Cleanup thread: Magnificent Bastard

Yeah to Lance and I'll concur with Kylo that if someone is villainous enough, we don't need to worry about how bad other people are, there's no heinous standard equivalent here.

Alright, with Erik having rewritten the BT stuff here's the full, actual batch:

• Mobile Suit Zeta Gundam: Paptimus Scirocco — "The Man from Jupiter" — is an elusive mercenary and Titans Lieutenant who graduates to taking over the organization. A brilliant tactician both in and out of a mobile suit, Scirocco excels at reading potential in his subordinates and outmaneuvers the Anti-Earth Union Group (AEUG) to capture the strategic stronghold of the lunar city Von Braun. Leaving the day-to-day operations of the district in the hands of his antagonistic superior, Scirocco divulges the man's schemes to the AEUG and arranges for his death to gain more dominance within the Titans for himself. Forming an alliance with Haman Khan of Neo-Zeon, Scirocco bolsters the strength of the Titans with the Axis military and personally assassinates the Titans leader, Jamitov Hymem, assuming command over the syndicate and blaming Jamitov's death on Haman, rallying his forces to fight against her. Giving a former AEUG pilot he corrupted to his side an eloquent lecture on his ambitions for humanity, Scirocco engages the AEUG personally and reveals he has kept his alliance with Haman to revitalize the strength of his fleet. Even with his armada destroyed by the blast of a colony laser, Scirocco continues to fight Kamille Bidan and, in his dying moments, destroys Kamille's consciousness, unrelentingly unwilling to accept his vanquishment. Emotionally manipulative yet charming, charismatic and stylish, Scirocco proves himself to be every bit as brilliantly Machiavellian as he is mysterious.
• Tokyo Ghoul: Eto Yoshimura, the "One-Eyed Owl", is the leader of Aogiri Tree. A half-ghoul dedicated to destroying the organization V, Eto participates in a series of terrorist attacks, manipulating the Commission of Counter Ghoul (CCG) while killing off their investigators. Centering in on Ken Kaneki, Eto guides him to becoming the One-Eyed King and the savior of the ghoul race while manipulating events to her satisfaction. Even after being publicly outed as a ghoul, she uses a press conference to win sympathy for her race and set the events of the end in motion.
• Doomsday Clock: In the sequel to Watchmen, Ozymandias is as deadly as ever. When the exposure of his crimes brings the world to the edge of war, he immediately sets about trying to find Dr. Manhattan to persuade him to come home and fix everything. Manipulating the second Rorschach into aiding him by pretending to have cancer and playing up his guilt, he has Rorschach II rescue the criminal duo Mime and Marionette before traveling to the DC Universe. Overcoming numerous obstacles he successfully summons Dr. Manhattan to try and persuade him to return. When Dr. Manhattan refuses to come home Ozymandias brings the world to the edge of war and engineers the defeat of the entire superhero community at the hands of Dr. Manhattan, all to ensure that Superman will be able to meet Dr. Manhattan and persuade him to do the right thing. While he is ultimately jailed for his crimes, Ozymandias's plan does ultimately ensure the survival of two worlds.
• Aladdin (1992): Starting off as a petty, high-functioning Smug Snake, Jafar manages to evolve into a flawless schemer by the events of the sequel. An Evil Sorcerer who acts as grand vizier to the Sultan of Agrabah, Jafar schemes to take over the throne from the Sultan by retrieving the lamp with the Genie in it that can grant wishes. Seemingly, Jafar tried to convince the Sultan to let him marry Princess Jasmine so he can inherit it by marriage. Despite Aladdin, posing as Prince Ali, ruining this plan as well, Jafar deduces his real identity and steals the lamp from him, using it to make himself the most powerful sorcerer in the world. Although being tricked by Aladdin to become a Djinn and be trapped in the lamp, Jafar, returns after getting freed by the thief Abis Mal, going back to plotting to take over Agrabah and get revenge on Aladdin. He captures all of Aladdin's allies, frames him for the Sultan's murder, and pulls it off without Aladdin even realizing he's back. Along the way, Jafar tempers his arrogance and anger with enough cunning and charisma to back up his ego, and manages to be entertaining in his remorseless villainy thanks to a good heaping of Evil Is Hammy and style.
