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
Yes to Magus and Robert. @43: We'll cross that bridge when the effortpost happens.
The only MB named Magus that I know is Magus from Chrono Trigger and now this guy.
![[up]](https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/smiles/arrow_up.png "[up]"){kind=icon}
Exactly. I was doing the “two nickels” joke.
Edited by PurpleEyedGuma on Jan 11th 2022 at 3:43:11 PM
I just rewatched a certain episode of Psych - Remember when I did Frank's EP and said that Juliet's brother was played by John Cena?
The Character
Ewan O'Hara (played by John Cena) is the older brother of Jules, who appears in an episode. I will not elaborate because you can't handle it. Yes, You Can't Handle This Episode
Jules calls him when the SBPD is investigating a military crime (a murder framed as a suicide). At that moment, Ewan - who does covert missions for the government - is in the middle of finishing a job, but he then tells her he's near Santa Barbara and can visit.
The next day at the station, the autopsy report comes in and it supports the murder theory. They go to the base to ask questions, and Ewan flashes his credentials to let the gang in. As the gang investigates, Ewan gets a call from his boss, who knows where he is and what he's doing, and tells him to "root out the bad seed on the base and cover it up". When Ewan hangs up, another private hands him a file on Starks, confirming that he was due to meet Felts on Monday. Ewan rips out the page and shreds it.
The next day, Ewan says he's sorry the file didn't turn up anything, and tells the gang that it might have been a suicide all along, and unfortunately he can't get them back on the base again. Shawn notices the torn out page on the file, and is suspicious of Ewan's sudden lack of desire to help. At the police station the next morning, Shawn confronts Ewan to help get him, Gus, and Jules back on the base, so they can tell which side he's really on. Ewan, takes them to the weapons depot, where they learn that Starks sometimes substituted for another soldier when he snuck off to meet his girlfriend. Starks must have seen something suspicious while working there.
Ewan gets another call from his boss, who asks for a progress update. Ewan tells him that Shawn is too good to slow down, so he will now let the psychic lead him to the target and take care of it from there.
That night, Shawn, Ewan and Gus stake out the weapons depot and sneak onto the back of a truck, which stops at a remote air strip. They catch Wallach selling weapons on the side, and they realize that this is what Starks saw - he was going to tell Felts but Wallach killed him to cover his tracks. Wallach spots them and takes off, as the buyers try to shoot them. Luckily, Ewan is able to get them all out alive.
Back at the base, Felts says he will track the stolen weapons and set up a manhunt for Wallach, but Ewan tells them he's got another assignment and will be unable to help. However, Shawn is still suspicious of Ewan due to his Face–Heel Turn in the middle of the investigation, and find him at the pier where, Wallach is tied up with a gun trained on him. Ewan tells Shawn and Gus to leave for their own good, but Jules and Lassie arrive and are forced to arrest Ewan. Later, as Jules and Lassie wait to meet Ewan as he is transferred to a different prison, they learn he is mysteriously no longer in custody.
He only makes one more appearance - in the movie, and it is a brief cameo where he wishes Shawn and Jules good luck.
Magnificence
His actions are mostly him following the orders of a mysterious figure, but I think he shows enough independence for this trope - when we first meet him, he is single-handedly evading two pursuers, and during the second phone call, he tells his boss that he will let Shawn do his Shawn thing so that he can find the "bad seed". He is also able to evade suspicion, and the only person who suspects that Ewan is not being 100% honest is Shawn.
Bastardry
His job is to prevent the army from getting bad publicity, and he puts that above everything else. He tampers with evidence so that the case can be dismissed as a simple open and shut suicide, and after Wallach is caught, Ewan goes behind the law to execute him.
However, he genuinely respects Shawn and cares for Jules. At the pier, he doesn't shoot Wallach while Shawn is standing right there, instead telling Shawn to leave. When Jules and Lassie show up to arrest him, he gracefully surrenders, even if he mysteriously disappears afterwards.
Edited by magnumtropus on Jan 11th 2022 at 2:05:45 PM
![[tup]](https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/Thumbs_up_emoticon_3268.png "[thumb up]"){kind=small}
Tommy, Saints, Duce, Brycen-Man, Army, Aliens, Magus, Robert and Ewan
![[tdown]](https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/Thumbs_down_emoticon_3571.png "[thumb down]"){kind=small}
Tao Wu and Loomis
Goku Black
Ewan, Magus and Robert Queen.
