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
Have any Alex Rider characters been discussed as a potential MB? Is there anyone from the Books, Movie, or Series that might qualify?
Edited by magnumtropus on Dec 17th 2021 at 7:32:18 PM
![[tup]](https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/Thumbs_up_emoticon_3268.png "[thumb up]"){kind=small}
Paku, Hawkins, Priest and Powell
Based on the EP, to Powell. Also, Helen Mirren finally got her first MB! Yay!
Still gotta see that movie sometime. One of the final performances of the late, great Alan Rickman.
Before I forget… Sorry about your dad Interests. My dad was recently diagnosed with adult onset diabetes. Thankfully so long as he eats well he shouldn't die. Not trying to downplay anything but I know what it means to lose a loved one or have one get tremendously ill.
Yes to Powell, Priest, Paku, and Stephen Hawkins.
Hawkings is one of my biggest inspirations so I'm not making light of the dead.
Edited by Klavice on Dec 17th 2021 at 7:54:43 AM
Shin Megami Tensei IV
Is Eye in the Sky the Aaron Paul drone movie? If so, then Dame Helen Mirren has a from me.
to the Death Warrant duo, too. I love that movie.
Speaking of movies, I recently watched Streets of Fire. It's a classic Walter Hill movie with great performances by Michael Paré, Diane Lane, Amy Madigan, Rick Moranis (in one of his best serious roles), and of course, Willem Dafoe.
What's it about?
One night, during her performance, Ellen Aim is kidnapped by a gang of bikers known as The Bombers led by Raven. War veteran Tom Cody, Ellen's ex-boyfriend, returns to "the Richmond", a district in Chicago. Cody is hired by Billy Fish, Ellen's manager and boyfriend, to rescue Ellen, assisted by ex-soldier McCoy to rescue her from the Bombers, only for Tom to find that he has feelings for Ellen that need to be reconciled.
Who is Tom Cody? What has he done?
After getting a telegram from his sister, Reva, that Ellen had been kidnapped, Tom returns to Richmond. He meets his sister at her diner, only to be accosted by thugs which he makes short work of them, including throwing the leader out of the diner window. Tom gets word that Ellen's manager, her boyfriend Billy Fish, is willing to hire anyone to find her, and Tom accepts the deal, not before getting some weapons and being aided by ex-soldier McCoy to be his driver.
The trio arrives at the nightclub the Battery where Ellen is being kept hostage and Tom and McCoy go into the club, leaving Billy to guard the car. Tom, spotting Ellen in one of the rooms from a rooftop, fires upon the Bombers' motorcycles and using the distraction, he goes to Ellen's room. He cuts her off her bounds and knocks out her guard, escaping with her back to Billy. Tom tells his allies to meet him later and ends up shooting the remaining motorcycle's gas pumps, not before Raven spots him as he escapes.
Tom meets up with the three and ditches their car for it to be recognizable. As they traverse the city, Baby Doll, a fan of Ellen's, warns that the police are out for them and tags along. Tom highjacks a bus occupied by a group called The Sorels. While driving, they see a roadblock with cops. McCoy acts as their bus driver and Billy as manager, with him bribing the cops. But Tom deals with the cops by shooting up their roadblock.
Arriving back in Richmond, Tom is given his cut but throws it back at Billy's face. However, Ellen and Tom meet up and engage in a passionate night between the two. Tom is wared by Ed Price, the head of the police department, that Raven is looking for him and will arrive in the morning, guns blazing. Tom decides to skip town with Ellen and McCoy, but decides at the last moment, to go back, knocking Ellen out as a precaution. The following morning, Tom arrives back in Richmond where the Bombers are there, waiting for him. He and Raven have an awesome duel using sledgehammers and their fists with Tom coming out as the victor.
With Ellen safe and sound and having respect for Billy, seeing he tried to stand up to Raven, Tom leaves town with McCoy to their next adventure.
