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:
Previous post
IMPORTANT: To avoid a holler to the mods, please see here for the earliest date a work can be discussed, (usually two weeks from the US release), as well as who's reserved discussion.
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
miraculous
Goku Black
(Apprentice)
Goku Black
#7427: Feb 18th 2019 at 9:59:12 PM
![[tup]](https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/Thumbs_up_emoticon_3268.png "[thumb up]"){kind=small}
wang
#7428: Feb 18th 2019 at 10:09:30 PM
to Wang.
Finally we've got some action in the MB forum. It's been to empty here and hope there will be more effort posts to come, let's reach 300 pages people!
#7429: Feb 18th 2019 at 11:39:35 PM
While as I just make my Index CM post and remind myself how much I love the series. I also remember the MB I'm keeping my eye will, alas, not be kosher for EP for a loooooooong time 
#7430: Feb 19th 2019 at 1:29:29 AM
![[up]](https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/smiles/arrow_up.png "[up]"){kind=icon}
Also we don’t have folders for the Live-Action-TV MB page
Edited by G-Editor on Feb 18th 2019 at 11:29:57 PM
Morgenthaler
Since: Feb, 2016
#7431: Feb 19th 2019 at 1:47:37 AM
- Lifeforce: Space Girl is an intelligent alien predator whose kind feasts on human souls for nourishment. Assuming the form of a nubile young woman after probing the minds of the Churchill crew, she seduces Lt. Carlson to pilot the ship back to Earth while feeding on the rest of his crew. Once released on Earth, Space Girl leaves a trail of dead while staying several steps ahead of the heroes at every turn, leading them on a wild goose chase throughout lower England in an attempt to track down her current host body before she unleashes a Zombie Apocalypse upon London with her two male vampire consorts, decapitating the government before it can marshal an effective response by infecting the Prime Minister. At the end, she offers Carlson a chance to rule by her side, and even after Carlson sacrifices himself to stop her, she still succeeds at her plan anyway and repowers her spaceship with the souls of her many victims.
- Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas: Mike Toreno is an enigmatic government agent who engages in several illegal ventures to further US interests. Originally running the Loco syndicate to traffic drugs into Los Santos, Toreno fakes his death before revealing his true allegiances to Carl "CJ" Johnson, forcing the reluctant criminal to assist Toreno in running black ops against enemies of the state and rival agencies. Toreno has CJ engage in missions such as boarding a cargo plane during take-off and bombing it in mid-flight, stealing an experimental jetpack from a research base to attack a military train convoy, and infiltrating an aircraft carrier to steal a Harrier Jump Jet and assassinate protected targets elsewhere in the state. A witty and affable man through and through despite his shady nature, Toreno ultimately keeps his promise to release Carl's brother Sweet from prison by calling in some favors.
- Mean Guns: Vincent Moon is a devious crime lord who has gathered a hundred criminals working for The Syndicate inside a newly built prison under false pretenses of holding a conference to discuss business, then exposing their duplicity and force them all to kill each other within a six-hour window with the promise of ten millon dollars to be split among the last three survivors. Moon himself effortlessly dispatches several criminals before retiring to a surveillance room to monitor the action while amusing himself with private games of chess. At the end, Moon organizes a four-way Quick Draw with the last three people left standing, only to remove the bullets from Lou's gun beforehand so Marcus will shoot him. Moon concedes that the Syndicate is planning on nobody leaving the prison alive, with Moon not caring one way or the other if he walks out the real victor or goes out in a Dying Moment of Awesome. Stylish, charismatic, and ruthless in equal measure, Moon establishes his bona fides as a master of organized crime.
lrrose
Since: Jul, 2009
11111001011
Since: Dec, 2018
#7434: Feb 19th 2019 at 1:04:31 PM
As per G's point:
MagnificentBastard.Live Action TV:
open/close all folders
A - G
- Alphas: Well-Intentioned Extremist Stanton Parrish breaks out all but two inmates of Building Seven, without anybody but the main characters knowing he's involved. He has a lady hypnotize and brainwash anyone in his organization down to the lowest minion to ensure complete loyalty. He lectures the stupid guards as he escapes from custody, and then almost steals psychic's powers. He's had his counterpart's daughter spying for him since before he even knew he existed. And when people finally become aware of his existence, after they foiled a terrorist attack of his that would have murdered an entire city? He hijacks the counter-measures the heroes put in place, and manipulate it so that by defending themselves he can launch an attack that would kill the entire country for what he feels is for the ultimate benefit of the greater good.
- American Horror Story: Cult: Ally Mayfair-Richards was initially The Paranoiac, but would become much more fearless and conniving. After being released from a psychiatric ward she would soon seek vengeance on Kai Anderson and his cult for tormenting her. She integrated herself into the cult where she manipulated Kai into killing his sibblings and his most loyal followers on the pretense that they were turning against him; Ally also kills her own wife for joining Kai's cult, partaking in her torment and taking her son away from her. She would then have the FBI raid Kai's hideout completely dismantling his cult and arresting Kai. Decided to steal Kai's plan to run for a seat in the Senate, Ally would then arrange Kai's escape from prison, only to have him publicly humiliated on live-television before having him killed. Winning a seat in the Senate and later starting her own cult, Ally Mayfair-Richard undoubtedly proves that there is something more dangerous in this world than a humiliated man: a nasty woman.
- Angel: Daniel Holtz was once a great force for good, a heroic vampire hunter whose family was destroyed by Angelus and Darla. Succumbing to vengeance, Holtz allows himself to be taken to 20th century LA where he builds an army of fanatics from those who have lost loved ones to vampires to use and manipulate, before focusing on how best to make Angel suffer. Holtz sees Angel's newborn son and manipulates Wesley into kidnapping the child before stealing the baby Connor away, intending to raise Connor himself far from Angel. When caught, Holtz elects to dive into the worst demon dimension with Connor, but survives and raises the boy there, later returning, seemingly at peace with Angel. Pulling off his final masterstroke, Holtz has himself murdered in a way to simulate a vampire attack, framing Angel to Connor so Connor will try to destroy Angel himself. Consumed by revenge and showing how far a true force for righteousness can fall, Holtz did more damage to Angel than even demons and gods have managed.
- Arrowverse:
- Arrow:
- Slade Wilson AKA Deathstroke introduced himself as The Man Behind the Man to Brother Blood, who was conducting illegal experiments to raise an army of super-soldiers to take over Starling City. He then kidnaps Oliver's sister and reveals her true parentage to her, all in order to cause confusion among the Queen family while he frees all the inmates imprisoned by the Arrow for his super soldier army. He even had Isabel Rochev usurp Oliver's company so that he could use it for his plans, all of it just to make Oliver suffer. By the time Oliver/the Arrow realised the full nature of his plans, he had already set his army upon Starling City. His biggest mistake was that he underestimated Oliver's allies since he was mainly focused on making him suffer more than anything else.
- Adrian Chase/Prometheus. He's been ten steps ahead of Oliver from the moment he made his presence known. Having dedicated his entire existence to ruining the hero's life, Chase plays Oliver and Team Arrow like chess pieces all season long. He never once breaks character and remains dedicated to his purpose of destroying Oliver to the bitter end, even killing his own Morality Pet to prove the point. He manipulates Oliver into killing Billy Malone by baiting him into shooting the detective by putting him into a Prometheus costume. He also makes Oliver declare the Green Arrow, his own superhero alter-ego, a public criminal. He also captures and tortures Oliver, breaking him so bad that Oliver lost his will to continue being a vigilante. He also conditions Oliver into believing that he kills because he enjoys it and that he's as much of a monster as Chase was. For his grand plan, Chase has everyone close to Oliver kidnapped, including Oliver's son, and takes them all to Lian Yu. He then threatens the life of his son and gives Oliver a Sadistic Choice: save his son or save his friends, as Chase was hooked up to a Dead Man's Switch which would cause the island to explode along with Oliver's friends. Oliver must choose to either kill Chase which would kill all his friends, or let Chase kill his son. When Oliver tries to Take a Third Option and knock aside his nemesis, Chase has none of it and proceeds to kill himself as one final screw you to Oliver, where the island proceeds to blow up.