• 21 Bridges (2019): Captain Matt McKenna is the head of the 85th precinct who has several corrupt cops on his payroll. Teaming up with various drug dealers, McKenna and his officers distribute drugs throughout New York City without any other precincts in the city knowing of their illegal activities. When several officers are killed during a botched robbery, McKenna has his officers hastily hunt down the criminals whilst also eliminating any potential witnesses or allies who could expose his operation. After one of the robbers uncovers evidence exposing the drug operation, McKenna has him murdered even after he gives himself up. Once confronted by Andre Davis about his schemes, McKenna calmly tries to explain that he did what he did to support the officers and their families before attempting to kill him too when Andre tries to arrest him.
• Charlie's Angels (2000): Eric Knox, born John McGann, is a software designer who incorrectly believes Charles "Charlie" Townsend murdered his father in Vietnam. Seeking revenge, Knox stages both his own kidnapping and the theft of his new voice recognition software and sets up his shady rival Roger Corwin for it. Convincing the Angels that Corwin has bad intentions for the software, Knox gets them to break into the company and hack Corwin's servers. Knox is able to gain access to Corwin's face recognition satellite and use that combined with his voice recognition software to determine Charlie's location thanks to Charlie making a phone call. Knox then heads out in a helicopter and nearly blows Charlie up in his cabin.
• The Devil Wears Prada: Miranda Priestley is the strict and overbearing but classy editor-in-chief of Runway Magazine. She constantly assigns her assistants Andrea "Andy" Sachs and Emily Charlton very menial and personal tasks to accomplish, in addition to remembering the most obscure facets of the job for her and demanding they never ask twice about anything. Miranda's extremely perfectionist and precise tactics have made her the most successful fashion editor in the city. She also spoils her twin daughters rotten to make up for not being around more and even has Andy locate the then unpublished Harry Potter "Book 7" manuscript for them. Miranda then ousts Emily from the highly-anticipated Paris trip and prevents a rival from replacing her by giving her a job she had promised another and warning of every employee who would leave the magazine with her.
• Serenity: The Operative is an intelligent, honorable, and particularly efficient agent of the Alliance, and perhaps the greatest threat the Serenity has ever faced. Dispatched to deal with the exceptionally dangerous River Tam. He begins tracking her via initiating a subliminial Trigger Phrase and tracking Captain Mal Reynolds and his ship. Luring Mal into a trap, The Operative outwits him via wearing body armor, only to barely lose him. Hoping to lure out the Serenity, he orders attacks on any ports that once harbored Mal's ship and crew. He then lures Mal into a trap via their ally Mr. Universe, and confronts him on the planet Miranda, calling off his army when his defeat is assured and parting on civil terms. Returning in Serenity: Leaves on the Wind, the Operative joins in an Enemy Mine with Mal to free River's fellow test subjects. When accosted by Zoe, who desires to kill him, he states that he believes she is in the right to, before stating he will defend himself.
• In the Shadow of the Moon: Rya is an elusive time-traveler from the year 2024 aiming to kill those within the "Real American Movement" to prevent a devastating civil war that they would start in her time. Rya traveled into the past every nine years where she would inject her victims with an isotope and then activate it: allowing her to eliminate all her targets simultaneously while always escaping the police constantly pursuing her. Rya gained support for her actions first by Dr. Rao, who creates the isotope for her to use, and then from Officer Thomas "Lock" Lockhart, who allows her to complete her killing spree after she reveals to Lockhart that she is his granddaughter. Even when learning of her death in 1988, Rya remains undaunted, still committed to accomplishing her goals, and succeeds in preventing the war through her unscrupulous means.
• Logan Lucky: Jimmy Logan is a blue collar worker who, after being fired from his job at Charlotte Motor Speedway, concocts a plan to rob the speedway along with his siblings Clyde and Mellie. To this end he recruits incarcerated Demolitions Expert Joe Bang and his siblings Sam and Fish. Jimmy has Clyde get himself arrested and has Joe organize a riot that they use to cover their escape and eventual return to the prison. After stealing all of the money and escaping, Jimmy anonymously returns the cash Sam and Fish snuck out, causing the investigation to get called off early. He then reveals that Mellie had snuck out extra cash that he gives to everyone involved, as well as a local mobile clinic and a woman whose car he had damaged as part of the heist.