Actions and personality?
Tom is a soldier, pure and simple. He is a calculating marksman and an adaptive pragmatist when it comes to hand-to-hand combat. A lot of his actions is Shoot First, Ask Questions later mentality and it works for him given the setting has corrupt police officers that look the other way. That being said, he is also hired to do a job. But when Billy gives him the money, he only takes McCoy's cut rather than his. Most interestingly, the script had him stabbing Raven to death with his knife, but Walter Hill took that out to achieve its rating.
He loves Ellen for sure, having feelings for her even years later. He and his sister get along, as does McCoy and him, although Tom is a stubborn and detached person.
Mitigating factors?
Aside from being an asshole, not really.
Verdict?
Yes.
Tom Cody is a yes. Absolutely.
Tom, Powell.
Yes to Tom Cody.
Gotta love Jaws!
to Alek, Pakunoda, Hawkins, Priest, Powell and Cody.
Once again, thank you all and Klavice I really appreciate that in particular. I assure he's doing fine and both of them are handling it well. I'm sorry to hear about your dad's diagnosis as well.
"For a second there, I mistook ya for a threat... but you're just a dirty little man!"
Auron, Moxxi, Alek, Paku, Hawkins and Priest, Powell, and Tom.
![[tdown]](https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/Thumbs_down_emoticon_3571.png "[thumb down]"){kind=small}
SID.
Hope you stay safe, Interests! And I'm sorry for you dad, Klavice.
Yes to Cody and Powell.
Here's the second rewrite for the Warcraft page and this can be made quite a bit shorter. Tell me what you think.
- Onyxia is the Broodmother of the Black Dragonflight, tasked alongside her brother Nefarian by their father Deathwing to ensure their resurgence upon Azeroth. Infiltrating the Alliance after aiding her brother's conquering of Blackrock Spire, Onyxia, as "Lady Katrana Prestor", convinces Gilneas, Quel'Thalas and Strompike to abandon their faction in the wake of Thrall's rebellion. With the Alliance still standing, Onyxia drove up the debt of Stormwind through excessive military expansion, creating civil unrest and instigating riots through the nobility's inability to repay the Stonemason's for their work and the Stonemason's code of never compromising on demands. After the Queen died thanks to the riots, Onyxia manipulates the depressed King Varian Wyrnn into becoming her puppet and curses him to lose his courage years later when he begins taking more control of the government. Thanks to Onyxia's machinations, the weakened Stormwind's garrison is left unable to even deal with minor threats and even after the death of her cohort brother, Onyxia continued to drive an irreparable wedge between Stormwind and the Alliance and even after her death continues to be of use to Deathwing and the Old Gods, with many of the Old Gods' followers taking efforts to resurrect her well into the Fourth War.
- Onyxia is the Broodmother of the Black Dragonflight, tasked alongside her brother Nefarian by their father Deathwing to ensure their resurgence upon Azeroth. While her brother conquers Blackrock Spire, Onyxia infiltrates the Alliance as Lady Katrana Prestor and convinces many former allies to abandon the faction and further weakens Stormwind by causing the Stonemason's Guild to riot after refusing them payment for rebuilding the city. When the Queen is killed during the unrest, Lady Prestor turns the depressed King Varian into her puppet and later has him kidnapped to leave his young son in her care. The young Prince Anduin her figurehead, Onyxia further weaken mankind's armies from within while allowing her brother's forces to overrun the borders. Eventually found out and ousted by a returned Varian, she kidnaps his son while luring him and his allies into her trapped lair wherein Onyxia fights her slayers to the bitter end.
Based on the EP, to Tom.
With Powell's approval, all the Fast & Furious characters G and I were talking about eventually counting if or when circumstances called for it? Their actors now all have keepers for this! With Powell's approval, it also means that I don't feel pressured to do an EP now if I decide with a rewatch that Eve Tingle is worth it. I do want to rewatch that movie eventually. From memory though, she probably isn't.