- The Flash (2014): Clifford DeVoe/The Thinker, the Big Bad of season 4, might be the biggest Chessmaster in the entire Arrowverse, executing complex plans years in the making. DeVoe plays all of Team Flash like chess pieces, having anticipated their every move and a plan in play for every situation, all while keeping a polite but vicious demeanor. DeVoe plans a complicated gambit by tricking Team Flash into accidentally creating a dozen metahumans, whom he then kills to acquire their powers of for his master plan: "The Enlightenment", where satellites will be used to drain the intelligence of all of humanity so he can re-educate them under his rule. Every time Team Flash have an idea to beat him, turns out it had been anticipated by DeVoe and he had been counting on them doing exactly what they do. Even on the off chance he comes across something he didn't anticipate, DeVoe can quickly adapt and devise a countermeasure on the spot. In the end, even when defeated DeVoe uses a switch to attempt to destroy Central City as a final act of defiance and faces his later death with dignity, knowing that he ultimately came within inches of succeeding.
- Supergirl (2015): Season 2's Alex gives us Rick Malverne, a former classmate of the Danvers sisters who bored witness to Kara surviving a horrific accident and using her powers to save people. Remembering this, Rick pieces together her past identity once Kara publicly reveals herself as "Supergirl" to National City. Taking the opportunity to free his criminal father from prison, Rick kidnaps Alex and places her in a glass cage, located in a building laced with lead to deter Kara, while slowly filling it with water. Giving Kara and her friends 36 hours to either free his father or watch Alex drown. After being apprehended, Rick remains calm and sees through J'onn's attempt to shape-shift into his father, failing to trick Rick. Even when his plan is foiled when his father reveals the location of his trap, Rick graciously congratulates Alex for surviving his trap and accepts his imprisonment without malice.
- Arrow:
- Ash vs. Evil Dead: The 1980s Ruby is one who never had the present day's Heel–Face Turn. Doing away with her demon husband Baal to be free of him when he loses his duel with Ash, Ruby births a demon spawn of her and Ash so she can subvert Ash's chosen one prophecy. Becoming a guidance counselor to turn Ash's long lost daughter Brandy against her, Ruby uses her child to kill others to frame Ash so she can make him the savior of humanity and keep her fellow Dark Ones sealed so she may rule the world and keep a tight lidded control on the forces of evil, while also using her friend Kaya as a mole in Ash's team. Even when defeated and left to the mercy of the Dark Ones, Ruby goes out defiant to the end, vowing that Ash will destroy them in turn.
- Attila: Flavius Aetius is a Roman general and strategist whose patriotism is matched only by his cunning and charisma. Released by Emperor Valentinian's mother Placidia from prison to fight their enemies, he implicates Placidia in an assassination that Aetius foils to isolate her from the emperor. To deal with the Visigoths and the Huns, Aetius desecrates Hunnic corpses and makes the Visigoths look responsible to forge an alliance with the Huns, and takes Attila to Rome to impress the young prince with its splendor. After Attila, now king, builds up the Hunnic Empire and turns on the Romans, Aetius orchestrates a plot to assassinate Attila by convincing a slave girl with a grudge against the Huns to seduce Attila and kill him on their wedding night. Even when Aetius is forced to sacrifice his daughter for the good of Rome, he ensures that the man who took her from him, King Theodoric, will be killed in the final battle against the Huns. Aetius returns to Rome in triumph, and his murder at the hands of the emperor signals the final nail in the coffin for the once mighty empire, for there were no more men capable of defending it.
- Babylon 5:
- Alfred Bester is a charming psychic operative who combines ruthless scheming with an infuriating charisma that drives the heroes crazy even as they are forced to respect his skill. Bester can do this even when his telepathic powers have been removed, frequently arriving on Babylon 5 and twisting events to suit his purposes or the purpose of the Psi-Corps. In one such instance, Bester tricks a prisoner by claiming he can read his mind, even when Bester has been blocked from doing so, relying on bluffs and gambits to get the information he desires when he simply suspected the prisoner must be lying. Bester frequently enacts daring schemes either for the benefit of the Corps or himself, only breaking from his self-serving nature when the woman he loves is threatened by the Shadows, stating that it has made Babylon 5's war his own
- Londo Mollari, despite his buffoonish exterior, steadily grows into true magnificence. In one famous instance, Londo blackmails his rival, the monstrous Antono Refa into helping him because "Because I have asked you. Because your sense of duty to our people should override any personal ambition. And because I have poisoned your drink." He goes on to describe how the poison comes in two parts, one of which was in Refa's drink. If he does not comply, one of Londo's agents in the Royal Court will introduce him to the second half of the poison. Londo proceeds to create a plan to rescue the Centauri from their mad Emperor Cartagia and later arranges a plan to lure Refa to his death at the hands of Narns when Londo believes Refa murdered the love of Londo's life. For this, Londo simply tells the truth about Refa's horrific crimes and vows to free Narn prisoners in exchange for the Narns murdering Refa. Londo later even manages to outwit the Shadows and their servant Morden, blowing up an entire island to wipe out the Shadow presence on Centauri, even ascending to the throne himself. even when the Drakh think Londo defeated and broken, he works against them to ensure the freedom of Centauri, even at the end when it costs his own life with his once greatest enemy turned best friend G'kar of Narn.
- Black Sails:
- John Silver starts off as a selfish Opportunistic Bastard, but would soon become more brave and daring, while still keeping his sly charm. Originally, just a cook in Captain James Flint's crew, he soon rise up to the ranks to become Flint's right hand man by burning the schedule Flint dearly wants, forcing Flint to trust Silver in finding the Urca gold. Upon finding the treasure, they would soon be captured by a Spanish Man-O-War, where Silver proceeds to elicit conflict within the crew, allowing Flint to commandeer the ship. Arriving at Nassau, Silver has Jack Rackham's crew salvage the gold for him while Flint goes to war with Charles Vane, and teams up with the latter to rescue Flint in Charlestown. Becoming stranded on an island with the Maroons, Silver brokers an alliance with the Maroons and the Pirates against the British Empire, and has one his own men "defect" to the British forces led by Benjamin Hornigold to lure them into a trap leading to their decimation. Taking the moniker "Long" John Silver, he would grow a reputation that exceeds even that of Flint's, eventually removing Flint from piracy by reuniting him with his lover, Thomas, while Silver ends the war that Flint once started.
- Charles Vane is a bold pirate who once helped to overthrow his mentor Blackbeard. In present, after being deposed by his crew, Vane returns to seize control again and dedicates himself to the freedom of Nassau. When his old flame, Eleanor, is threatened by the sadistic Ned Low, Vane outwits, traps and murders him before nailing his head to a post with a sign reading "I angered Charles Vane." Vane also organizes the sack of a city when it seeks to execute him to save himself and Flint, before helping to organize Nassau's defenses. Even in death, Vane allows himself to be hanged to inspire Nassau to rebellion, reminding the crowd that the British are not as numerous as the islanders and "they can't hang us all" before ordering the hangman to get on with it.
- Vane's former right hand man, Jack Rackham, comes from the bottom to organize a new crew and pirate venture, stealing a fortune of gold out from under the noses of every other player. After the death of Vane, Rackham helps to organize some of the most devastating defeats of the British, and when he finally helps to defeat his nemesis, Woodes Rogers, Rackham on a plan to destroy him by having Rogers' debts purchased and defaulted upon, writing all his failures into a public ledger as Rogers is forced to hear his once-promising future destroyed. Rackham ends the series still secretly a pirate, setting sail for adventure anew with his beloved Anne Bonney at his side.