Showtime!
to Magus, Robert Queen, and Lewis
Yes to Magus, Robert Queen, and Lewis.
Like the last Psych candidate while he has it together, he's not on Shawn's level. Ewan.
Magus and Robert.
Who is Lewis?
Edited by jjjj2 on Jan 11th 2022 at 11:20:44 AM
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
Ultimate Moral Compass
Robert, Magus, definitely the aliens (had to watch that episode twice in college), and his name is John Cena!
Today I turn 24. Yay!
Before I spend the rest of my day celebrating and watching movies, I want to propose an candidate from a J-Sploitation movie I covered on the CM thread back in October.
What's the Work?
Female Prisoner Sigma is a 2006 J-Sploitation Women in Prison movie in the vein of the Female Prisoner Scorpion movies, but with a somewhat unique supernatural bent. That doesn't stop the film from being incredibly No Budget in just about every aspect.
Ryo Kanzaki is the new inmate in a deadly all-female prison, where her sister had supposedly killed herself. Not believing that story, Kanzaki decides to investigate herself, while doing what she can to go against the prison’s corrupt regime. But the more Kanzaki defies the guards and stands up for the prisoners, could Kanzaki actually be the fabled Sigma that will one day save the prisoners from their torment?
The answer should be obvious.
Who is She?
Sigma is the fabled legend known throughout the prison as the one who will save the prisoners from their torment. And wouldn’t you know it, she just so happens to take the form of Ryo Kanzaki.
What does she do?
A total blank who fabricated her backstory to get arrested for killing a guy who supposedly raped her sister, Kanzaki is revealed to have never even had a sister, or much of a life of her own for that matter. Kanzaki actually came to the prison to rid it of its evil, and sets out to do just that.
Allowing herself to be abused and tortured by the prison’s staff and warden in order to find out the truth behind the prison’s supernatural background, all while refusing to tell the Warden Shibayama the truth over why she really came to his prison, Kanzaki also blackmails some of the staff with sex in order to get them to do what she wants, and easily betrays them should they show signs of breaking their promises.
Kanzaki is even willing to use her new friends to get closer to the truth, such as when her prison mate Sanae is taken to the Special Housing Unit One to be eventually killed for a ritual; Kanzaki allows Shibayama to come close to performing the ritual on her (he gets as far as cutting her throat, which doesn’t kill her for some reason) before interrupting him.
After Shiba kills himself and his boss Saionji Shozo takes the mantle as the movie’s Big Bad, it looks to be curtains for Kanzaki, as Shozo starts to steal her soul… only for Kanzaki to spit out a hidden needle directly into the boil on Shozo’s forehead, which controls his powers. Yeah, she knew she'd get caught in a jam like that. As Shozo wonders who the hell Kanzaki really is, Kanzaki lets him know that she’s “Sigma... the rage of all the women driven into death", before stabbing him in the chest.
With Shozo and Shiba gone, the prison gets a total makeover, becoming a properly sound rehabilitation center where women can get proper punishment and treatment for their crimes. But Kanzaki has vanished from thin air, leaving her friends to wonder where she went. In truth, Sigma’s job is finished, and will move on to the next place where she can help poor women in need.
Is she charming? Intelligent? Able to think on her feet?
Sigma/Kanzaki is a woman on a mission. She’s able to make up a convincing backstory for herself to get inside, allow herself to be harmed, both physically and sexually, for the sake of gathering information, and even hides a needle inside of her mouth to spit it with such force that it penetrates a tiny forehead boil that she somehow knew was the secret to Shozo’s powers. If that last part doesn’t prove her to be skilled and clever, I don’t know what will.
Is she a bitch? Too much of one?
While her goals are altruistic, Kanzaki will resort to blackmail and manipulation in order to get what she wants, and like I said, she’s willing to allow her friends to be harmed as a means to get closer to her enemies.
The competition?
Every other villain is too vile, while the other prisoners are mainly victims for Kanzaki to save.
Verdict?
Keep
"No running in the halls!"
Showtime!
to Kanazaki
to Magus, Robert, and Kanzaki.
Hey so I got a candidate worth discussing from show I just finished watching. It's animated, it has "Park" in it’s name, but it ain't South Park...
It's Central Park!
What’s the Work?
Central Park is an American musical Animated Sitcom created by Loren Bouchard, Nora Smith, and Josh Gad. The story revolves around the Tillerman family, who lives in the titular park and are trying to save the park from Bitsy Brandenham, a business entrepreneur who wants to replace Central Park with a bunch of condos and retail space.