• Street Kings: Captain James Biggs is the scheming head of Internal Affairs in the Los Angeles Police Department who feels slighted by Captain Wander, his former partner, being promoted ahead of him. At the behest of the upper echelons of the police force, who worry that Wander has become too powerful, Biggs provides Agent Ludlow with clues about the corruption within his unit, calculating that he will do whatever it takes to dismantle it. At the end, with Ludlow as the Sole Survivor and many people having gotten caught in the crossfire, Biggs reveals the truth to Ludlow while admitting that he and the men he works for have some use for his ruthless Cowboy Cop tactics.
• Working Girl: Katharine Parker is a Boston broker who transfers to New York and becomes the latest boss of chronic secretary Tess McGill. She assigns Tess with some menial tasks and at first expresses interest in Tess's idea for a merger between a business and a radio company, but then tells her it is not going to work while secretly planning to pass off the idea as her own. When Katharine catches wind of Tess having stolen the idea back, she exposes Tess's deception and nearly takes over her role in the planned merger as a result. Even when her boyfriend Jack Trainer falls for Tess and turns against her, Katharine keeps her cool and even maintains a graceful demeanor to avoid making a scene when about to ultimately lose her job.
• The Count of Monte Cristo: Once a naive boy, Edmond Dantes, the titular Count, is a ruthless schemer who will stop at nothing to take revenge. Taking his time to study his betrayers under his new identity, Dantes convinces his enemies to invest with him, knowing he will ruin them. Winning the loyalty of Albert Morcerf by saving him from a kidnapping he himself arranged, Dantes proceeds to reveal the existence of the surviving daughter of the ruler Albert's father betrayed to ruin him, as well as the bastard son of one of his other enemies after having introduced his wife to poison to destroy his household.
• Lamb to the Slaughter: Mary Maloney is a simple housewife who is informed by her husband Patrick that he intends to divorce her. Murdering him with a frozen leg of lamb, Mary proceeds to put it in the oven and contrives a scheme to get away with murder. Going around town to act like everything is fine and discussing dinner plans with Patrick, Mary calls the police and plays the bereaved housewife perfectly. To eliminate the evidence, she serves the detectives the leg of lamb so they literally eat the evidence, all while hunting for the murder weapon.
• 24:
  • Kalil Hasan, from season 4, is a member of one of Habib Marwan's terrorist cells. Participating in the kidnapping of Secretary of Defense James Heller, Kalil and his allies discovered that computer programmer Andrew Paige accidentally came across one of their Internet nodes. Kalil and another terrorist later visited Andrew's office and murdered all of his co-workers, before Kalil started a manhunt against Andrew. After finding Andrew's location by intercepting a CTU phone call, Kalil kidnapped Andrew while posing as Jack Bauer and killed two law enforcement agents during his escape. He later interrogated Andrew to find out what he knew, and ordered him to be executed even after Andrew claimed he didn't know anything about Heller's abduction. As he repeatedly evaded authorities while posing as an innocent civilian, Kalil discovers that he's being tracked by satellite, resulting in him committing suicide so Bauer and CTU won't discover Heller's location.
  • Ivan Erwich, from season 5 is a member of the Dawn Brigade and Vladimir Bierko's chief lieutenant. Initially posing as a hostage during a terrorist attack, Erwich was in fact a sleeper cell ordered to smuggle Sentox nerve gas out of an airport. As the hostage crisis is resolved, Erwich sneaks out of the airport and succeeds in acquiring several nerve gas canisters. As he tries to smuggle the canisters out of the country in a ship container, he catches one of his allies tampering with them. Erwich interrogates and kills the man, deducing that his American allies have betrayed him. Knowing he can't smuggle the canisters out of the country, Erwich decides to strike back at America instead as punishment, where he repeatedly eludes the authorities and attacks a shopping mall without any of his men giving up his location.
  • Christopher Henderson, also from season 5, is one of the primary members of the season's Sentox VX nerve gas conspiracy. A patriot who is skilled at frequently adjusting his plans when need be, Henderson takes it upon himself to have David Palmer assassinated when he uncovers information about the conspiracy. Afterwards, he frames Jack Bauer for the murder, and tries to have Tony Almeida and Chloe O'Brian killed, while successfully killing Michelle Dessler. After Henderson is caught by Bauer, he refuses to give up his employers' names, even after his wife is threatened and he's tortured for over an hour. After escaping custody, Henderson kidnaps Evelyn Martin's daughter in exchange for finding the location of a recording implicating him and President Charles Logan. Over the course of several hours, Henderson has anyone killed in his pursuit of the recording, even going as far as handing it off to one of his allies before getting recaptured. Knowing his employers will eventually kill him, Henderson agrees to help CTU in stopping Russian terrorists in exchange for safe passage out of the country, and attempts to kill Jack Bauer.