- Blackadder: The third Blackadder, Edmund Blackadder, is the butler to the idiotic Prince George of Regency England. A roguish cheat who constantly scams money out of his employer, Blackadder is also left with the task of running the country, manipulating the election of his completely idiotic sidekick Baldrick to the House of Commons to vote down a measure harmful to the prince by setting up a Rotten Borough and taking over the position as the only voter as well as the supervisor of elections by murdering his predecessors. When a bet is made for him to one-up the Scarlet Pimpernel, he simply opts to head down to a coffee house and find an aristocrat at the French embassy. When the real Scarlet Pimpernel is about to reveal his treachery, Blackadder promptly murders him and wins a great award from Prince George by claiming to be the true Scarlet Pimpernel. Even in the finale, Blackadder sees Prince George dead when they've switched identities and takes the chance to claim to be the real prince to the insane King George III, gleefully ascending to the throne of England several years later.
- The Blacklist: Raymond "Red" Reddington starts the show by turning himself over to the FBI to assist them in taking down a supposedly-dead terrorist, who is just the first out of many in the eponymous Blacklist. He follows that up by constantly manipulating the Feds and criminals to pursue his own agendas. Raymond goes against the worst criminals in the world, constantly outplaying them and leading them to ruin while working towards his own master plan, using others as bait or pawns in his schemes. In one famous incident, he outwits human trafficker Floriana Campo and leaves her poisoned out of his revulsion towards her business, but not before destroying her good name and watching her beg for her life. Despite his ruthlessness, Raymond truly respects those who work for him and cares greatly about series heroine and FBI agent Elizabeth. A man with nerves of steel, Reddington rarely ever loses his temper or composure, frequently playing cop and criminal for his own mysterious ends.
- Boardwalk Empire: Charlie "Lucky" Luciano and his best friend Meyer Lansky spend the first four seasons learning at the sides of the greatest mobsters of the age and put their lessons into ruthless practice in season 5. Luciano has his former mentor and boss Joe Masseria assassinated after manipulating him to his death, seizing control of his outfits and having his rivals killed. Luciano and Lansky proceed to force the other mobsters to submit to them or convince them it is in their best interest to give in and 'partner' with them before forcing Nucky Thompson's capitulation by kidnapping his nephew to use as leverage. Realizing that the criminal Valentine Narcisse may also prove a problem, Luciano and Lansky allow him to think he is safe for a time before having him publicly assassinated, ending the season as the dominant masters of organized crime, sitting down to do business with a new coalition of their making.
- Breaking Bad: Gustavo "Gus" Fring once lost his best friend Max to the ruthless Hector Salamanca and Don Eladio. Building a drug empire with his own connections, wits and intellect, Gus launches a crusade for revenge, slowly bringing the Salamanca family to ruin and tormenting the now invalid Hector in his nursing home over it. Gus controls the meth trade with an iron fist, frequently seeing through Walter "Walt" White's plans and rendering Walt as helpless before him more than once. Upon returning to Mexico, Gus destroys Don Eladio's cartel in one swift move before returning to the US in triumph. Even after his death, the empire Gus has built endures and only Walt's incompetence manages to destroy it. A suave, sophisticated, even friendly seeming man, Gus repeatedly shows why he is the true master in the game the others are playing.
- Brimstone: The Devil himself is the one who manipulates The Hero, Zeke Stone, into going to earth to reclaim 113 damned souls who fled hell, holding out the promise of a new hope of heaven over Stone's head. Throughout the series, the Devil is charming, witty and sarcastic, constantly monitoring events and arranging things to have Zeke return his quarry to hell while demonstrating a frightening amount of insight, while always teasing Zeke and pushing him to do his job. While playing Zeke constantly, the Devil 's main interest is keeping the status quo, while always willing to welcome the new damned souls into his domain.
- Bron|Broen: The Truth Terrorist, real name Sebastian Sandstrod, the Big Bad of season 1 is an athletic and military-trained but also well-dressed and charismatic Serial Killer who wants to bring attention to social problems. To do this, the Terrorist starts killing them, giving the issue more attention than ever. Having five children kidnapped and placed inside a locked room, the Terrorist wants to bring attention to child labor by giving a demand that people will have to burn down the offices of five companies using it, everytime it happens he spares one child each, and doesn't back out of the deal once they do as he says. Placing Hennig, an officer committing misconduct which lead to a man's death in the basement of said man's brother, the Terrorist tries framing the brother for the murder by having him torture Hennig. With his true goal being revealed to get vengeance on Martin Rohde for cheating on Sandstrod's wife before she along with their son died, Sandstrod, then named Jens Hansen and the best policeman around, now wants revenge on Rohde for ruining his life. He does this by having Rohde's eldest son August build a good relationship with his father by putting them through life-threatening situations, only to later kill him, just so that it would hurt more.
- Brooklyn Nine-Nine: Doug Judy is the Pontiac Bandit, an affable car thief known for stealing 200 cars. Making himself known to Jake Peralta by pretending to be an informant, Doug sends Jake on a wild goose chase to the barber Doug framed, while he slips past him unnoticed. When Doug unexpectedly encounters Jake, he gives him the drug manufacturer of giggle pig in exchange for a four-star hotel suite where he collaborates with the suite's waiter on his escape, with Jake being too busy capturing the manufacturer. When Doug learns of a hitman trying to kill him he contacts Jake for help, making sure to meet Jake on a cruise ship, where Jake has no jurisdiction, while escaping said ship once Jake catches the hitman. When Jake needs Doug’s help to capture his adopted brother, Doug uses this opportunity to get immunity on all 600 crimes he committed in return for his assistance. Getting Jake’s attention again by holding hostages, Doug gets Jake involved in a plan to rescue his mother from a drug lord, before escaping from Jake once more. Always being Jake’s most elusive adversary, Doug Judy’s master planning was only matched by his unlimited charm.
- Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Big Bad of season 3, Mayor Richard Wilkins, was the founder of Sunnydale and the architect of much of the evil in the show to that point. Having created the town as a place for demons to gather, Wilkins manipulates the town and demons alike to empower himself for his Ascension into a pure-blooded demon. Wilkins frequently stays ahead of Buffy and the Scooby Gang and manages to become invulnerable, even allowing the rogue slayer Faith to join his team. Forming a genuinely loving father-daughter bond with her, the Mayor manages to complete his plans to Ascend, with only a fullscale war at Sunnydale High managing to stop him. Even post-mortem, Wilkins leaves behind a way for Faith to prosper and possibly destroy Buffy. Despite his clear evil, Wilkins manages to remain a very pleasant and intelligent man, always ready with a smile and a joke who proves to be one of Buffy's most dangerous enemies.
- Camelot: Morgan Pendragon is the daughter of the former king and the legitimate heir to the throne of England. Ambitious, intelligent, ruthless and a great manipulator with a talent for the The Plan, Morgan will stop at nothing to become queen and gets most of the English people on her side by virtue of her incredible charisma and assisting them with their own goals so she can bind them to her service and win their loyalty. Morgan frequently displays herself as getting the best of King Arthur, with most of the characters in show cheering her on in her ruthless schemes.
- Carnivàle: Iris Crowe is a fairly spectacular example. The sweet, innocent spinster sister of Brother Justin? Has not only spent her entire life playing Xanatos Speed Chess with her brother's true nature, but burned down her brother's church to get him publicity, allowed an innocent man to go to jail and eventual execution for what she did, lured an innocent woman out beyond the camp and then bashed her over the head with a boat oar, to keep her from talking about how evil Justin really is and kept the secret of Sofie's paternity from everyone. After the big battle, when Ben and Justin are lying dead in the cornfield, the New Canaan faithful have almost been completely slaughtered by Justin, and the Carnivale has had to slip away for fear of the authorities in the early morning hours, what is Iris doing? Cooling her heels as the Last One Standing.
- Doctor Who: The Master, as The Doctor's Arch-Enemy, is one of his most tenacious and brilliant foes as demonstrated by various incarnations:
- Unit era Master, played by Roger Delgado, is a villainous Time Lord who wastes no time establishing himself as a worthy foe of the Doctor. The Master manipulates entire wars, attempts to hold the galaxy hostage to control it, and even after being sent to prison, tricks a warden into allowing him to contact the underseas Sea Devils so he may begin an invasion from the ocean and make himself earth's ruler. The Master constantly keeps the Doctor on the edge of his toes, acknowledged by the heroic Time Lord as his greatest rival, and once his dearest friend. For his part, the Master seems to love matching wits with the Doctor, showcasing his extreme ruthlessness and genius in the process.