However Bitsy isnt the candidate I’ll be discussing but one of the people she encounters, from the episode, "The Shadow" which revolves around her hotel The Brandenham being robbed by a jewel thief, whose revealed to be Hank Zevansky
Who Is He? What Has He Done?
Hank Zevansky is an insurance claimer who use to be a police officer investigating a string of jewelry thefts orchestrated by the famous hotel thief “The Shadow” whose MO consisted of stealing jewelry from from the hotel’s guests rooms before crumpling a piece of newspaper into a little penises.
When Hank witness a young Bitsy something in the elevator, Hank puts two and two together, figuring out that Bitsy is the shadow whose been stealing from the hotel and making the little newspapers penises to spite her neglectful parents, especially her father who wanted Bitsy to be a boy.
However Hank was unable to find any evidence due to Bitsy bribing the bellhops into helping her, while the cops never suspected her because she was a girl, so Hank decides to close the case and move on with his life getting married and starting a family of his own, eventually retiring from the police force and becoming an insurance claimer.
Despite having moved on with his life, Hank wanted to confirm his suspicions on Bitsy being The Shadow, so he re-created the entire jewelry theft in the present day stealing a wealthy guest’s jewelry in her hotel room and even re-created Bitsy’s calling card.
Successfully pulling off The copycat heist, Hank tricks Bitsy into confessing that she is the Shadow by nagging her about the possibility of the Shadow return, eventually annoying her to the point where she confesses to Hank so he would be quiet.
Satisfied with his answer, Hank revealed to Bitsy that he always suspected her on being the Shadow, wanting to get an official confession out of Bitsy so that he would be completely sure that she was the jewelry thief and find close the chapter on his investigation for good. Showing respect for Bitsy’s skills, Hank decides not to report her to the police and instead leaves her alone parting on her on good terms with Bitsy, with the latter thanking Hank for being one of the first people to have noticed her.
Is He Intelligent? Is He Charismatic?
As a former cop turned insurance claimer, Hank is very intelligent using his deductive and observation skill to figure out Bitsy was the Jewelry thief while everyone else was unable to, before orchestrating his own jewelry heist and making it look like The Shadow has struck again, and uses this reenactment along with his persistence to manipulate Bitsy into confessing to Hank.
As for charisma Hank has a pretty laid back yet upbeat personality that makes him a very likable person. The fact that he’s able to win Bitsy’s respect, which no one else have been able to done so, really highlights his magnificence. The fact that he’s played by Henry Winkler really helps Hank.
What’s The Competition Like?
Hank is the most brilliant, charming, and dignified one-shot antagonist on the show so far, with only the Big Bad Bitsy coming close to Hank’s cunning. Unfortunately, Bitsy doesn’t really have a pleasant personality (blow raspberry’s at other people doesn’t help) and her arc is still going so, see’s a wait-and-see for the moment, while Hank is a one-shot with a pretty easygoing and polite personality so, he clears it hear.
Is He a Bastard? Is He Too Much of a Bastard
Well Hank did steal valuable jewelry from an innocent person, which Helen said was worth 600,000 dollars and does let the Big Bad get away with her crimes despite being fully capable of arresting Bitsy after he got his confession out of her so I’d say Hank is enough of a bastard to be considered.
That said Hank was never cruel or rude, nor did he ever shows any hatred nor resentment towards Bitsy instead showing genuine respect for her and impressed on the heists she pulled off, wanting confirmation that she was the thiefsimply out of curiosity on how she pulled off those heists and got away with them, before leaving her to her own life while he returns to his wife and kid, so yeah not too much of a bastard.
Final Verdict?
I’ll leave that to you guys to decide.
Edited by G-Editor on Jan 11th 2022 at 3:51:52 PM
for the Aliens, the Magus, Robert, Ewan, and Kanazaki.
Shin Megami Tensei IV
Sure to Ryo and Hank.
Goku Black
Sigma and Hank
The Unknown Unknown
Magus, Robert, Ewan, and Kanazaki.
She/Her
to Robert, Ewan, and Kanazaki
Hey guys don’t forget to vote on my candidate. So far only 2 have voted on him
Happy birthday Jackie
Edited by G-Editor on Jan 11th 2022 at 3:00:40 PM
Yes to Ewan, Kanzaki, and Hank. Happy birthday Jackie.
Likewise, HBD Jackie.