Edited by futuremoviewriter on Dec 17th 2021 at 9:42:35 AM
Yes to Powell and Tom.
Classy, Refined, Unstable
Powell & Cody
First time using this thread, and I'm pitching a Complete Monster! Hope it doesn't end up being a disaster. Here goes...
What is the work?
The Legend of Spyro is the darker and edgier reboot of the Spyro franchise released as a trilogy within the mid 2000s. The games were much more combat based and story driven compared to the Excuse plots of the classic continuity. The Bastard I want to propose is the ultimate antagonist of the whole trilogy - Malefor.
Who is he?
Malefor is a purple dragon, the same as Spyro, a unfathomably powerful dragon who was noteworthy of being the first of his kind (although he claims otherwise.) Because of his uniqueness, he was seen as a figure to usher in a new age for dragonkind. While originally eagerly taught to master his elements, he got too ambitious and was therefore exiled for his lust of power. When exiled, Malefor embraced the darkness of the aether element which corrupted his physical appearance and voice but unlike others who lose control to the element, he still had self control over his actions.
What has he done - story wise?
After being exiled, Malefor sought out for an army to work for him and discovered the Apes, the main antagonistic faction for the first two games of the trilogy, and used them to utilise the gems which were the dragons lifeforce. From there, Malefor "ushered in a new age" but in a much darker direction, with him waging war on his kind, killing countless innocents and dampening the reputation of dragons. Due to his sheer malice, he ended up collapsing the earth around his lair to become a pit where lost souls would wander, himself being trapped. While his spirit was trapped, his essence was trapped in the Convexity ( a sort of air lock between realms.)
Despite being trapped, Malefor could still command his armies to do his deeds. Catching wind of a prophecy saying of another purple dragon to be born, Malefor sent his armies to the dragon temple to slaughter all of the baby dragons to make sure that the new-born would never come to be. Despite ordering them all to be slaughtered, Malefor had one dragon egg stolen to be able to help him be free from his prison.
Taking the egg back, Malefor used his dark magic to corrupt the hatchling (Cynder) into a ruthless monster and used her to lead his armies to capture the elder dragons and drain them of their magic to help open the portal to the convexity, freeing his essence. Despite the hero's best efforts Cynder was able to open the portal and free Malefor's essence, letting it back to the Well of Souls where his soul was residing.
With this, Malefor enacted his next plan to free him from his prison. With the night of eternal darkness approaching, Malefor had his armies capture to use Cynder as bait for Spyro, knowing that his good hearted nature and determination will lure him into the trap. When Spyro gets to the Well of Souls and fights Gaul, the eclipse happens and Spyro gets used as a vessel for Malefor to destroy Gaul and the Well of Souls, finally freeing him from his prison and now letting him continue his goals of ambition and leaving Spyro and Cynder to die in the collapsing mountain.
Finally free, Malefor "rewarded" the apes by condemning them to a fate worse than death since they had only served him for the power that would come with it than any true loyalty. Malefor then made a new army from the earth known as the Grublins, a much more competent army. From there, Malefor used dark magic to rip the dragon temple from the ground as a symbol of his dominance over the lands and waged war for 3 years, getting more successful with each battle.
Although his forces are seen throughout the third game, it's not until the dragon city that you can see how ruthless and relentless Malefor has got with his forces repeatedly laying siege on the city with all sort of weaponry. When his forces retreat despite having such a close victory, this was shown because Malefor had sent a golem to break into the city and go on a rampage.