- The Tremas Master, played by Anthony Ainley, came to be after a dying Master manipulated all of Gallifrey and Traken alike, before stealing the body of a Trakenite scientist. Just as ruthlessly brilliant as his previous incarnation, the Master is even more elegant and refined, manipulating the Fourth Doctor into helping him stop a wave of energy that threatens the universe, only to betray the Doctor and lead to his death while seeking to blackmail reality itself into accepting him as its sovereign. After the Doctor regenerates into his fifth incarnation, the Master returns with new, brilliant schemes again and again, even being the puppet master to King Arthur in the past as Merlin. Even more charming and deadly than his previous Incarnation, the Master repeatedly shows why he is the Doctor's greatest nemesis.
- Fargo: Ohanzee "Hanzee" Dent is the Hypercompetent Sidekick to the entire Gerhardt family, and a seemingly-unassuming Native American mercenary whose unexpected brilliance eventually brings him above both his employers and the Kansas City mafia. Already a ruthlessly efficient tracker and assassin with an unmatched tendency to eliminate every person in his way, Hanzee's tire over mistreatement in his life even in spite of his years in Vietnam spur him to start manipulating every side in the heated conflict brewed from the death of Rye Gerhardt. Hanzee kills his abusive boss Dodd, and — with his last chance to escape the criminal life seemingly dashed — Hanzee effortlessly plays both the Gerhardts and the law enforcement pursuing them against each other, spurring them into a massive shoot-out that decimates both sides as he walks away the only true victor of the conflict. In the end, under the new identity of Moses Tripolgi, Hanzee goes to forge his own successful criminal empire through the years to come, even with the full knowledge that some day, it too will fall.
- Farscape: Once a nameless child born of a twisted breeding experiment by the Scarrans, Scorpius schemed his way to freedom and murdered his abusive caretaker Tauza. After finding out about the horrific circumstances of his birth via the rape of his mother by a Scarran soldier, Scorpius dedicated himself to destroying the Scarrans in retribution Becoming a top officer in the normally fiercely xenophobic Peacekeeper armada, Scorpius tries to hunt down the Wormhole technology in hero John Crichton's head, constantly manipulating others to his ends, using and betraying others in his way and destroying his enemies while the crew of Moya barely remains a step ahead of him, proving himself the single most brilliant and dangerous enemy John has ever faced who will stop at nothing in pursuit of his goals to destroy the Scarrans.
- Forever Knight: The sire of Nicholas Knight, Lucien LaCroix was a brilliant Roman general turned into a vampire by his own daughter Divia. Horrified at the corruption Divia succumbed to, with her even suggesting they become lovers, LaCroix seemingly destroyed and entombed her. Becoming a brilliant, dangerous vampire, LaCroix once arranged for Nick to be hanged by peasants to trick him into succumbing to his killer instinct once Nick renounced his old ways. In the present, LaCroix frequently manipulates Nick and all around him, even having his own radio show as the Night Crawler where he frequently talks about his philosophies and his schemes. Always charismatic and compelling, LaCroix also admits to certain standards and always maintains his complex relationship with Nicholas.
- Galavant: Madalena was a peasant woman and Galavant's girlfriend who dumped him to marry King Richard and become his queen. Successfully collaborating with Richard in luring Galavant into a trap on the pretense that she’s Richard's prisoner, she overthrows Richard with the help of his treacherous brother Kingsley, only to stab Kingsley In the Back, becoming the sole monarch of Valencia. When she learns of Galavant, Richard, and co. escaping her imprisonment and their whereabouts, she uses her vast army to declare war on them, while also obtaining the magical powers of the Dark Dark Evil Ways to ensure her victory. Only loosing to Richard's Sword of the One True King, Madalena never looses her dark charm and only expands her ambitions to conquer the rest of the world, becoming the apprentice of the Dark Evil Lord to master her powers boldly claiming that nothing will stop her now.
- Gotham: Ra's al Ghul is the leader of the League of Assassins and the true brains behind the Court of Owls. After unleashing a deadly virus on Gotham, a brainwashed Bruce is sent to Ra's, where he orders him to stab Alfred. Bruce obeys, but breaks free of his conditioning. Ra's escapes, but not without letting Bruce use the Lazarus Pit to save Alfred. Ra's later returns searching for a mysterious knife. After killing the knife's previous owner and later on his son, Ra's turns himself in and is sent to Blackgate Penitentiary, and has his guards infiltrate the facility. Bruce later arrives to confront Ra's, and Ra's successfully goads him into killing him. Ra's is later resurrected by his loyal followers, and after regaining his powers from Barbara Kean, teams up with Jeremiah Valeska to turn Gotham into a no man's land, and kidnaps Bruce to take him to a building where they can witness the city's destruction. Ra's then dies during a battle with Bruce and Barbara, but not before congratulating the latter for her efforts, and telling the former that he must now choose to remain Bruce Wayne, or become Gotham's Dark Knight. Charming and intelligent, Ra's stood out as one of the most cunning criminals Gotham ever faced.
H - W
- Hannibal: Hannibal Lecter himself maintains a sense of charm and genteelness that is unmatched in other portrayals, despite being a cannibalistic Serial Killer. Hannibal delights in nothing more than 'winding others up to watch them go' and manipulates events, gaslighting people and driving them to insanity or horrible deeds simply to watch what will unfold. Manipulating the FBI perfectly, especially Will Graham who Hannibal fixates on, he manages to elude suspicion for a frighteningly long time, even triggering one captured FBI agent with a trigger to shoot Dr. Chilton who he has a special contempt for. Hannibal also manipulates the dysfunctional Verger siblings until their relationship is at a bloody head before he mutilates and paralyzes the sadistic Mason Verger solely due to dislike of him. Hannibal does rouse himself to save the life of Will from a vengeful Mason later, and in the series finale proves his care for Will and desire for them to become a murderous couple when he rescues Will from the Red Dragon serial killer. A killer with a god complex and Satanic Archetype who views the world as full of food or toys for him, Hannibal repeatedly demonstrates his joy in manipulating others.
- Highlander: Grayson was born in Dacia as Claudianus. Becoming immortal, he soon entered into the tutelage of the infamous immortal warlord Darius. When Darius left war behind Grayson was outraged and felt deeply betrayed by it, dedicating himself to warfare and became such an exemplary player of the Game that some believed he may be The One one day. In modern day, Grayson begins murdering Darius's students in the ways of peace to draw Darius off holy ground and destroy him in retribution for his betrayal, until Duncan Macleod interferes. Grayson constantly conducts himself with the utmost politeness with Duncan, at one point informing him he didn't believe men like Duncan still existed as "I've killed so many".
- House of Cards (UK): Francis Urquhart plots, schemes, manipulates and backstabs his way up the political chain in the hopes of becoming Prime Minister; remaining above suspicion among all of his colleagues. He does it with class, skill and style, all the while giving conspiratorial No Fourth Wall asides to the audiences, explaining his thoughts on his opponents and next steps. He commits terrible deeds, frequently exposing scandals of rivals and supposed friends, manipulating others into doing his bidding and in some cases resorts to outright murder to get his way. Urquhart ends up as Prime Minister, determined to remain in office longer than even Margaret Thatcher, a goal which he absolutely achieves by the end, showing himself no less a cultured player of the grand game in the office as he was outside it. Even after his assassination, his machinations have ensured he will be remembered as a beloved figure in English history, his true villainy always concealed beneath the one line: "you may very well think that. I could not possibly comment."
