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:
- 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
Alright next up from Time Force. And maybe one of the most brilliant secondary villains the franchise has ever produced. Also side note I'm not bringing up Sins of the future sequel comic into this ep. It referenced Hyperforce as being canonically in the main universe when it was explicit by the creators that it wasn't. And features tons of continuity errors from the show. To the point where its literally impossible for them to link.
'Who is Frax/Dr. Louis Ferricks?
Once upon a time in the year 3000, their was a kind scientist named Dr. Louis Ferricks who wanted to create peace between Mutants and Humans. Ferricks was a genius who created the mooks of this season, the Cyclobots. He found Ransik who had been bit by the mutant Venomark and saved him. However Ransik repaid him by destroying his lab and leaving him for dead, Ferrick's was able to save himself and transformed himself into a robot (I guess if we're being technical Cyborg but uh) named Frax. Frax later came to work under Ransik all well pretending to be a stupid robot. He had gained a fanatical hatred of Ransik and Mutants after this and now seeks to allow Robots as the superior beings, control over the planet.
Frax is pretty cunning. Over the series he uses the feelings of Bounty Hunter Fatcatfish to send him into a trap. He plays that he's helping him when by getting Ransik but secretly feeds info to Pink Ranger Jem that Ransik will be at this meet-up place, Ransik thinks that Fatcatfish has betrayed him and turns on him. In another he discovers the X Vault key, containing the most dangerous of Mutants, releasing a Mad Bomber to dominate the city in his eventual image. Smartly hiding the key later. When a pacifist Mutant named Notacon escapes, Ransik creates a device to force him against the Rangers.
Anyways Frax has a Mutant named Izout break into Bio Labs and steals apparent Waste. He has Izout cover his escape with the waste by dueling the rangers, and use it to create Trizyrium Crystals. A rare crystal with the power to create hyperobots. He attacks Silver Hills with intent to show the superiority of Robots over Mutants. He sends his first Tronicon against the Rangers which wipes the floor with them till they get help from the Shadow Wing. He even fights the Rangers himself pretty well hand to hand.
Anyways Frax unleashes Venomark himself from containment in the X Vault. Well Ransik goes running after him, Frax reveals to , Venomark he has a method to get rid of him. Frax sabotages the cure to Venomark's virus and reveals to Ransik who he is. Leaving Jim to die.
Ransik chases after him but Frax convinces the two Cyclobots that are chasing him that as fellow robots they need to stick together and not to hand him over. Frax now builds his greatest creation Dragontron, and unless he's it on the city. It's only weak spot is a spot on it's back. The Rangers line up to hit but frax blasts it's head to warn it and its able to totally clobber the shit out of them. In fact they would have died if Eric Myers /Quantum Ranger didn't come and summon the Q rex zord to chase it away. Still Frax repairs Dragontron and creates an energy siphon which shuts down the Zords. Alex whose taken over as Ranger leader and is a moron forces the Rangers to go on the ground with no plan and get wrecked by Frax who counters them easily even shooting their robot Owl. Til Wes breaks his destiny and takes back control and Tackles Frax and destroys the siphon. He than hits Dragontron's weak spot and destroys it.
Anyway Frax sends the Mutant Mr Mechanu, to convince people to join his Gym and take his superpowered energy drink which turns people into robots. The Rangers infiltrate and he nearly captured and turns Jem. Wes escapes with her and they defeat Mechanu whose defeat returns the hop scothing robohumans to normal.
In a Calm before the storm, Frax unleashed Max Axe (he created him from the remains of tronicon) to attack the city. He wipes the floor with them on the ground and countered everything they got. Since he's fighting them on the ground it leaves the city vulnerable to Max Axe, Thankfully Eric arrived and U Sed the Q Rex to destroy it. Frax retreats but reveals to them more is coming. Turns out this was just a test excercise to get data for his ultimate creation : Doomtron.
Anyway Ransik sends his minions to find Frax's location. They do by sheer number and captures him with Ransik planning to highjack Doomtron but well it can only be activated with Frax's synchronisation. So....
Anyway in the prison cell, Frax and Nadira talk. And Frax reveals to her.
"Humans rejected your father and taught him to hate... then he destroyed me and I was filled with hatred as well! It's a vicious cycle that never ends, Nadira!"