  • Samir Mehran, from season 8, is a former Kamistani soldier who leads a Kamistani terrorist cell in America. Believing that President Omar Hassan has been corrupted by America, he tries to have Hassan assassinated multiple times so his brother, Farhad, can take his place. When the plans fail, Samir decides to attack America instead with a nuclear dispersal device. After Farhad betrays him, Samir has him killed, and he later has Tarin Faroush kidnap Hassan's daughter, Kayla, in an attempt to get Hassan to expose America's antinuclear defenses. Samir allows Kayla to escape so she would unknowingly bring an EMP into CTU headquarters, and later smuggles the nuclear components into New Your City undetected. After eluding CTU multiple times with the help of Dana Walsh and threatening to activate the nuclear device downtown, Samir finally kidnaps Hassan when he gives himself up, and successfully murders him over a live video on the Internet mere minutes before CTU can rescue him.
• The Thick of It: Malcolm Tucker, the Prime Minister's foul-mouthed director of communications is willing to do nearly anything short of actual violence to ensure his party's victory. When Julius Nicholson makes a play for power with the intent of firing Malcolm, Malcolm starts a rumor that Julius is vying for Foreign Secretary and then tells the PM that Julius started the rumors and thus needs to be punished. While Malcolm's rival Steve Flemming briefly manages to get Malcolm fired, Malcolm is quickly hired back because he is indispensable and gets Flemming fired instead by tricking the media into believing that Flemming is corrupt. When leadership of Malcolm's party falls to the incompetent Nicola Murray, Malcolm engineers her downfall in favor of the more competent Dan Miller while making Nicola think that Malcolm is her ally up to the last minute. When a Parliamentary inquiry finds that Malcolm committed perjury, he turns himself in and decides to resign from politics at the cost of great humiliation to himself so he can protect his party.
• BattleTech: Owing to the setting running on Grey-and-Grey Morality and the prevalence of chessmasters in the highest ranks of military and government, most anyone in the setting who is magnificent is also a bastard (at least, to the people they've demonstrated their magnificence against). Some of the standouts are:
  • Sarah McEvedy served under Aleksander Kerensky in the Star League Defense Force before following his son Nicholas on the Second Exodus, proving her skills to become Khan of Clan Wolverine. She led her Wolverines exceptionally in both war and peacetime, though she had to bend several of Nicholas' ideals to do so. As the other Clans, threatened by Wolverine's success, arrayed against her, Sarah learned Nicholas would allow events to unfold, sacrificing her Clan to cement his new society. Sarah concocted a plan to evacuate the bulk of Clan Wolverine from Clan space, though she opted to leave behind many who were insufficiently loyal. After her presumed death, her saKhan followed her plan, jumping the Wolverine flotilla out of Clan space, but not directly back along the Exodus Road. Instead, they waited for Nicholas' pursuit force to launch, and traveled behind their pursuers in a mostly-successful attempt to evade them.
  • Hanse Davion started the Fourth Succession War at his wedding reception by offering his bride the Capellan Confederation as a wedding present, and delivered on half that with a blitzkrieg attack and having moles as two of the top three men in the Maskirovka. Hanse bartered the life of Joshua Marik, son of Free Worlds League leader Thomas Marik, offering to have Joshua transported to the New Avalon Institute of Science to treat his leukemia in exchange for the League producing badly-needed upgrade kits for forces fighting the Clans. Hanse also made a non-aggression pact with Theodore Kurita, promising not to send his troops into Combine space while the Clans remained a threat, and when Luthien itself came under attack, sent the Kell Hounds and Wolf's Dragoons mercenary units not to attack Luthien, but to defend it. Because he promised he wouldn't send his troops.