- Justified: In amidst all the white supremacists, drug addicts, stupid crooks, and other human wreckage that comprised the gangsters of rural Harlan County, there was the occasional villain with some charisma and flair, and the according ability to run rings about series' protagonists Raylan Givens and Boyd Crowder:
- Mags Bennett was the Big Bad of Season 2 and matriarch of the Bennett family, a Bandit Clan of hillbilly moonshiners and marijuana farmers whose influence was felt throughout Harlan County. Ruling her namesake township of Bennett as not just a Corrupt Hick but an uncrowned Feudal Overlord, Mags controlled the Bennett Police Department through her son, Doyle, and the marijuana trade through his brothers, Dickie and Coover, making her the final arbiter on near everything that happened in town. Rallying the people of Harlan at large and Bennett in particular against Black Pike Mining's attempts to buy up the county, Mags secretly cut a deal with Black Pike behind the backs of her fellow townsfolk, selling most of the county to Black Pike in exchange for extensive personal profits that she planned to use to get her grandchildren out of crime. Staying her hand when her son Coover was killed by Raylan (whose family the Bennetts had long feuded with), Mags returned to action when Dickie started a war with Boyd and proved capable of matching him trick for trick. In the end, only the unexpected return of Mags' foster daughter, Loretta, to Bennett, and the ensuing intervention by the Marshal Service proved able to bring the Bennett township tyrant down.
- Ellstin Limehouse, was the unofficial king of Noble's Holler, the one black community in rural white Harlan. Concerned with keeping his people isolated and safe, Limehouse played Harlan's criminals and law enforcement against one another with seeming impunity, always evading responsibility, and coming out on top. In Season 3 he outmaneuvered Boyd, Robert Quarles, Dickie Bennett and Raylan, setting in motion a plan that saw Quarles killed, Boyd and Dickie imprisoned, and Raylan unable to touch Limehouse. In Season 4, he successfully ripped off Boyd and the Detroit mob both, while at the same time, saving the life of frightened hooker Ellen May and extricating Noble's from the Harlan underworld. Making his final appearance in Season 6, Limehouse again got the better of Boyd, before vanishing from Harlan, one step ahead of the Marshal's Service. No other villain on the show has walked as fine a line between good and evil as Limehouse, and none has ever come close to matching his achievements or his ability to get away with everything.
- Drew Thompson was a Detroit mobster with a unique penchant for taking Refuge in Audacity. After witnessing Theo Tonin commit a murder, Drew realized that he had to get out of town before Theo killed him to cover it up. Shooting Theo in the eye, Drew stole an airplane and faked his own death, shoving his accomplice, Waldo Truth, out of the plane, then parachuting into Harlan County where he exchanged his cocaine and drug money for a new identity, helping Bo Crowder and Arlo Givens become rural mafiosi while he himself became Shelby Parlow of the Harlan Sheriff's Department. Eventually elected Sheriff himself, Shelby used his position to undermine Boyd's control over Harlan and the office of Sheriff alike, while also joining the recently revitalized search for "Drew Thompson" whose survival, but not identity, had been discovered. Found out in the end and arrested by Raylan, Drew Thompson nevertheless enjoyed a decades long career in law enforcement, and his machinations set in motion the eventual collapse of Boyd's criminal enterprises—the very same enterprises Drew had helped Boyd's father Bo, assemble in the first place.
- Loretta McCready was the foster daughter and Bastard Understudy of Mags Bennett, and while she might have sided with Raylan against Mags, the passage of time proves that it was Mags' influence that lasted. Aspiring to become a marijuana kingpin in the same vein as her foster mother, Loretta spent Season 6 buying up agricultural land throughout Harlan County under both her real name and various aliases, and putting herself in direct competition with Avery Markham and the various gun thugs in his employ. Allying herself with Boyd, Loretta turned the entire town against Markham with a single speech at a party that Markham himself was hosting, and bought up most of the land in the county. Even the implosion of Boyd's empire and the loss of his protection could not stop Loretta; when Markham cornered her she persuaded him that she should become his new partner, thus surviving until Raylan and Boyd killed off Markham and his enforcer, Boon. Only a teenager when the series ended, Loretta demonstrated that she was more capable than most of the adult criminals on the show, and was left in a perfect position to pick up where Mags and Boyd left off, as the reigning queen of the Harlan underworld.
- Kings: King Silas of Gilboa is a brilliant, Machiavellian ruler who spends the season destroying his enemies and securing his crown. Silas presents as a ruthless mastermind, though he is in truth far more given to self doubt of the favor of God. Silas attempts to overcome his destined successor David, even succeeding in bringing David down temporarily before an assassination attempt is made on Silas.In the finale, Silas outwits his enemies, performing an Unflinching Walk past a battalion of armed soldiers to retake his crown, has scared his enemy William Cross into hiding, has other members of the attempted coup captured and forces David to run from Gilboa. At the end, Silas has decided he answers to nobody for his crown, not even God himself.
- Midsomer Murders: Season 4’s “Destroying Angel”, introduces Evelyn Pope, a local upstanding resident of Midsomer Magna, who hides a devilishly sharp mind behind an unassuming warm maternal personality and kind nature. Figuring out the truth of Karl Wainwright’s death and Gregory Chambers disappearance from the vaguest clues, she decides she can’t allow the conspirators to get away with murder or framing an innocent woman. Armed only with her wits and a natural ability to mimic voices, she masterminds a series of events leading to the conspirators deaths, agonizingly poisoning one and having another crushed to death before finally setting up the conspiracy's weakest member to unintentionally kill the ringleader when she tries to silence her. Each death relying upon her accurately predicting how they would react if put in the right circumstances, all the while setting the seeds to cause the last member's breakdown and confession of everything to the police following the last death. Despite being only a frail elderly person, even amongst the many murders to plague Midsomer over the years, few came close to Evelyn’s level of cunning or brilliance which was matched only by her natural charm and kindness, with even Inspector Barnaby admitted to liking her.
- The Orville: Pria Levesque is a time traveller from the 29th century who arranges to be picked up by the Orville by faking a distress call. After arriving on board, Pria quickly gains the crew's trust by saving them from a dark matter storm before bonding with Captain Ed Mercer, who is still recovering from a painful divorce with his ex-wife (now First Officer) Kelly Grayson, and seducing him into a one-night stand. Meanwhile, Pria installs a device in the engine room through which she can remotely take over control of the ship in order to pilot it into a wormhole to the future, selling the Orville off as an antique and forcing the crew to live out the remainder of their lives on a remote planet. When her scheme fails, Pria makes one last attempt to convince Mercer to cooperate before calmly accepting the fact that her current version will be erased from history. Pria is among the cleverest foes the crew of the Orville have faced so far, with few managing to emotionally get under Mercer's skin like she has.
- The Outer Limits (1995): From the episode "Zig Zag", Zig Fowler is a cyberterrorist in a near-future society where almost all data is controlled by the Department of Information Technology. Founding the Syndrome cell from the shadows with the mission to free people at any cost, Zig fakes his own death and assumes the meek Cliff Unger persona in order to infiltrate the department and gain access to its central processor room. After a year, Zig's implant reverts back to its original settings, whereupon he joins up with his old comrades again, who were not even privy to his real identity. Zig stages an armed takeover of the Department offices to bomb it, manipulating his former boss through word trickery into arming the bomb with his own implant, ultimately dying in a blaze of glory as the entire city is destroyed.
- Oz:
- Ryan O'Reilly is an Irish convict in the Emerald City wing of the Oswald State Correctional Facility. More than any other inmate, O'Reilly is frequently at the center of whatever intrique is going in the prison, forming alliances with other inmates to take over the drug trade inside Oz by arranging the deaths of various gang leaders and even becoming a major figure in a prison riot. O'Reilly also gets Dr. Gloria Nathan to fall in love with him after putting out a hit on her husband, later personally murdering a criminal who raped her, uses various dirty methods to ensure that his brother Cyrill will win the prison boxing championship, and has Officer Claire Howell—whom O'Reilly is sleeping with—kill his rival Stanislofsky after a dispute over a contraband cell phone turns sour. Ryan O'Reilly possesses a sense of charm and bravado unmatched by many of the thuggish inmates in Oz, and his uncanny ability to get others to do his dirty work for him and turning his enemies against each other makes him one of the few characters to successfully survive the entire run of the show.