Anyway he asks her to leave him but well he's being taken away to have his memories removed. She apologises to him for what her father did to him. This has him flashback to his time as Ferricks and that their is hope for her to break the cycle. He than goes out of his way to tell her with his dying breath that he was wrong and that their is still hope and to never ever give up. After this his Empty Shell form is destroyed with Doomtron. And well Nadira convinced Ransik to let go off his hatred and to allows Nadira to get a genuinely good life. So I guess Frax got the moral victory at the end.
Magnificent?
He is one of the most brilliant secondary villains ever in PR. He can manipulate Mutants into doing his biding and be distractions, set traps, and create false defeats to set up later victories. He'll in Venomark's episode he beat Ransik totally. And spends a lot of the season even with him till the end.
Alright let's get this out of the way. For 96percent of the show, Frax is a near perfect candidate. And than he gets caught which tbf wasn't anything he did. And than totally erased of personality. I talked with some people. But the thing that makes me favour him still keeping is the ending , he realises that he was finished but let go off his hatred to allow Nadira to let go of it. He even fights out from being dragged their to tell her thatz, going out of his at to do something good with his life at the end. And you know perhaps he didn't win but he did a get a moral victory.
'Bastard?'
Frax is pretty bad . He's more active in Ransik in attacking and destroying the city. He was very much The Heavy of the series but he's also not even that Bad for the franchise as as a whole. That stuff being bog standard.
His backstory is also really sad. He was a genuinely kind man who lost everything. And in the end he ford let go of said hatred and do something good at the end.
Conclusion?
I'll let you guys decide. Next up Eric Meyers /Quantam Ranger.
Edit :
Diablco (the only good Lightspeed rescue villain)
Yes to Frax and Diabolico.
Annnnnnd for my last but certainly not least Three Hopes candidate. Our carryover from the original game. Coming at you with a redesign that makes him look like he just got straight out of opening for My Chemical Romance, the rat man himself!
Who is Hubert von Vestra?
The ever-loyal right hand (And... uh... other things) of Lady Edelgard von Hresvelg, Hubert helps organize the plan to turn against the Agarthans and save Monica from their clutches when so ordered. Fighting alongside Edelgard and the other Black Eagles to save Monica, Hubert aids Edelgard in beginning her war against the Church and conquering the Empire, employing a classic purge of nobles including arranging the death of his own father... though a rivalry with the similarly Edelgard-invested Monica quickly begins. Once again, we split into the three routes...
He's, uh, probably the least relevant on this route.
...and Hubert is nowhere to be seen. It's mentioned in a cutscene that he and other Edelgard loyalists just disappeared to Uncertain Doom, the heavy implication being that they were Killed Offscreen as part of the takeover. After all, Hubert would never bend the knee to them as they destroyed Edelgard's Empire— especially since they have the woman he loves trapped within her own mind.
When Shez gets possessed by Epimenides, Hubert takes to the field and wastes no time in noting that this vindicates his suspicions. Though Shez is re-recruited, he admits that the bond they've built over time has been shattered and he's back to being completely suspicious of them. The Empire assaults Garreg Mach, taking on the Agarthans and Church in a Mêlée à Trois and, (in frankly one of the most badass sequences in either game) when the final confrontation hits its peak, Rhea ignores the Empire completely and instead turns her attention to Thales, seemingly scoring a Mutual Kill with her hated enemy, though the pair disappear with no trace in a burst of magic. The route ends with the war between Kingdom and Empire continuing, and Hubert still at the side of his Emperor.
Is Hubert magnificent?
I mean, c'mon. What do we think? Everything about him is coated in delicious evil, even his fighting style of embedding his foes with magical spikes that he then detonates in massive, precise chain reactions with utter impunity. He's the same devilishly smug schemer, and just as competent and charming. He's illuminated as being maybe a bit more ruthless here, but it's also balanced out by added redeeming traits as I'll get to in the next section. He's a genius planner who concocts new strategies, has contingencies for everything, is right on the money about Shez (Albeit Right for the Wrong Reasons) and even shows himself able to coerce a potential assassin into becoming the Empire's minion in the middle of fighting them. He sets traps, improvises, and remains hilariously snarky all the while. He even saves Ferdinand's life through good planning, predicting his foolhardiness yet refusing to let him die when he remains valuable.
