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Subpages cleanup: Complete Monster

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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 
Complete Monster Cleanup Thread

Please see the Frequently Asked Questions and Common Requests List before suggesting any new entries for this trope.

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.

When voting, you must specify the candidate(s). No blanket votes (i.e. "[tup] to everyone I missed").

No plagiarism: It's fair to source things, but an effortpost must be your own work and not lifted wholesale from another source.

We don't care what other sites think about a character being a Complete Monster. We judge this trope by our own criteria. Repeatedly attempting to bring up other sites will earn a suspension.

What is the Work

Here you briefly describe the work in question and explain any important setting details. Don't assume that everyone is familiar with the work in question.

Who is the Candidate and What have they Done?

This will be the main portion of the Effort Post. Here you list all of the crimes committed by the candidate. For candidates with longer rap sheets, keep the list to their most important and heinous crimes, we don't need to hear about every time they decide to do something minor or petty.

Do they have any Mitigating Factors or Freudian Excuse?

Here you discuss any potential redeeming or sympathetic features the character has, the character's Freudian Excuse if they have one, as well as any other potential mitigating factors like Offscreen Villainy or questions of moral agency. Try to present these as objectively as possible by presenting any evidence that may support or refute the mitigating factors.

Do they meet the Heinousness Standard?

Here you compare the actions of the Candidate to other character actions in the story in order to determine if they stand out or not. Remember that all characters, not just other villains, contribute to the Heinousness Standard

Final Verdict?

Simply state whether or not you think the character counts or not.

Edited by GastonRabbit on Aug 31st 2023 at 4:14:10 AM

KazuyaProta Shin Megami Tensei IV from A Industrial Farm Since: Jan, 2015 Relationship Status: [TOP SECRET]
Shin Megami Tensei IV
#140901: Dec 22nd 2018 at 12:13:44 PM

@ACW: Many mangas are monthly. They are still on black and white, but usually with more pages.

Edited by KazuyaProta on Dec 22nd 2018 at 3:14:22 PM

Watch me destroying my country
ACW from Arlington, VA (near Washington, D.C.) Since: Jul, 2009
#140902: Dec 22nd 2018 at 12:26:09 PM

If it was a sock, anyone wanna watch this and make sure Joker's still a keep?

Beast from Ontario, Canada Since: Aug, 2012 Relationship Status: Browsing the selection
#140903: Dec 22nd 2018 at 12:53:51 PM

Since my batch was mentioned again I felt the need to mention that I'm aaving it for New Years Eve along with a surpsirse EP.

Unfortunately I don't have anyone holiday related to talk about - well not these holidays.

"It's like...a cliff, and if I do it, I'm just gonna...fall." "I think we're already falling."
ACW from Arlington, VA (near Washington, D.C.) Since: Jul, 2009
#140904: Dec 22nd 2018 at 12:57:55 PM

Yeah, that's why I didn't include it.

EDIT: BTW, I don't remember if it was mentioned, but Jolly Roger's yet another CM for Steve Blum.

Edited by ACW on Dec 22nd 2018 at 3:59:32 PM

DemonDuckofDoom from Some Pond in Hell Since: Sep, 2015 Relationship Status: Showing feelings of an almost human nature
KazuyaProta Shin Megami Tensei IV from A Industrial Farm Since: Jan, 2015 Relationship Status: [TOP SECRET]
Shin Megami Tensei IV
#140906: Dec 22nd 2018 at 2:20:51 PM

@ACW. I can do it if you want.

Watch me destroying my country
SpaceProtagonist (Experienced, Not Yet Jaded) Relationship Status: Abstaining
#140907: Dec 22nd 2018 at 2:38:16 PM

I need your advice. I want to find an image of Dimentio to put on the Image Links section.

How's this? [1]

Edited by SpaceProtagonist on Dec 22nd 2018 at 3:23:41 AM

AustinDR Lizzid people! (4 Score & 7 Years Ago)
Lizzid people!
#140908: Dec 22nd 2018 at 3:11:35 PM

A little too simplistic of an image.