- Enrique Morales establishes himself as one of the most cunning and pragmatic prisoners on the show. After arriving in Oswald State prison, he usurped control over the Latinos by forcing the kindly old prisoner Bob Rebadow to kill his unpopular predecessor El Cid, then takes over the drug trade inside the prison with the Homeboys and Italians and proves himself more wary to attempts by the authorities to infiltrate the organization than his associates. When Morales develops a feud with Homeboys leader Burr Redding, he manipulates Chinese refugees housed in the prison against him with false claims of race hatred and attempts to have Redding framed for a murder. A capable fighter as well when the chips are down, Morales swiftly foils an attempt on his own life by killing the assassin, and lulls his late sister's abusive husband into a false sense of security before pounding the everloving crap out of him. Always a persuasive and purpose-driven man despite being a murderer and gang leader, under the clever rule of Morales, El Norte truly became a force to be reckoned with within Oz.
- Penny Dreadful: Dracula, the final villain of the series, kidnaps and turns Mina Murray to manipulate the heroes into chasing her in order to lure his true quarry, Vanessa Ives, into his grasp. While also outplaying his brother Lucifer, Dracula becomes close to Vanessa under his mortal guise of Dr. Alexander Sweet, while genuinely falling for Vanessa. Even after she discovers his true identity, Dracula still wins her to his side with the strength of his charm and charisma. Dracula then sets about his conquest of the world, so powerful that none of the heroes are able to even touch him, only departing to honor Vanessa's promise not to harm her friends after Vanessa's Heroic Sacrifice.
- Power Rangers Wild Force: Onikage introduces himself as a ninja loyal to Mandilok and conjures schemes to kidnap Princess Shyla. When Toxica fumbles his first plan, Onikage promises he can redeem her if he cuts off her horn to render her immune to the Sacred Water of Animaria, lying that Duke Orgs' horns grow back. This leads to Toxica's death and Shayla's capture. On the verge of defeating the Power Rangers, Onikage reveals his true allegiance as Master Org's right hand man, rendering Mandilok defenseless and resulting in their death. Onikage is defeated in the end mostly by luck but succeeds in almost all his goals, setting the stage for the rest of the season despite only appearing in two episodes.
- Profit: Jim Profit is an amoral sociopath whose life's goal is to become President of Acquisitions at the multinational company Gracen & Gracen Enterprises, thus giving him control over one of the most powerful economic entities in the world. He uses various schemes such as leaking bad stories to the press and blackmailing his predecessor's secretary in an attempt to get him fired before later having him framed for murder to permanently dispose of him. Jim also ingratiates himself with the company elites and their loved ones, zeroing in on their personal demons and shortcomings to use against them and sow discord, such as causing a falling out among the Gracen brothers to maneuver himself into becoming the CEO's right hand man and using his equally manipulative stepmother Bobbi to seduce and further control his boss. When the head of security catches on to his scheming, Jim forces her psychologist to perform hypnosis on her and then presents himself as her rescuer to discredit her claims against him. Jim Profit is an expert manipulator and schemer whose machiavellian plots allow him to get away with murder, extortion, and ruining people's lives multiple times and always has more cards left to play when faced with adversity.
- Reaper: The Devil not only arranges for Sam to get an apartment next to a pair of rebel demons whose plan to destroy him would actually have worked, and manipulates Sam into infiltrating the rebellion with a new (doomed) plan to kill him, he also signs Sam's lease with his name and sends him clues as to what is going on that Sam, Sock and Ben can only work out moments after it is too late to do anything about it. He then repeats this plan with the few survivors of the rebellion, and is still witty, charming and diabolically affable.
- Rome: Gaius Julius Caesar conquers the entire land of Gaul, while masterfully manipulating the Roman senate into declaring him a criminal to give him an excuse to march on Rome, scattering the Senate and seizing ultimate power while acting humble to continue winning the love of the populace. Caesar continues a series of masterful political maneuvers to entrench himself while maintaining the loyalty of his soldiers and closest allies, even rewarding a veteran for defying his explicit orders when the man's actions win favor with the crowd, securing himself a trusted bodyguard in the process. In almost every moment, Caesar continues to show how he is the true master of Rome and is seen as almost divine even before his assassination.
- Shaka Zulu: King Shaka Zulu was born into the Zulu tribe to an arrogant prince and a commoner girl. Defending his mother's honor, Shaka and his maternal relatives were expelled, but when Shaka returns as a young man he publically defies his father's wishes for him to become a Zulu warrior, fleeing from his soldiers to instead join the army of the Mhethwa Paramountcy, whose current King he once nursed to health. Shaka singlehandedly revolutionizes tribal warfare, allowing him to utterly annihilate rival tribes, gain revenge on his past enemies, and take over his late father's throne. Shaka manages to use the threat of an enemy tribe to bargain himself into becoming supreme commander, then declares himself King after his patron is unexpectedly assassinated. Shaka also cleverly uses the British expedition to his court for his own ends, using their technology to wipe out an enemy army, and to achieve immortality, or so he believes. He allows Lieutenant Farewell to return to Capetown with Shaka's representatives, but when he realizes that they tricked him he starts plotting revenge while damning the rest of the world after his mother dies. A powerful, dangerous, charismatic ruler, Shaka returns to his court only to Face Death with Dignity, with even his assassins remaining in awe of him after his downfall.
- Smallville: Lionel Luthor was the Smallville villain of note, and dominated the show for all seven seasons in which he appeared. Originally created to explain how Lex grew up to be such a bastard, the Magnificent You-Know-What became a power unto himself in the show, and for the first three seasons was a virtually untouchable threat who easily undercut any efforts by Lex or Clark to act against him. Jailed in Season 4, Lionel proved he was still capable of reaching out to touch anyone, anywhere, whenever he wanted, and after his release from prison and subsequent Heel–Face Turn, remained the show’s most potent manipulator, undermining Lex’s attempts at becoming a threat in his own right, and getting the last laugh on his son when it was he, and not Lex, who was resurrected to serve as the show’s final villain in Season 10. In a show filled with mutants, aliens, and meteor freaks, Lionel Luthor was still the most dangerous man around, and no matter who he was sharing a space with, always managed to feel like the most powerful person in the room.
- Star Trek:
- Star Trek: The Next Generation: Season 2's Elementary Dear Data, introduces a hologram of Professor Moriarty, created to be an opponent capable of defeating Data at Holodeck games. Accessing the computer to learn of his past and the ship, Enterprise, Moriarty kidnaps Dr. Pulski, revealing he is self aware, and taking control of the ship's computer. Sealed away until the crew finds a way to free him after making an agreement with Picard, Moriarty returns years later in Ship in a Bottle when he's accidentally released. Angry at the crew's failure to free him, Moriarty demands to be released along with his beloved, Countess Regina Barthalomew. Taking control of the ship when Picard refuses, Moriarty threatens to crash it unless he and his loved one are set free. Although Picard wrestles back control of the ship, Moriarty traps Data and Barclay in an illusion on the Holodeck, before accessing Picard's access codes to the real ship, willing to die alongside everyone on board unless his dreams are granted. Although eventually trapped in virtual reality with the countess, Picard had to compromise by allowing Moriarty to live in the bliss of exactly what he wanted to save his crew from the brilliant criminal.
- Star Trek: Deep Space Nine: Elim Garak presents himself as merely a plain, simple tailor, but is quickly revealed to be much more then that. A former member of the Cardassian Intelligence outfit, the Obsidian Order, Garak is exiled from Cardassia and forced to live on Deep Space 9. Garak is able to defeat several of his enemies, outwitting arrogant Cardassian military officials like Gul Dukat and Gul Toran. Garak also is able to manipulate the heroes as well, spotting an assassin on the station sent to kill him, Garak blows up his own shop to get Odo investigate the situation and deal with the assassin and gets Worf to defy his orders by playing to his sense of honor. After Cardassia joins the Dominion, Garak is resolved to freeing Cardassia from the Dominion. Garak's master stroke is forcing the Romulan Empire to declare war on the Dominion, by manipulating Sisko into manufacturing evidence of an up coming attack on Romulus and presenting it to a Romulan Senator. When the Senator decides the evidence is fake, Garak blows up his shuttle, so that the Romulan Empire will think the Dominion killed him and declare war on the Dominion. In the final season, Garak works with Colonel Kira and Legate Damar and uses his skills to help a Cardassian resistance movement overthrow Dominion rule on Cardassia.