Only thing cramping it is him being implicitly Killed Offscreen by Those Who Slither In The Dark once they take the Empire in Azure Gleam, but after some thought I earnestly think this doesn't mitigate him at all. While not the most regal way to go, it bears mention that his enemies are perpetually arrogant in their control of the Empire, trying to rearrange things to persuade everyone to their own cause— yet, for some reason or another (Likely a combination of Undying Loyalty and his knowledge about them) they chose to "disappear" Hubert rather than even try dealing with him. It's not like we're shown he falls to a mistake or arrogance; they just get rid of him offscreen because there's no way he'd stand for what they're doing.
So, yeah. Guy's the same magnificent, delightfully evil fellow he was in the source material.
Is Hubert bad?
Well, uh, yeah. I sum him as "deliciously evil," and he really is that. While there's deeper motives like in the original game, he's still a horribly callous monster— and his envious, possessive nature is only focused on more with the existence of Monica, the "good side" of Edelgard's conscience who Hubert constantly bickers with— especially notable is when Shamir shows up to try and kill Edelgard, the two of them both try to save her, and Hubert opens fire with a massive magic attack while Monica is in the blast zone, causing Monica to ask if he was trying to kill her. Which, uh, he quickly changes the subject on instead of saying no. He also constantly talks about murdering Shez, like with Byleth, but unlike Byleth, any bond they had is shattered by the end and he openly thinks Edelgard should just let him kill them, only restraining himself because he knows it would displease Edelgard to murder one of their best generals.
That said? Hubert's also got a platter of redeeming traits. He confirms to Shez that, despite appearances, he's not classist. Rather, he just wants sterner stock from commoners that ascend into high roles, lest they displease the nobles and set his and Edelgard's reforms back to day one, wanting to balance placating petty nobles and letting commoners ascend through the ranks. His loyalty and love for Edelgard is genuine, he compliments Monica when he thinks she has good ideas (Though he always precedes it by noting how rare he finds it, because... Hubert.) and notably, while he protested breaking the alliance, had no problem diving into a pitched battle to save Monica despite openly hating her and seeing her as a romantic rival. He's honest about what he is. Oh, and he actually does have a mom and sister despite appearances— he keeps them a secret because he deeply, desperately fears someone hurting them and treats Lysithea more kindly because she reminds him of his sister. Plus, he despises Those Who Slither In The Dark and positively relishes the opportunity to start hunting them down.
So, yeah. He's worse than before but also retains his plethora of redeeming traits and is nowhere near as awful as the real villains.
Conclusion?
Downvoting will endanger my life. Your Majesty, I must upvote.
Edited by Riley1sCool on Aug 10th 2022 at 7:40:41 AM
You know, it's funny, but regarding this
: It's why we have a frustrating almost-crossover in Garthon Rastor. The universe ending would be quick, and he's EXTREMELY magnificent; the only problem is the Targeted to Hurt the Hero scene where he kill's Jack's mother just to torment him; if not for that, I'd at least propose him here as well.
Lighty, mind commenting on Onaga
?
Also some video suggestions from both of them.
For Ransik. His escape in the first episode
And Frax. Frax destroying Ransik's antidote.
Edited by miraculous on Aug 10th 2022 at 8:51:07 AM
"That's right mortal. By channeling my divine rage into power, I have forged a new instrument in which to destroy you."Oh, excellent then
I'll do the writeup when I have time (I got another potential I wanna EP first, from In Death).
In the meantime, while I'm waiting for tomorrow to come, I found a couple of characters from the first Gunvolt that I think might count.
First Proposal
What is the work?
Azure Striker Gunvolt is a game developed by Inti Creates, also known for Mega Man Zero and Mega Man ZX. It features a world thrown into chaos by the rise of superpowered individuals known as Adepts, and the former hitman, known as Gunvolt, who fights for their rights by opposing the unethical experimentation done on them by the organisation of Sumeragi.
Who is the character?
Merak is a member of the Sumeragi Swordsmen, led by Nova. Garnering the title of "The Slothful Conjurer", Merak is renowned for his brilliant mind almost as much as he is for his laziness and apathy towards just about everything.
What does he do?
Merak is one of the several foes faced off against by Gunvolt, put in charge of Sumeragi's aquatic base, which Gunvolt is sent to infiltrate so he can investigate the potential building of an armed submarine. He meets up with Merak after traversing the stage and kills him after a fairly difficult boss battle.