When the golem gets defeated, Malefor finally has his first voice appearance, congratulating the hero's before showcasing his true plan, releasing a gigantic colossus golem called the Destroyer to create a belt of fire to annihilate the whole planet in flames. Knowing that they couldn't catch up to the beast, the hero's devised of a plan to ambush the creature when it loops back, while not letting Malefor know the city is unguarded. Despite destroying the creatures heart, effectively killing it, it's shown that Malefor had used ddark magic within his lair to keep the Destroyer alive as a contingency plan in case the hero's had ambushed it, allowing it to continue it's journey to finish the belt of fire. With time running out, the hero's had their allies guide innocents to the deep caves to escape the inferno while heading to Malefor's lair to confront him to stop the Destroyer.
When the hero's finally get to Malefor's lair, Malefor delivers a massive breaking speech to the hero's, revealing how all of their actions had willingly or not, helped him achieve his goals and that Spyro has helped "carry the flame" to usher in a new age, one being of destruction. With her mental strength weakening, Malefor corrupted Cynder to attack Spyro, knowing he wouldn't fight her back, while still delivering the speech. Spyro managed to shake Cynder free of Malefor's control through "the power of love". With this happening, the one thing he couldn't control, Malefor showed frustration for the first time in the whole trilogy and initiates the final battle. After the first phase, it's shown that the Destroyer had finished it's journey and started the annihilation of the planet. After two more phases, with Malefor merely shrugging off the hero's attacks he meets his end when the dragon ancestors drag him into the earth's core? (It's a bit ambiguous that bit to be honest.)
Magnificence?
Everyone in the trilogy were mere pawns to Malefor's goals. Even when he encountered problems he work around them. Purple dragon prophesied to stop you? Use his emotional weakness to lure him into a trap and help you set him free. Knowing your army's not truly loyal? Use them to free you and dispose them and create your own more loyal competent army. There's only two incidents that Malefor had that weren't under his control: Spyro breaking Cynder free at his lair, and his confusion before his demise. His "villainous breakdown" consists of an annoyed grunt before initiating the final fight and even then, he still managed to let the Destroyer complete it's path. Cowardice is practically null with Malefor as he's shown never fleeing or being afraid when warring against his enemies.
Bastard?
This is the main issue, because Malefor is a bastard, a proper bastard, a Complete Monster even! Despite this, I don't think it hurts him too much because of how much of a competent and ruthless he is with his goals with every one of his actions furthering him and his plans.
Competition?
In the trilogy? Like I said, everyone was a pawn to Malefor's goals and only one moment caught him off guard. The whole franchise? The only villains that have been deemed a MB are some from the Skylander's series and they're affable at worst with two even redeeming themselves. The villains from the original continuity are either too ineffectual or flat in terms of scheming elaborate plans for their goals and usually never had a backup plan when Spyro interfered.
Final verdict?
I'd like to think a but what do you guys think?
Lizzid people!
Leaning towards no what with the egg smashing and then the Great Cleansing.
Professor Gigachad
I know that crossovers can happen but with all the crap Malefor does I am going with a .
Killing countless literal infants and corrupting another, “thanking” subordinates with a fate worse than death, and desiring to destroy all life in horrific ways, all just to assert dominance? Malefor’s way too bad.
Crossovers are always a hard sell, and I'm agreeing with the general consensus of no here.
I've actually been thinking about proposing one of my Dungeons & Dragons MB candidates as a potential CM, but not sure if he quite hits the heinous standard.
Think you're tough because you made it through Lord of the Rings? Real men survive The Silmarillion.
Powell, Cody
Malefor
CM crossovers are a very tricky balancing process of being both awful and respectable enough. Merely being a smart CM isn't enough, you have to avoid the really disgusting crimes. For this guy he's got killing babies and condemning apes to a Fate Worse than Death, way too horrible to be magnificent.
Edited by Snowy66 on Dec 18th 2021 at 6:24:36 AM
yeah Malefor seems too bad to him
Hey guys so I may have character worth discussing from Eye in the Sky so lets talk about it
What’s The Work?
Eye in The Sky is a British thriller film released in 2015. The premise is the film explores the ethical challenges of drone warfare by focusing on the debate about a drone strike to take out a group of terrorists in Nairobi, Kenya, and the potential collateral damaged that may bring which leads the the actions of his woman, Colonel Katherine Powell.