- Supernatural:
- Azazel, the mightiest of the Princes of Hell and one of the first demons made by Lucifer. The first to find Lucifer and formulate the plan to free him, Azazel begins cultivating the 'special' children and shaping their lives to enhance their psychic powers, including Sam Winchester. Later completely outwitting the Winchesters and defeating them, he convinces father John Winchester to sacrifice his life to bring Dean back to life, eliminating his greatest enemy and sending John to hell so the demons can begin working on breaking the 66 Seals. Azazel manipulates the psychic children further into a gauntlet to determine who will open the gates of hell to free Lilith herself, all for the sake of the winner destroying her to eventually unleash Lucifer while being ready and available as the fallen angel's vessel. Azazel remains one of the most dangerous and personal enemies the Winchesters had ever faced, whose charm and ruthlessness have rarely been matched with his love for his demon children making him a dark mirror to John Winchester himself.
- Crowley starts as a lowly demon salesman who realizes Lucifer's intentions to wipe out humanity. Assisting the Winchesters to help bring Lucifer down, Crowley later relies on his wits and power to ascend to become the King of Hell where he becomes the Winchesters' deadly enemy. Using Castiel to assist him into mining Purgatory for the power of the souls within, Crowley usually manages to stay a step ahead of the Winchesters, frequently coming out on top and strengthening his position while eliminating his enemies and rivals. Upon the return of Lucifer, Crowley manages to even outwit and briefly helps imprison the fallen angel before his escape. Even at the end, Crowley manages to achieve a victory against Lucifer by sacrificing his own life, proving that when one faces Crowley, even when he loses, he will win in the end.
- Taboo: James Keziah Delaney is a brooding Byronic Hero who returns to London after the death of his father to take over his trading business and his land claim to Nootka Sound, a strategic area in the Pacific Northwest contested between the British Crown, the East India Company, and the United States of America. James proceeds to play all factions against each other to set up his own monopoly trade, enlisting figures in the city's underworld to do his bidding, surviving multiple assassins going after him, executing a daring raid of an EIC compound so he can manufacture more explosives, and using various mind games to gain access to his half-sister Zilpha's bedchambers. After being captured on orders of the King and tortured in the Tower of London, James refuses to break and secures his own release. James emerges from the intrique as the triumphant party, leaving London with all of his allies on a ship bound for the new world after killing The Mole who spied on him for the EIC and ensuring that his chief enemy, EIC director Sir Stuart Strange, will be bombed in his own office.
- Thunderbolt Fantasy: Rin Setsua is the beautiful, playful young man who involves himself in Tan Hi's quest to keep a magic sword holding back a demon god out of the hands of the wicked Betsutengai. Rin Setsua manipulates fighters into joining the quest, including the vicious Screaming Phoenix Killer by promising him a match at the end. Rin Setsua then proceeds to double cross the team for Betsutengai's Onyx Demons, then betrays the Onyx Demons again after luring out potential traitors in Tan Hi's group. Finally facing Betsutengai, Rin Setsua proceeds to utterly humiliate him in combat, revealing his greatest pleasure is to humiliate and humble the proud and haughty.
- Vikings: Ragnar Lothbrok is a bold young Viking who schemes his way into being challenged by Earl Haraldson of Kattegat to kill him and take his place. As the Earl, Ragnar faces threats from men such as Jarl Borg and King Horik of Denmark, but manipulates, betrays and destroys them too, in the case of Horik even allowing the king to believe he has turned Ragnar's allies against him before revealing they were secretly Ragnar's spies against Horik. Even managing to sack Paris by faking his own death so his "boy" will be brought before the rulers so he can take Princess Gisla hostage and force the city's gates open, Ragnar later becomes broken in his later years, but schemes to create a new Viking age by turning himself over to the Saxons for execution so his sons will avenge his death, achieving everything he sets out to accomplish. A cunning, ruthless, occasionally brutal man who is dangerous to friend and foe alike, Ragnar exemplifies both the best and worst of the Viking age.
- Wallander: Anders Lindström, the Big Bad of the Swedish film adaptation The Revenge is a corrupt military general who, after losing his beloved son while he was fatally sick and the doctors were too lazy to cure him, went on a killing spree to murder those who were involved in it. Posing the killings as racially motivated, Anders kills multiple controversial figures to turn the attention to Islamic terrorists and frame them for the killings, before adding even more proof of that by committing terrorist attacks and blowing up cars, manipulating the entire country of Sweden into believing the framing. At the end, when Anders manages to hold Wallander hostage, they talk with each other, until Anders genuinely starts respecting him and lets him get out of the car, before jumping into the sea and blowing himself up, with everyone there watching sadly as he accepts defeat.
- Westworld: Robert Ford is the brilliant creative director of the titular theme park, Westworld. Having created the park alongside Arnold, the two had several arguments over how to treat the hosts that inhabit the park, which led to Arnold's suicide. After grieving his partner's death and showing disgust for how the park's guest abuse the hosts, Ford decides to complete Arnold's dream of making the hosts fully sentient and free them from humanity's control. He does so by creating a new narrative for the hosts, instructing them to rebel against their oppressors and kill everyone inside the park, including himself. It's also revealed that Ford downloaded his conscience onto the Cradle so that he can observe the events after his death, still manipulating hosts and guests alike.
Frolaytia X Qwenthur of Heavy Object
#7435: Feb 19th 2019 at 1:55:33 PM
- Cut this from The Five Star Stories: just look at his plan for uniting the Joker!
Awesomekid42
Since: Jul, 2012
#7436: Feb 20th 2019 at 8:12:18 AM
Well, here's the writeup for Wang.
- Way of the Dragon: The seemingly kind Uncle Wang is in truth working with the mafia in an attempt to sell his and Chen's restaurant to them for the sake of living a rich life with his family. Throughout the film, Wang subtly discourages Tang Lung and the restaurant staff from attacking the mafia by saying it would just lead to the mafia being more persistent. Knowing how much of a threat Tang Lung is to the mafia, Wang later convinces his niece, Chen, to try and get Tang to leave Italy. After he, Tang, and multiple workers at the restaurant are ambushed my martial arts masters hired by the mafia, Wang convinces Tang Lung to go on ahead before stabbing the surviving staff members in the back. When Tang Lung is about to return, Wang wounds himself to convince Tang that he and the staff were attacked after Tang left. He then takes the opportunity to try and stab Tang Lung to death while he's focusing on Ho, only failing due to the untimely arrival of the mafia boss alerting Tang.
MGD107
Since: Feb, 2015
#7437: Feb 20th 2019 at 12:18:15 PM
to Vincent Moon and Uncle Wang.
#7438: Feb 20th 2019 at 4:28:54 PM
Okay so I notice a lack of progress in the MB forum, so I thought I’d speed things of with an EP of my own, especially since we’re so close to our 300 mark. From the Call of Duty: Black Ops III.
What’s the Work?
Call of Duty Black Ops III a first-person shooter video game serving as the twelfth entry in the Call of Duty series.
Taking place in 2065, 40 years after the events of Black Ops II, the world faces upheaval from conflicts, climate change and new technologies. A Third Cold War is ongoing between two global alliances, known as Winslow Accord and Common Defense Pact. Most of the warfare between countries is done by covert operatives fighting behind enemy lines. Military technology has progressed to the point where robotics play a major role in combat, and both fully robotic humanoid drones and cyborg supersoldiers have been developed to fight in the battlefield.
My candidate is in the "Nightmares" campaign, which involves zombies and other supernatural beings. In this campaign, the lethal Virus 61-15 is released in various cities around the world, turning whoever it infects into zombies. In response, the governments of the world seal off the worst infected areas into Quarantine Zones and form the Deadkillers, cybernetic soldiers trained to exterminate zombies. Now then my candidate introducing Dolos
Who Is She? What Has She Done?