Later, after Merak is resurrected in the second half of the game, he infiltrates Gunvolt's apartment and kidnaps Joule, taking off with his Wormhole ability afterwards. Gunvolt gives chase, and the two do battle again, with Gunvolt coming out victorious once again.
Is he Magnificent?
Of course. If there's one thing anyone who has played the game can agree on, it's that he's one of the most hilarious characters in the game, with his delightfully snarky and bored personality making him a Fountain of Memes among the fandom. He is certainly one of the more popular Swordsmen because of this.
He is touted In-Universe as having a brilliant mind, and this is no Informed Attribute. Throughout the stage, Merak uses his ability to create wormholes to disorient GV around his stage, and at one point floods the base, filling it with water. Water is Gunvolt's weakness (plus he's still human and can drown), so this happens to be a major inconvenience. Even his boss fight sees him using his Septima in clever ways to make for a tricky and impressive opponent.
Is he a Bastard? Too much?
This is where I think he might have trouble qualifying. Merak is...nasty. While that aforementioned "filling the base with water" thing happened while he didn't bother evacuating any of his minions, so they're still on board when this happens, and their lives are directly endangered. While this can arguably be seen as pragmatic and efficient of him, it's still a dick move. There's also the fact that he kidnapped Joule, once threw an officer's wig into an incinerator for threatening to report him for using his Septima without a Glaive, and admitted casually that he doesn't really value the lives of those working under him. He is also indirectly responsible for Elise gaining two extra personalities, as he caught her PKing in a game and cheating with her Septima. He used a gadget to disable said Septima, and then rather than report her to Nova, he left her for Sumeragi to take a hold of, thus causing the massacre of the research team. He clearly thinks in a very cold, practical way, embodying the Deadly Sin of Sloth at its worst.
He isn't all bad, however, especially considering Azure Striker Gunvolt has many worse villains in it. Sumeragi is overall a Necessary Evil, as Adepts have been proven time and again to require regulation lest the world fall into even deeper chaos, so working for them isn't too bad, and with the exception of what happened with Elise (which was largely unintentional, consequence-wise), he was following orders or otherwise furthering their goal. He is also genuinely loyal to Nova, carrying out his orders even after being resurrected out of gratitude to the man.
What's the competition like?
By the nature of the game and his limited screentime, Merak doesn't really have to compete with anyone in battles of wits in the main game, not even the other candidate I have below. In the Drama CDs, however, he competes with Teseo of Zonda's Seven, who he manages to outwit - Teseo breaches the security programs of the Media Tower and locks Merak in, but Merak manages to defeat him by sending a virus to his computer. I was considering proposing Teseo at some point, as he's also pretty brainy, but he has too much of a Sore Loser streak to count, with the showdown between Merak and Teseo being proof of this.
Final Verdict?
I've noticed that when I come up with an MB candidate on my own (Shojo, Mikado), they tend to get accepted, and when I get one from the MB Wiki (Volo, Heather Pepitone), they get rejected. Let's hope that trend continues here.
Second Proposal
Spoilers ahead for those who have not completed Azure Striker Gunvolt.
What is the work?
The exact same as the previous one. I don't think I need to elaborate here.
Who is the character?
Asimov is the second Azure Striker, and the leader of the terrorist organisation, QUILL, formed to push back against the unethical experiments that Sumeragi conducts on Adepts. Though initially a kindly mentor for GV, he reveals his true colours at the end of the game. Much like Zonda, he wishes to create a world for Adepts with no humans in it, and seeks to Kill All Humans to achieve this.
What does he do?
He leads the SHEEPS team of QUILL, hoping to bring down Sumeragi, and assists GV by offering advice throughout his missions. After Gunvolt successfully defeats Nova, Asimov reveals his real goal - to take control of Sumeragi, kill humanity and make a world for Adepts, and he invites GV and Joule to assist him as the king and queen of his Adept empire. When they refuse, he kills them both. While this sticks in the bad ending, in the good ending, GV survives thanks to Joule's pendant, and Anthem is activated, allowing him to fight Asimov and put a stop to his evil schemes.
Is he Magnificent?