Wanna get this in, too, before another Twilight Zone:
Paul Maximilian Smecker.
Who is Paul Smecker?
A flamboyantly over the top FBI agent played by Willem Dafoe, Smecker is a genius special agent who can figure out almost any crime scene by examining the evidence. Meeting Connor and Murphy after their slaying of the Russians, Smecker cheerfully holds them overnight in a cell to keep them out of heat and away from mobs so they can be smuggled out...and is naturally quite suspicious when mobsters start turning up dead....that said, Smecker is able to analyze the three major crime scenes we see. In the Russian mobsters, Smecker discerns where the boys came in and deduces from the way the big boss was executed that he was the last to die...
Smecker gets more involved in the case nnd absolutely suspects the Macmanus bros and Rocco, leading to the iconic scene where he recreates their battle with Il Duce ("For a few seconds here, this place was armageddon. THERE WAS A FIRE FIGHT!") ....leading to being Entertainingly Wrong when officer Duffy asks "what if it was just one guy with six guns," prompting Smecker to say "leave the thinking to me, huh, genius?"
Either way, Smecker begins to believe the boys are righteous, realizing they'd never harm an innocent. Realizing the boys have been captured by the Yakavettas, Smecker disguises himself as a prostitute to get into the manor and liberate the boys...it goes quite well, except for Il Duce getting the drop on him (and saves his life, as Il Duce doesn't kill women)
Afterward? Smecker is working with the boys and gets them into the courthouse, arranging Papa Joe's assassination. Movie 2? Smecker is supposedly dead and his protege takes over...
Except the final scene? Smecker is very much alive and has gone underground to build a massive network of support for the Saints, preparing to liberate them from jail and ensure they take out way more bad guys...
Mitigating issues?
Dafoe is having a blast with the role of Smecker. Smecker is immensely memorable, funny, charismatic and intelligent who's known for being a brilliant crime solver. The only times he's wrong...well, it's not really his fault, who could tell Il Duce is a superhuman badass? Smecker's reaction is "...wait, it was one guy with six guns?" Before moving on. And hell, he's the one who makes the brothers' rampage against crime go way, way further.
Now, Smecker is a pretty...not nice guy? When in bed with another guy and trying to do a business call, he slaps the guy off him when he tries to c cuddle and tells him off with pretty nasty language. Smecker definitely invokes N-Word Privileges with slurs on gay people, but given he's gay and doesn't hide it remotely, it's definitely not bigotry. He's also quite sensitive to anyone else using it. He's also quite condescending to the task force members, thinking them total dimwits (which, to be fair, they are), even if at the end they become a weird sort of team and Smecker clearly likes and trusts them...but he's still betraying the law to arrange assassinations of people who deserve it. That's pretty damn bastardly
Conclusion?
Absolute yes.
Goku Black
Smecker
Yes to Smecker.
Yes to Robert, Sigma, Hank and a big on to Smecker!
Abstain on John Cena.
Now then, as Melinda mentioned and thinking it through Louie might be worth a post (though if he passes it's about as technical as you can get) but here's Willem Dafoe's foxy protege:
Who is Special Agent Bloom? What has she done?
Taking up the mantle after Smecker's (seeming) death between films, Eunice Bloom is an FBI agent and Saints devotee who matches her mentor for Sherlock Scan capabilities. To have fun, she screws with Smecker's friends on the force, pretending she's closing in on them for their affiliation with the Saints while really helping the brothers evade the law.
Throughout the film she goes from analyzing the crime scenes to helping the brothers—when she finally meets them—staging events to spin stories implicating other members of the mob and keeping the twins safe. Along the way she also lures out a cowardly mob boss to give them an inside edge, letting the brothers gain more footing as they dismantle the operation.
Ending the film as victorious as she began it, Bloom happens upon a very alive Smecker, annoyed at him tricking her, before reconciling and making plans to back the brothers even as they currently sit in jail, firmly devoted to seeing the justice they seek to bring flourish.
Actions and personality?
In terms of writing quality she's a bit of just a discount Smecker but she's every bit as analytical and tricky to see her brand of justice come through, pass here.
Mitigating factors?
Nope, she's the second film's Smecker.
Verdict?
Least interesting but a keep.
Goku Black
Agent Bloom
![[tup]](https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/Thumbs_up_emoticon_3268.png "[thumb up]")
to Magus and Robert.
NOISE IS CALLING, PICK UP PHONE