ElfenLiedFan90 Me in a nutshell (Coping with Depression) from Jakarta,Indonesia Since: Aug, 2017 Relationship Status: Yes, I'm alone, but I'm alone and free
Me in a nutshell (Coping with Depression)
#140909: Dec 22nd 2018 at 3:37:22 PM

I've finished both Release the Spyce and SSSS.GRIDMɅN given the last episode on both shows are aired. PM me on who counts and oh boy I have something very interesting to talk about especially on the latter's case.

Edited by ElfenLiedFan90 on Dec 22nd 2018 at 6:37:45 PM

"Making screw-ups and mistakes was I ever really good at. Because everything I touch went to hell."
SatoshiBakura (4 Score & 7 Years Ago)
#140910: Dec 22nd 2018 at 4:08:51 PM

Alright, here goes nothing. Code Lyoko is a French cartoon that combines traditional animation with CG animation. It is about five teens who fight against an evil AI in a virtual world, with one kid sending the other four into said world. I'm here to talk about said AI, and I have a feeling that this will be a bit controversial.

Who is XANA?

XANA was a multi-agent program created by Franz Hopper (real name Waldo Schaeffer) alongside the virtual world Lyoko as part of his plan to destroy the mysterious Project Carthage. We never learn what happened with that, but XANA gained intelligence over time, and eventually obtained self-awareness and autonomy and with that a hatred toward humanity. Now it is power hungry and out to Take Over the World, no matter how many lives are lost in the process. On Lyoko, XANA creates monsters that do its bidding. By activating the towers on Lyoko

What does it do?

When Franz Hopper virtualized himself and his daughter Aelita onto Lyoko to get away from the Men in Black (this plot thread never appears again), XANA's monsters were there waiting to attack them both. After making sure Aelita is safe in a tower, Hopper tried to negotiate with XANA, who refused and keeps attacking them. Realizing the danger XANA possessed to all of humanity, Hopper had no choice but to shut down the Super Computer in which Lyoko was held, trapping himself, his daughter, and XANA in a long sleep. Before that happened, XANA partially drained Aelita's data, which prevented her from being devirtualized without dying as well as taking away her memories.

Ten years later, Kadic Academy student Jeremy Belpois discovers and turns out the super computer and meets Aelita, who without her memories thinks she is an AI. However, XANA is also revived, and activates a tower to begin trying to kill the boy by controlling appliances around him. Jeremy brings a few friends into the fold, and with that, XANA creates a ball of electricity to eliminate them. Aelita, with the help of Ulrich Stern, Odd Della Robia, and Yumi Ishiyama, manages to deactivate the tower by enter the [[Title Drop code "Lyoko"] into the tower, shutting off XANA's attack on Earth. Jérémie uses the computer's ability to "return to the past" to clean up non-lethal damage caused by the attack, while promising to find a way to materialize Aelita on Earth.

Throughout the first season, XANA would attack, often using spectres to possess things, and our heroes would have to stop the attack. XANA's attacks in this season were, in order, possessing a teddy bear and increasing its size, trying to cause a nuclear meltdown (by ignoring how the power plants work), possessing poisonous gas, launching a school bus at a petrochemical complex, corrupting the internet to cause an automatic train with toxic chemicals to crash, using bulldozers to tear down the factory with the super computer, creating a fake Yumi to destroy the scanners while the group was on Lyoko, controlling a very realistic Xenomorph-esque puppet, controlling a satellite with a deadly laser beam (do those even exist?), possessing samurai armor, controlling an army of rats, repeating that attack with hornets instead of rats, using sound-waves to destroy the school, controlling the factory to rid our heroes, possessing a dangerous laughing gas, controlling the electric circuits in a cafeteria to kill everyone inside, using nanobots to attack memory cells, creating music that leaves people in comas, creating a robot to kill the heroes, somehow reversing gravity (it makes no sense), altering the coding of the super computer so that devirtualization means death, literally melting the ground to sink the city, and finally materializing monsters in the real world to go on a rampage.