  • Ulric Kerensky is a staunch Warden, and takes every opportunity to sabotage the Crusader agenda, while being exceptionally good at making it not look like he's doing that. Forced to join the Clan invasion of the Inner Sphere, Ulric advances his Clan Wolf harder and faster than any other, forcing the Crusader Clans to lag behind or overextend themselves trying to keep up. He is promoted to ilKhan in a bid to both swing the leadership of Clan Wolf towards Crusader and nullify his ability to push his Warden agenda, and blunts both thrusts. First, he short-circuits his Crusader rival's attempt to become Khan of Clan Wolf, promoting fellow Warden Natasha Kerensky instead. Second, he "accidentally" lets slip to ComStar that the true goal of the invasion is Terra, resulting in the Battle and Truce of Tukayyid. After six more years, his Crusader rivals finally oust him as ilKhan, only for Ulric to turn the Trial of Refusal into the Refusal War, pitting the Crusaders of Clan Wolf against Clan Jade Falcon and mauling both so badly the Clans are forced to stall their invasion plans for a few more years.
  • Sun-Tzu Liao paints himself an insane fool, both to survive his actually insane mother and encourage others to underestimate him. He drops the act upon ascending to the Celestial Throne of the Capellan Confederation, arranging a marriage to Thomas Marik's daughter Isis to apply political pressure to the Federated Commonwealth. He indirectly sparks the Chaos March debacle by thinking it would be a good idea to accuse Victor Steiner-Davion of having replaced Joshua Marik with a body double, only for the plot to reveal Victor had actually done it. Ruthlessly leveraging every advantage available to him, whether from his own plots or attempts by rivals to leverage him against their rivals, Sun-Tzu Liao goes down in history as one of the most famous and beloved Chancellors, restoring power and pride to a people Hanse Davion had all but broken.
• Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice: Usui Ukonzaemon, better known as The Great shinobi "Owl", is a talented ninja who once stood alongside the Ashina Clan. Betraying the clan to hunt the Dragon Heritage manifest in Lord Kuro, Owl directs the Interior Ministry and bandits to assault the Hirata Estate while faking his death. Suspecting his partner, Lady Butterfly of treachery, Owl has his adoptive son Wolf deal with her while disappearing so he can play all sides against one another. Returning to claim Kuro, Owl plans to seize all Japan with the dragon heritage and even upon his defeat, uses his final breath to express his pride in the ninja Wolf has become.
• The Batman:
  • Catwoman, real name Selina Kyle, is a cat burglar who steals because of the adrenaline rush she receives from the act. With skills rivaling Batman himself, Catwoman frequently evades his grasp, and at one point even manages to steal his utility belt, using it to aid in her thefts. Not limiting herself solely to crime, Catwoman has occasionally allied herself with the Dark Knight, aiding him in taking down worse criminals and even saving his life at times.
  • Out of all the villains in Batman's Rogues Gallery, Professor Hugo Strange is perhaps the most dangerous of them all. Fascinated by Batman's crusade against crime, Hugo Strange studies on the minds of criminals apprehended by Batman as a means to understand the Dark Knight himself. Using his criminal studies as his foundation, Strange launches various schemes to psychologically destroy Batman such as creating the hyper-intelligent criminal AI known as D.A.V.E., manipulating Batman to spread a fear toxin across Gotham, and capturing members of the Justice League for the Joining. He has come close to victory many times if not for the last-minute gambits on Batman's part; and he takes his losses in stride, biding his time for the next opportunity to arrive. Strange respects Batman's intelligence, citing him to be the most dangerous member of the Justice League, while the Batman begrudgingly respects Strange as a brilliant psychiatrist who can mess with people's heads. Armed with nothing more than his brilliant intellect and morbid curiosity in a world of combat-prone villains, Hugo Strange certainly earns the title of "Gotham's Ultimate Criminal Mastermind."
• Franchise/Pokemon}} Fan Fic Pokémon Reset Bloodlines: Sabrina is a ruthless Psychic Heart Bloodliner who operates as Saffron City's Gym Leader. As a child, she came to the conclusion that humanity was in desperate need of some kind of incentive for improvement, so she terrorized her hometown to test her theory. Considering her ideas vindicated when a young bug catcher finally stands up to her, she spends the next several years embarking on various schemes to improve or eliminate various people, all for her eventual goal to build a truly meritocratic world. She eventually kidnaps Ash and forces him to fight his way through her gym to get a Marsh Badge and/or his Primeape, with the intention of forcing him to shed his reluctance to go all-out. During this fight, she proves an extremely capable opponent, adjusting to virtually every new development and constantly keeping Ash on his toes. Very persuasive when she wants to be and balancing her villainy with genuine moral standards, Sabrina proves to be one of the most brilliant and dangerous adversaries Ash has to deal with on his second journey.