Who Is She? What Has She Done?
Colonel Katherine Powell is a UK military intelligence officer whose been leading a sting operation in Nairobi, Kenya spying on three of the ten highest-level leaders of the terrorist organization Al-Shabaab for a mission to capture them.
Through her spies and Arial surveillance technology, Powell is able to uncover a sinister plot where the Al-Shabaab leaders plan to have two recruits become suicide bombers having them kill many people in the region. In hopes of stopping Al-Shabaab from carrying out their destructive mission Powell changes the order from capturing the leaders to kill them by having a drone launch a hellfire missile.
Of course she would have to many face obstacles before she can go through her plan due to many political and ethical issue regarding collateral damage and innocent casualties. However she was able to convince the politicians, the UK and US leaders that the potential collateral damage and casualties that might happen as a result of the drone strike to worth it to stop a Al-Shabaab from killing 80+ people with their suicide bombers.
As she connects to the US military and orders drone pilot Steve Watts to launch a hellfire missile, a little girl, Alia Mo’Allim, shows up near Al-Shabaab’s hideout and sells bread. Watts refuses to launch the missile until the girl leaves and demands Powell to re-assess the percentage of risk potential casualties.
Powell would learning the percentage range of the girl dying from the potential drone strike would be 45-65%. However Powell only mentions the lowest possible percentage (45%) to get clearance to have the drone missile launch. Once she gets her clearance Powell order Watts to launch the missile which leads to the Al-Shabaab members in the house getting and graveling injuring the girl.
However Powell notices that one of the leaders is still alive where she orders Watts to launch another missile to leading to the another arial explosion that definitely kills her. Through Powells planning and actions, she was able to kill multiple high ranked terrorist and foil their suicide bombing mission to kill nearly a hundred people, but comes at an emotional cost as the girl caught in the missile explosion succumbs to her wounds and dies.
Is She Intelligent? Is She Charismatic?
As a colonel of the UK military Powell is utterly brilliant, using her brilliance and orchestrate a sting operation in Kenya, spying on them without the leaders ever noticing before taking the initiative to launch a drone strike to kill the leaders and prevent their plan come to fruition while saving many lives in the process.
For charisma, Helen Mirren steals the show with her commandeering personality where she goes through many lengths to convince both the UK and US government to launch a drone strike to foil a terrorist plans regardless of innocent casualties possibly happen and eventually resorts to manipulation by only telling them about the lowest possible collateral casualty percentage (45%) to get permission to launch the hellfire missile. In the end its through her intelligence and charisma that she gets what she wants.
What’s The Competition Like?
Powell is the most brilliant, charismatic, and morally flexible character in the film with all of the military personnel being either her subordinate, her pawn, or a Obstructive Bureaucrat that she finds a way to outsmart.
The terrorist leaders don't count since they are too disposable with their plan of having two teens blow themselves up to kill 80+ innocent people, while Jama Farah, though smart and likable, doesn’t do anything considered bastardly enough, so yeah Powell wins this here.
Is She a Bitch? Is She Too Much of a Bitch?
Powell was willing to risk innocent casualties and collateral damage to kill off the terrorist, orders Watts to launch the missile strike that eventually kills an innocent girl and other potential innocence before ordering him to launch another missile attack upon seeing one of the leaders survive which leads to more collateral damage, so yeah she’s a bitch.
That said she does justify her action by saying that the collateral damage was necessary to kill off three very dangerous terrorists and prevent their plan to kill 80+ innocent people, doesn’t commit any cruel or petty acts nor doesn’t take any joy in having a innocent child get killed to ensure that she foils a terrorists plot, so yeah not too much as a bitch.
Final Verdict
I will leave it up to you guys.
Edited by G-Editor on Dec 17th 2021 at 7:02:35 AM