I would argue so. He remains Affably Evil (or Faux Affably Evil, it's hard to tell) even after his villain reveal, and is a likeable character whose reveal is foreshadowed decently but subtly. He is a juggernaut in battle, as the second Azure Striker with power comparable to GV's himself. He manages to keep his true nature well-hidden, and even before this, he is a charismatic and somewhat quirky leader to the other SHEEPS, with Moniqa having a crush on him and GV seeing him as a surrogate father. He also goes out with dignity, showing genuine respect for GV's strength and warning him that Adepts and humans will continue fighting, and GV will eventually get caught in the struggle, a fact that is proven right come the sequel.
As for intelligence, he manages to effortlessly manipulate GV into taking down Sumeragi for him so that he can begin his plans. He taught GV how to use his Septima, which has clearly been very effective. Before confronting GV, he fights Copen, defeats him, and takes his gun, knowing that its Greed Snatcher rounds can neutralise GV in the event that he rejects his offer, and uses it liberally during his boss fight, making him an incredible challenge of the player's skill.
Nova was rejected for failing to display cunning, but considering GV was dancing along to Asimov's puppet strings for more or less the entire game, I'd say he's smart enough.
Is he a Bastard? Too much?
Well, he's trying to Kill All Humans. Even before the villain reveal, he had no qualms ordering GV to kill the Muse, Joule, even after he learned that she was a person rather than a program.
There are a couple of factors that I initially thought disqualifying, but when you get down to it, he can still count.
His portrayal in Luminous Avenger iX is an approved Complete Monster, being genocidally racist and oppressing both humans and Adepts, but here's the thing: iX isn't canon. It's left ambiguous whether he was a Complete Monster even at the get-go or if he snapped somewhere down the line, but it shouldn't have any bearing on his status in the first game, especially since he's portrayed here as more of a Well-Intentioned Extremist.
More convincingly is the fact that at the end of the day, he is essentially a Super Supremacist, trying to make a world for Adepts alone. I wasn't initially going to make this, but then I remembered that's more or less the same thing as Zonda, who was approved. And like Zonda, Asimov is (most likely) a Well-Intentioned Extremist, and what cannot be denied is that he has also suffered greatly at the hands of humanity. He was a part of Project Gunvolt just like GV was, which...yeah, so he has a sympathetic-enough precedent for this and a good enough reason to want them gone, while he, too, is genuinely looking out for Adepts as opposed to simply being power hungry (as evidenced by his desire to install GV and Joule as the leaders of his empire when he could just take the power himself).
What's the competition like?
Well, nobody in the game manages to outsmart him, if that means anything. He is only defeated in a show of force from GV himself. He outmanoeuvres Nova, who never once caught on to the possibility of Asimov attempting to take over Sumeragi. In fact, nobody did.
Final Verdict?
Arguably a stronger keep than Merak, but let's see.
Edited by Iceaura39 on Aug 10th 2022 at 7:35:25 PM
It is I, the narrator, categorising addict and writer of books you haven't read.

Yes to Ransik and well done there mir! I think the only thing that might push him out is what he does to Doctor Fenecks, but by this point he's probably decided all humanity must die so he probably thought him a fool because, if he knew Rasik's intentions, he wouldn't have cured him. But yeah he's awesome and has enough goofy and charming moments to offset his cruel actions and endgame.
Yes also to Spartacus.
Alright to follow on mir's example, here’s a new PR MB EP.
What is the Work?
Power Rangers Lightspeed Rescue sees the City of Mariner Bay under attack by demons that were released from a tomb by some very greedy and silly men. See, Mariner Bay is built on the grounds where the Demons had their Palace before they were sealed.
Fortunately, the Demons can’t go underwater, and thus Lightspeed Rescue was established with the Aquabase as HQ, recruiting Five Individuals with Attitude to become Power Rangers and defeat the Demons with the power of gun and Red Ranger Carter Grayson being a badass.
And the LR Rangers' coolest enemy is my candidate today: Diabolico!
Who is he? What has he done?
Diabolico starts off as The Heavy in the absence of Queen Bansheera. Coming up with all sorts of clever ploys, Diabolico comes off as noble and genuinely loyal. Before the series began, Captain Mitchell got into a car accident. Unable to save his son, Ryan, Diabolico made a deal with him - that he’ll save his son but in exchange Ryan’s life will belong to him. Very reluctantly and at practically the last second Mitchell agrees, Diabolico promising he won’t see his son until his 18th birthday. In response, Mitchell creates Lightspeed Rescue, to research and fight the Demons.