Anything else?

Edited by 43110 on Jan 17th 2020 at 10:09:22 AM

I've got this.

• Serenity: The Operative is an intelligent, honorable, and particularly efficient agent of the Alliance, and perhaps the greatest threat the Serenity has ever faced. Dispatched to deal with the exceptionally dangerous River Tam. He begins tracking her via initiating a subliminial Trigger Phrase and tracking Captain Mal Reynolds and his ship. Luring Mal into a trap, The Operative outwits him via wearing body armor, only to barely lose him. Hoping to lure out the Serenity, he orders attacks on any ports that once harbored Mal's ship and crew. He then lures Mal into a trap via their ally Mr. Universe, and confronts him on the planet Miranda, calling off his army when his defeat is assured and parting on civil terms. Returning in Serenity: Leaves on the Wind, the Operative joins in an Enemy Mine with Mal to free River's fellow test subjects. When accosted by Zoe, who desires to kill him, he states that he believes she is in the right to, before stating he will defend himself.

Found this on YMMV.Yojimbo

• Magnificent Bastard: Sanjūrō, though he plays down the "bastard" part as the film goes on. Also, Unosuke, what with how he sees through Sanjūrō. But Sanjūrō escapes.

This happens to be one of my favourite movies, and I'll get to Sanjuro eventually (I don't really think Unosuke counts), but I'll need to rewatch both it and Sanjuro. If anybody else gets to it before me go for it.

I’m thinking of making a proposal of a potential MB. But first, I need to know something: Is it possible for an Anti-Hero to qualify? Or do they NEED to be villainous?

The character in question is a police informant who participates in criminal activities to gain trust from other criminals while informing the police of what is going on. However, whenever his chessmaster plans is about to fall he has to commit some questionable acts such as murder and framing (often unawaring to the police) too make them fall back on tracks.

Potential? Or does he sound too much of a ”Good” Guy?

Anti Heroes can qualify, we got L and Shadow as well as Catwoman up for example. They just need to do morally ambiguous things. And remember, they can't be too much of a bastard. But easy yes to Lance before I forget. So happy he got up. Though it's more likely if the character is a Anti-Villain, Well-Intentioned Extremist, or something to that nature, I wouldn't count Anti Heroes out.

Also, before I forget... Does anyone in Fire Emblem Three Houses count? From my understanding... no because everyone gets played to an extent. Pretty sure Lighty pointed that out but just asking in case he didn't.

Edited by Klavice on Jan 16th 2020 at 7:19:50 AM

On YMMV.The Dark Is Rising.

• Magnificent Bastard: The Black Rider.

Also, on Awesome.Batman V Superman Dawn Of Justice.

• Lex has some seriously brass balls on him, to push Lois off a building, then taunt Superman by telling him that he has his mother hostage. He's the epitome of Magnificent Bastard.

Edited by Clown-Face on Jan 16th 2020 at 10:20:07 AM

Ok then I know! Thanks. EP will come.

Oh Lord no to BVS lex, even if I'm part of the crowd that actually Liked him as a bad guy, he's an unstable, immensely petty Psychopathic Manchild and is just ...kind of an asshole.

