullivan goes on the run and seeks to erode the Rooney relationship with the Capones by targeting mob banks and stealing their money. Staying ahead of the Capones and Rooney killers alike, Sullivan eventually targets John Rooney directly, knowing his death will revoke Connor's protection permanently.
- Catch Me If You Can: Frank Abagnale Jr. is a born Con Man whose first relatively harmless scheme involved impersonating his French teacher, fooling the entire school for weeks. His later criminal actions consist of acquiring millions of dollars by writing fraudulent checks, sending out fake letters, and posing as air plane pilots, doctors, and lawyers, all to live a lavish lifestyle spent in expensive hotels, throwing parties, and sleeping with numerous women he seduces, as well as a high-class prostitute whom he tricks into paying him for the night spent with her. When the FBI's Financial Crimes unit starts pursuing him, Frank cleverly manages to avoid capture numerous times, such as performing a Bavarian Fire Drill that convinces FBI Agent Carl Hanratty that Frank is a Secret Service agent, and in his most audacious scheme, smuggling himself through an airport filled with FBI agents by recruiting a group of good-looking stewardesses to distract the men supposed to be watching out for him. Although the law ultimately catches up with him, Frank is a Lovable Rogue who is so good at what he does that he's able to elude the authorities for years and all before he was even 21.
- Collateral: The enigmatic, philosophical "Vincent" is a ruthless yet suave Professional Killer, tasked with eliminating witnesses to the crimes of drug lord Felix Reyes-Torrena. Bribing taxi driver Max Durocher to unwittingly assist him, Vincent has Max transport him while he murders his targets. Genuinely affable, Vincent respectfully listens to the story of a jazz club owner before offing him and visits Max's sick mother in the hospital, even bringing her flowers. Adapting when Max destroys the files on his targets, Vincent has Max retrieve a new copy from Felix, both keeping his anonymity and leading the police to mistakenly believe Max is him. Fatally wounded by Max while hunting his last target, Vincent chooses to calmly accept his fate, giving Max some parting words before passing.
- The Island: Albert Laurent is a very intelligent and skilled mercenary hired by the revolting Dr. Bernard Merrick to retrieve escaped clones Lincoln Six-Echo and Jordan Two-Delta. Suspecting and realizing Merrick uses the clones to harvest organs, Laurent only takes the job for both the pay and being a Consummate Professional. Tracking Lincoln and Jordan through tech implanted on Lincoln and then to LA through use of a credit card, Laurent and his people ambush a police convoy when the two are arrested and during an extended chase, death and destruction is chaotically caused. Killing sponsor Tom Lincoln thinking he's Lincoln, Laurent also recaptures Jordan so that her dying sponsor Sarah Jordan can be saved—only for Merrick to say she can't be saved and plan to harvest Jordan anyway. Having as a child suffered the same treatment the clones are enduring, Laurent defies Merrick by helping Lincoln and Jordan to set all the clones free and make sure Merrick's business is finally brought down in the end.
- Letters from Iwo Jima: General Tadamichi Kuribayashi is an experienced officer in the Imperial Japanese Army who firmly believes in the principle of My Country, Right or Wrong. As a worldly Officer and a Gentleman who unlike many of his colleagues has actually visited the United States, Kuribayashi is firmly aware of the awesome American industrial and military strength and consigns himself to defending the island of Iwo Jima in a Last Stand. Kuribayashi's defensive tactics by utilizing Mount Suribachi's cave network and forbidding his soldiers from killing themselves or engaging in suicide attacks ends up causing disproportionately high casualties among the invaders. Fatally wounded after Kuribayashi and his last men charge the Americans, he instructs a peasant soldier he befriended during the battle with hiding his body from the enemy. Despite fighting for a losing genocidal empire, Kuribayashi retains an astonishing sense of dignity and military cunning.
- Eagle Eye: The Autonomous Reconnaissance Intelligence Integration Analyst, more commonly known as ARIIA, is an AI super computer who monitors for threats against America. When her insistence on calling off an attack on a possible target based on bad intel not only goes ignored but proves correct, ARIIA takes the terrorist attacks caused as a result as indication that America is a threat to itself and that she must activate a hypothetical protocol called "Project Guillotine" to wipe out all 12 people in the line of succession so that Secretary of Defense George Callister, the only one who trusted her judgment, will lead the country in the right way. ARIIA also extorts and pulls the strings of both Jerry Shaw and Rachel Holloman to do everything she tells them while also manipulating electronic external factors all around them to help them escape and keep them in line and to also keep herself from being outsmarted too. ARIIA is shown to do this with several others as part of her grand scheme as well and eventually nearly succeeds in said plan to have Rachel’s young son Sam manipulated into triggering a signal that will set off a highly explosive crystal to take out the necessary targets.
And what do you know while I was looking another Dream Works character is being proposed?
Edited by Ordeaux26 on Sep 9th 2021 at 1:29:40 AM
CM Sandboxes, MB Sandboxes
to Humpty Dumpty. Funny how he's not even the first egg to be proposed today. ![[lol]](https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/lol2v12_4863.png "[lol]"){kind=small}
Perusing I'm going to concur the Professor looks like an incredibly easy keep, yet another Lupin type that fits so well here!