Lying to Ryan that his father let him fall, Ryan becomes loyal to Diabolico as his surrogate father. Having Ryan steal the Titanium Morpher since Demons can't infiltrate the Aqubase, Ryan becomes one of the Rangers' deadliest enemies before finally reconciling with Mitchell, but Diabolico curses him in a dream: Every time he morphs, a Cobra Tattoo will move up his body, and when it reaches his neck it will destroy him. Ryan keeps fighting regardless, eventually breaking the curse by destroying the Snake Monster at its source.
Bansheera threatens Diabolico that if he doesn’t destroy Mariner Bay soon she will give his Star Power to Impus, her son and heir. In response, Diabolico releases 3 of his strongest demons, even fusing them after defeat. When that’s not enough, Diabolico himself steps up to fight the Rangers. He almost wins until Ryan comes back, they combine their Zords and destroy him once and for all /s:
"Rangers… you have done the impossible… but rest assured, Queen Bansheera will avenge my defeat a hundred fold!"
And so Impus inherits the Star Power and becomes Olympius and Diabolico is gone
Until Vypra and Loki, Diabolico's subordinates, revive Diabolico from the Shadow Realm. He goes to fight Olympius one on one to reclaim his position, only stopping when Bansheera intervenes since she cares not for their petty struggle. So Diabolico has a new plan in mind.
Trap Olympius in the Shadow Realm, which works. Bansheera finds out but considering how her son has failed her so often her response is merely "LOL. LMAO." He comes back, by the way, by eating the souls of the Dead Monsters so he can become strong enough to return.
I should also note Ryan almost manages to reseal the Demons by finding the Sorcerer of the Sands whom sealed them before - but Diabolico recognises the spell as their castle shakes. Not one to be taken by the same spell twice, he counters the spell, killing the Sorcerer and reducing him to mere sand.
All of this comes to a head in the final episodes where Diabolico is brainwashed and forced to kill Loki, his best friend, by Bansheera. This betrayal causes him to renounce his loyalty, telling Red Ranger Carter Grayson the only way to defeat Bansheera is "To strike her where her heart should be"... which works for a while until she recovers from the wound.
Diabolico wanders the human world as he runs from Bansheera until Olympius catches up to him, captures him and he is brainwashed by Bansheera - but he breaks free when Carter reminds him what she did to Loki. Diabolico gives Carter the key to the demon realm since he knows Bansheera wants to use it to revive all the demons (she gets it back) then pushes Carter out of the way of Olympius’ blast. He is killed, but Olympius soon follows. Even then they can't rest, for Bansheera turns them into Giant Zombie monsters to fight the Rangers more, but are defeated.
In the final episode, Carter manages to kick Bansheera into the Shadow Realm but she tries to pull him in. But Diabolico’s spirit appears. Bansheera inexplicably thinks he's there to help her (wow OK) and Diabolico is just
"Lol. Lmao."
He severs her grip on Carter, Bansheera plummeting into the Shadow Realm, the last we see of her being the dead monsters crowding and beating on her, with Diabolico returning to the Shadow Realm laughing all the while.
Magnificent?
Heck yeah, he follows the proud tradition of noble villains early PR is known for - a literal Noble Demon in fact. He's smart and cool with a nice voice. He's loyal to his minions even if his friendship with Loki is only really given focus in the final episodes, but Loki and Vipra liked him enough to go out of their way to revive him. He pulls Faustian Deals and outsmarts the Rangers, Olympius - he's pretty much on top at all times in terms of smarts. In terms of competition, there's Olympius, his chief rival, but he's more defined as being a baby in an adult body. He can be smart but his immaturity can hurt him at times - and he never breaks free of Bansheera's manipulations unlike Diabolico. And Bansheera herself is less smart and more just utterly horrible and able to just strong arm everyone.
And of course Diabolico ends the season taking revenge on Bansheera, laughing all the while.
Bastard?
The usual. Wants to conquer the world. Kill the Rangers. Lied to Ryan. Gave him a sick tattoo that’d kill him. Pretty tame for PR villains. Also has redeeming qualities up the wazoo.
Conclusion
Not the most complex PR MB keep but an easy one nonetheless.
Mir suggested I do Ryan himself, but I wanna rewatch his episodes first.