Dolos is the demigoddess of trickery who released by the SP/CORVUS project run by the CIA out along with her brother Deimos, the demigod of dread and terror. Upon being brought onto our world Deimos’ first action was to unleash a deadly plague that would turn all of humanity into zombies, while trying to open a portal to his world Malus to unleash his undead army and take over our world.
Against Deimos plans and being sympathetic to humanity she would be a subtle manipulator in her brother’s game, by possessing Deadkiller Racheal Kane and through her convinces the Player Character and Hendricks to hunt down and kill off their former comrades that were infected by Deimos’ virus. During that time however Hendricks become infected by Deimos’ virus and heads over to Zurich to open the portal to Malus.
All seems lost initially until Dolos convinces the Player Character to let Deimos have his way and open the portal to Malus. The player does that and both he/she and Deimos are transported to Malus. It is then revealed that this was Dolos plan all along where she fully intended to have Deimos open the portal to Malus before closing the portal to trap him there knowing that Deimos would be vulnerable in Malus. The reason why she waited so long was because she wanted to get Deimos’ hopes up before pulling the rug down under him, making his Villainous Breakdown all the more epic to watch.
With Dolos’ help, the Player Character manages to kill Deimos and end the undead plague on Earth, however he/she is trapped in Malus where Dolos soon reveals to him/her about her true nature. She reveals to the Player Character that she is the demigoddess of trickery and that her true plans are to kill every other demigod and supernatural being. After convincing the Player Character to help Dolos with her goal, the two are last seen kicking zombie ass in Malus.
Is She Intelligent? Is She Charismatic?
As the demigoddess of trickery she has both intelligence and charisma on her side. She is a master manipulator who manages to manipulate the likes of her own brother, a demigod, into becoming a complete pawn in her grand plans. She also doesn’t like to resort to forceful possession like Deimos, preferring to use her genuine charisma to persuade people into joining her side, in which they all do.
What’s The Competition Like?
The only other villain that comes close to her level of intelligence and manipulativeness is Deimos. However Deimos ends up being a completely outplayed by Dolos which leaves Deimos having an epic Villainous Breakdown, while Dolos never ever loses her cool once even when things seem to go wary.
Is She a Bitch? Is She Too Much of a Bitch?
Okay Dolos manages to persuade the Player Character to kill off all his/her comrades, allows Deimos to carry out his plan to unleash the undead on Earth all so that she can pull the rug right down under him when he leasts expects it, has absolutely no problems killing off her own brother, traps the Player Character in Malus, and plans to kill off every god and supernatural being out there, so I think she’s enough of a bitch to count.
That said she has her limits. She’s fully against Deimos plan to kill off all of humanity, being sympathetic to humanity despite being aware of their flaws, prefers to use persuasion and not forceful possession to get people to join her, and only has the Player Character kill off their comrades because they were already infected by Deimos’ influence.
Final Verdict?
I’ll leave it to you guys to decide
Edited by G-Editor on Feb 20th 2019 at 4:39:21 AM
#7439: Feb 20th 2019 at 5:31:39 PM
I'll say yea.
Barb(Its a thread joke you wouldn't get it)
#7440: Feb 20th 2019 at 5:35:32 PM
to Dolos.
username2527
Since: Nov, 2013
11111001011
Since: Dec, 2018
Frolaytia X Qwenthur of Heavy Object
#7443: Feb 20th 2019 at 6:25:08 PM
Dolo
lrrose
Since: Jul, 2009
"Cool. Coolcoolcool."
#7445: Feb 20th 2019 at 6:38:23 PM
Hey I hope it's ok I join. Yes to Dolos.
![[down]](https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/smiles/arrow_down.png "[down]"){kind=icon}
Thanks. I look forward to contributing.
Edited by Bullman on Feb 20th 2019 at 9:48:15 AM
Fan-Preferred Couple cleanup thread
#7446: Feb 20th 2019 at 6:41:36 PM
More than welcome to 
#7447: Feb 20th 2019 at 6:51:42 PM
Dolos. Wow, that is not the kind of plot I think of when I hear CoD mentioned.
Riley1sCool
Since: Dec, 2014
#7449: Feb 20th 2019 at 9:38:26 PM
Alright now that we've not the MB forum ball rolling let me continue to keep the ball rolling by creating Dolos' write (along with an update Co D tree) now that she's got more than enough to keep. So here it is:
- Call of Duty: These brilliant masterminds exemplify badassery not by using guns but with ingenuity and charisma:
- Black Ops series:
- II: Raul Menendez is the charismatic leader of Cordis Die, who started from humble beginnings before becoming one of the most powerful drug kingpins in the world; this grabbed the attention of the CIA who sent a black ops team to deal with, greatly underestimating him. Now knowing of the CIA, Menendez expanded his empire to arms dealing, trading weapons to the Soviet Union and other anti-capitalist insurgents, even planting moles in the CIA. Vowing revenge on Frank Woods after watching him kill his sister, Menendez manipulates him with a captive Jason Hudson into shooting, possibly killing, Alex Mason before crippling Woods and killing Hudson himself. Using his wealth to create advance weaponry and private armies, he also creates the Celerlium worm which he use to drain the Chinese Stock Market, pinning the deed on the United States, creating a second Cold War. He later allows himself to be captured by American Force and take him to the U.S.S. Obama where he would then have his soldiers ambush them before using the Celerlium worm to take control of the military drones, decimating the Obama fleet in the process. Using the hacked drones to distract American forces, he would then destroy them before revealing his true plan; crippling the U.S. military so his two billion followers of Cordis Die can wreak havoc all over America, which he succeeds by goading David Mason to kill him, secretly recording the deed making him a martyr.
- III: Dolos is the demigoddess of trickery whose actions in the "Nightmares" campaign proves why she has earned such a title. Being brought to Earth from Malum by the SP/CORVUS experiments conducted by Coalescence in Singapore, along with her brother Deimos, she schemes against Deimos when he plans to turn all of humanity into an undead army to conquer Malum. Dolos would posses Racheal Kane and through convince Soldier #25954 and Hendricks to go after and kill Taylor and his team being possessed by Deimos before Deimos proceeds to posses Hendricks. Upon arriving at Zurich, Dolos convinces Soldier #25954 to let Deimos open the portal to Malum before trapping them both in Malum. With Deimos now vulnerable in Malum, Dolos helps Soldier #25954 kill her brother before revealing her plans to kill off every demigod and supernatural being that opposes her, successfully persuading the soldier into helping Dolos achieve her audacious goal.
- Modern Warfare: General Hershel von Shepherd is the commander of the US forces and the true Big Bad of the second instalment. Having lost 30,000 soldiers from a nuke detonated from the Middle East, Shepherd felt that the free people has taken the military's sacrifices for granted. Vowing to remind the world of the cost of their freedom, Shepherd collaborated with Vladmir Makarov in creating World War III, giving him the identity of Pvt. Joseph Allen, resulting in Makarov killing the private in the middle of the airport massacre. This resulted in America being invaded by Russian Armies in which the U.S. has given Shepherd command of millions of soldiers, while he leads Task Force 141 to search for Makarov. Encountering Captain Price during the manhunt, Price would launch a submarine nuke, which Shepherd would pin this act on Makarov and receive a blank check to aid the search. Pin-pointing Markarov's whereabouts to two locations Shepherd splits the Task Force into two before sending the Shadow Company to kill them off once they served their purpose. When Shepherd learns that Price and Soap are in his base, he arranges said base to self-destruct. Even when Price and Soap survive the attempt and go after him, Shepherd isn't afraid to die because he'll be remembered as a war hero while they will be branded as fugitives wanted for killing him.
- Black Ops series:
Edited by G-Editor on Feb 20th 2019 at 7:38:41 AM
miraculous
Goku Black
(Apprentice)
Goku Black
#7450: Feb 20th 2019 at 9:49:41 PM
Dolos
Total posts: 82,595
Yes to Wang.