Isn’t Raoul Silva from ‘’Skyfall’’ both Psychopathic Manchild and Magnificent Bastard? I’m not arguing for including Lex from the DCEU, just pointing out the rare overlap.

I've thought about Edelgard when it comes to Three Houses. I think she stands a chance of keeping, but I haven't played all four routes yet. Someone else wants to take her, it's all theirs.

@Kylo He might have matured beyond that given how that stinger at the end of Justice League might have implied (we'll probably never see that though).

@k4 Silva seems to transcend those traits of being a Psychopathic Manchild though if you ask me (to the point that I wonder if those traits can even actually be applied).

@Klavice, @Enigmatic Luther Whitney and Plutarch Heavensbee are also good examples.

Edited by futuremoviewriter on Jan 16th 2020 at 2:57:14 AM

The problem with Edelgard is her situation is very similar, nay, inspired by a non keeper Lelouch van Britannica, namely, everyone else is made seemingly useless so she can succeed. I don't consider that worthy of Magnificent Bastard status. The playing field must be equal for both sides. Edelgard's only competition is... the Goddess. I'd happily propose her (Edelgard) if there was a decent reason why she should count beyond manipulating a lot of the events.

Edited by Klavice on Jan 16th 2020 at 5:51:32 AM

I thought the main reason Lelouch doesn't count is that he never handles defeat gracefully. He's constantly freaking out, or having HeroicBSODs when things don't go his way.

Yeah that's the actual reason he doesn't count. He uh can't handle defeat very well...

Edelgard is kinda the same though. If you play non-Crimson Flower paths and beat her, she goes through an EXTREME Villainous Breakdown.

So yeah, not seeing it.

I wouldn't say "extreme" Villainous Breakdown. (In fact, other than going Hegemon, Edelgard in the Blue Lions ending is fairly stoic and Defiant to the End. I've got a long way to go before I finish every route, so I suppose it's just a matter of me not seeing the parts in which she is.)

From Awesome.Kill La Kill

• Ragyo shows how much of a Magnificent Bitch she is. Not only does she survive Satsuki's attempted assassination, she beats the ever loving shit out of her. Satsuki had never lost a fight before this episode, at worst tying with Ryuko back in their fight from Episode 16, so seeing her utterly trashed is a sight to behold.

Absolutely not. Molesting your daughters the most unmagnificent thing you could ever do. Anyway, the entry has nothing to do with her strategic or tactical brilliance, and everything to do with her raw power.

Also I looked it up, and Satsuki was determined not to be an example, so these have to go too:

• Satsuki, for starters, shows off her magnificent brilliance when she manages to make a pretty good argument for her misanthropy while simultaneously adapting Ryuko's attack on the system into her plans. The moment Ryuko and Mako agree to make a club and play the game at Honnoji Academy, they're smoothly brought into the system, and everyone except Ryuko is almost immediately corrupted by luxury and greed and starts acting exactly like the pigs that Satsuki argues that humans are. When Ryuko decides to cut and run, Satsuki gives Mako a Goku Uniform and pits them against each other - and whether Mako or Ryuko won, either outcome would prove her argument.
• Satsuki for being a Magnificent Bitch by enacting a Xanatos Gambit with Ryuko being her Unwitting Pawn by weeding out all of the weaker clubs just so she can enact her next plan.
• Satsuki proves her Magnificent Bastard chops yet again when she agrees to end the fight and order her brigades to stand down, ending the Mexican Standoff. She offers her sword to Ryuko as a good-faith gesture, but Ryuko refuses because she knows that Satsuki wouldn't go back on her word. And yet, while Satsuki had ordered her men to stand down, she knew that one of her Elite Four was currently incommunicado and on course to complete the destruction of Nudist Beach anyway. She did what she said she would and Nudist Beach's base was destroyed anyway, so her objectives were fulfilled regardless.

Edited by randomtroper89 on Jan 16th 2020 at 12:21:48 PM

Edelgard seems like she's in need of an EP.

I have no horse in this race, I'll say right now.

I believe Lighty or Scraggle reserved 3H, so they would know, if you want a second opinion.