Each of these episodes, the Lyoko Warriors would battle against XANA's monsters to help Aelita deactivate the tower that XANA used to attacks before reversing time to before the attack started. However one unique episode involved XANA trapping Ulrich, Odd, and Yumi inside a virtual world bubble mimicking the real world. In order to rescue them, Jeremy virtualizes himself into the bubble, allowing Aelita to track down and destroy the bubble. Inside the bubble, there are glitches, and the subtle differences clue Yumi in. Most importantly though is the fake Jeremy, who is implicitly revealed to be XANA itself, thanks to it taking command over the other fakes as well as referring to itself in the first person in thought, which no minion of XANA ever does. In the end, it is exposed as it only has approximate knowledge of humanity, and in anger, tries to kill the heroes while laughing maniacally. But Aelita saves them luckily.

At the end of the season, Jeremy successfully materializes Aelita in the real world, but her missing data (mistaken to be a virus by Jeremy) prevents the group from shutting down the super computer. With this, at the start of the second season, XANA decides to switch to a subtler strategy, as thanks to the returns in time, XANA has gotten stronger and smart enough to make new monsters as well as control people or make polymorphic spectres, which can imitate people. XANA creates a new monster called the Scyphozoa to take the rest of Aelita's memory, with XANA using its possessed minions to deliver her to the monster. Aelitas memory contained the Keys to Lyoko (which Hopper also had), and if XANA got a hold of that, it would be able to escape from the computer and into the internet. All of this forces the Lyoko Warriors to up their game.

Most of the attacks this season involved possessing people to kidnap Aelita and/or fight and kill the group. Other attacks included possessing the Hermitage (Franz Hopper's home) to trap the heroes, break Jeremy's mind with bad data before possessing his ambulance, again materializing monsters into the real world, causing a zombie apocalypse, twice using a polymorphic spectre to break up the group through emotional manipulation, controlling wolves, causing a blizzard, masquerading as a ghost, and using a polymorphic spectre to leave Odd to drown while distracting the others. In addition, it makes some offenses that are similar to but are not true attacks, such as taking control of the returns in time, creating a necklace to possess Aelita, stealing Yumi's data so that Aelita could sacrifice herself and be left with the Scyphozoa, and attempting to delete Jeremy's data.

Two episodes in this season involve it teaming up with the heroes. The first one is Marabounta, in which XANA teams up with the heroes to eliminate a rogue program created by Jeremy for the purpose of destroying XANA's monsters, which started to target Aelita as well for some reason. Notably, after all is said and done, XANA's monsters bow and leave. Seems like a redeeming quality, right? Next episode is Common Interest, in which the uranium battery for the super computer is dying, which would kill both XANA and Aelita. To stop this, XANA possesses a criminal to steal another uranium battery, before kidnapping Jeremy to replace it. This time, XANA shows no goodwill and immediately goes back to trying to kill the heroes.

By the end of the season, XANA successfully steals the Keys of Lyoko from Aelita, effectively killing her and allowing it to escape into the internet, luckily, Franz Hopper revives Aelita and Lyoko, restoring Aelita's memories and full humanity as well allowing the group to continue their battle. Neither XANA nor Aelita need the super computer to stay alive anymore, which leads to XANA's plan to destroy Lyoko by attacking its core in Sector 5. The heroes are able to fend off these attacks, but only have an indirect access by virtualizing in the other sectors and activating a transport that would take them there. Realizing this, XANA resolves to cut off their routes by using the Scyphozoa to possess Aelita and forcing her to enter the code "XANA", allowing XANA to destroy each sector one at a time.

In the meantime, XANA continues with attacks, such as controlling Yumi's entire class, controlling a whole ton of food (It Makes Sense in Context), luring government agents to the computer and then possessing them to destroy it, taking a page from Hitchcock and possessing crows to attack the group, possessing a worker to blow up the factory, using the school groundskeeper to sabotage the computer, using vines to kill the heroes, creating and controlling a smoke that petrifies people, and creating a rather sadistic polymorphic spectre of Jeremy. Two non-attacks that it does are causing Odd and Ulrich to perceive the real world as Lyoko and vice versa and possessing Ulrich's virtualized body when an attempt to virtualize him into Sector 5 fails.