I'm open to discussing Satsuki but we've informally agreed she doesn't count and that's an opinion I hold. To me the part where she's a bitch (pre-allying with Ryuko) sees her having a plan that will ultimately fall to Ragyo when she's extremely unprepared for her mother's Life Fiber abilities and after enduring an unknown amount of time as a restrained sex slave, ceases to be a bitch entirely to really become part of the group that can deal with her monstrous mother.

Also, a slight update to an entry that was done during the time of the great mass rewrites.

Current:

• FreeSpace: Main antagonist Aken Bosch spends the entirety of the game attempting to ally with the Destroyers, AKA the Shivans whom he believes are unstoppable and will never be defeated regardless of the GTVA's efforts. When the players are tasked with a squadron to intercept and disable his ship, he openly sends a communication channel to the player and taunts them, questioning the competence of their commanders as he warps out of the system, well before the players have any chance at hitting him, just before a Shivan fleet ambushes the player's squadron. He frequently outsmarts the entire GTVA command in his capital ship, and when it looks like he's finally been caught when his ship is disabled and boarded, it's found out that he had planned a ruse which included the capture of his ship and all of his crew all along, and he had actually used the confusion to escape alone on-board a Shivan transport, showing more ingenuity and unpredictability than even the inscrutable alien race.

Rewrite:

• FreeSpace: Admiral Aken Bosch spends the entirety of the game attempting to ally with the Destroyers — aka the Shivans — whom he believes are unstoppable and will never be defeated regardless of the efforts of the Galactic Terran-Vasudan Alliance (GTVA). When the players are tasked with a squadron to intercept and disable his ship, Bosch openly sends a communication channel to the player and taunts them, questioning the competence of their commanders as he warps out of the system, well before the players have any chance at hitting him, just before a Shivan fleet ambushes the player's squadron. He frequently outsmarts the entire GTVA command in his capital ship, and when it looks like he's finally been caught when his ship is disabled and boarded, it's found out that he had planned a ruse which included the capture of his ship and all of his crew all along, and he had actually used the confusion to escape alone on-board a Shivan transport, showing more ingenuity and unpredictability than even the inscrutable alien race.

Imperial and ACW I know you're pothole dudes so feel free to tag as you'd like.

This is on Chucky's character page.

• Older and Wiser: A villainous example. In Curse of Chucky, which takes place twenty-five years since the first film, Chucky averts the Stupid Evil trope and becomes a Magnificent Bastard in terms of proper and tactical planning on getting to his target such as not wasting time killing irrelevant bystanders or going into childish Screaming Warrior tantrums that only slows him down like back when he was younger, inexperienced in playing the doll role the first time after he transferred his soul into a shell and more repulsively impulsive.

Nah Chucky is a monster and Smug Snake. It's always what he's been.

Change it to The Chessmaster IMO.

Edited by miraculous on Jan 17th 2020 at 9:08:05 AM

Also, on YMMV.Recess

• Love to Hate
  • Randall as well considering he can sometimes reach Magnificent Bastard levels.

Pfffft....

Also, I was considering whether to bring this up, but decided I might as well.

Awesome.My Little Pony Friendship Is Magic Season 9

• Although his actions were misguided and had terrible consequences for Equestria as a whole, The Reveal that Grogar was Discord in disguise all along retroactively becomes one for the Lord of Chaos, who was not only playing the Legion of Doom like a fiddle up until now, but actually managed to intimidate them with his threats and incredible displays of raw power, showing he can still be quite manipulative and terrifying whenever he wants to be. The reveal also shows that Discord can rejuvenate Tirek with just a fraction of his power, teleport anyone out of Tartarus, and bring ponies back from the dead. For double the irony, the villains mocked Discord in "Frenemies" for being a has-been who was "ruined" by friendship. If not for his severe oversight of the villains finding the bell and using it against him, Discord would certainly qualify as the season's biggest Magnificent Bastard.

No. This season is practically Discord choking to death on the Idiot Ball, even taking out his major oversight.

Edited by Clown-Face on Jan 17th 2020 at 9:20:54 AM

@miraculous: Did you watch Curse of Chucky? I believe we have had cases where characters who were intiallity Smug Snakes developed into this trope. Though I do question if he's still too sadistic or too much of a dick to count.