Jeremy succeeds in programming direct virtualization into Sector 5, but not before XANA destroys the other four sectors. To help, the group recruits Yumi's classmate William Dunbar, who joins Aelita on a mission to stop XANA's monsters from destroying the core to Lyoko. This ends in failure, as XANA uses the Scyphozoa to possess William, using him to defeat the Lyoko Warriors easily before destroying the core and thus Lyoko while keeping William as a slave. All seems lost, but Franz Hopper comes to the rescue with data allowing for Lyoko to be recreated. With the start of the fourth season, XANA realizes that Franz Hopper is a massive threat, and resolves to throw Aelita in the Digital Sea (where Lyoko meets the internet), resulting in permanent virtualization, luring out Franz Hopper in order to kill him. William is kept around as XANA's primary servant in fighting the heroes and kidnapping Aelita. Jeremy creates a polymorphic spectre of William to temporarily replace him until he is rescued (Jeremy can activate towers too) (also Clone William is hilarious).

In order to stop XANA, Jeremy creates a digital submarine called the Skidbladnir (or Skid for short) that allows the Lyoko warriors to enter the Digital Sea to transverse the global network with protection from permanent virtualization. Through this, the group discovers that XANA has been creating Replika's, or copies of Lyoko, by infecting super computers across the world. Jeremy eventually works out a way to teleport his friends to the super computers in order to take them out. Toward the end of the season, it is revealed that XANA is creating a robot army that it will use to Take Over the World.

Of course, XANA does not stop with its attacks either. These involve hijacking a clone Jeremy created of himself, several times controlling people with spectres to kidnap Aelita, controlling William's clone, attacking with a polymorphic spectre, possessing a boar to attack the heroes, making a piece of a comet fall onto the city, creating a sludge that zaps anyone near it, possessing a group of bikers, possessing a fighter jet with Jeremy inside of it to destroy the factory, and possessing Sissi and Herb to strand the heroes in the network. It also activates towers on it's own Replikas to possess people or materialize monsters in order to stop the heroes.

Notably, the comet attack almost works, but is stopped when Aelita gets the hunch that XANA needs her alive (the heroes have not yet figured out the purpose of XANA's targeting of Aelita this season) and has herself devirtualized. A few episode later, XANA tricks Aelita into coming alone to Lyoko and throws her into the Digital Sea, forcing Franz Hopper to rescue her and revealing XANA's main goal of the season. It's also stated that XANA intends to keep Aelita as its eternal prisoner.

Things start coming to a head when XANA uses the teleportation process on William, which allows Jeremy to create a program the frees William from XANA's control. At the same time, it is revealed that there are hundreds of Replika's all over the world, which XANA uses to create a new monster: the Kolossus, a freaking gigantic and borderline invincible monster. Realizing that there is no way to destroy all of the Replikas in time, Jeremy creates a multi-agent program that will kill XANA once and for all. However, it is incomplete, with Franz Hopper reappearing to provide the necessary data. XANA refuses to go down without a fight, repossessing William in the real world while sending a ton of monsters on Lyoko. There is a massive battle, and Hopper sacrifices himself to provide the energy to power the program and destroy XANA, being killed by XANA's monsters in the process. However, Jeremy and Aelita successfully launch the program, killing XANA and ending its threat presumably for good.

Of course, there is also Code Lyoko: Evolution, where it is revealed that XANA survived, though now weaker, by hiding in a Replika created by a third party as well as placing source codes in four of the warriors. XANA really doesn't do anything of note in this besides trying to steal source codes and cause confusion and delay. By the end, XANA is undefeated, though it is dormant and trapped within the aforementioned Replika, and there hasn't been another season produced. Also, the original show-runners don't consider Evolution canon, and neither will I.

There is also the Chronicles book series, which redeems XANA somehow, but that is not canon.

Heinousness?

Not only is it the Big Bad, it is for the most part the only true villain in the story. It demonstrates that it will go as far as possible in world domination, and has not only nearly caused the deaths of many, but has done so multiple times over.

Is XANA GDV?

Most people think of XANA as a Generic Doomsday Villain. And it is true that not much is revealed about it, but we still get something of an idea. Again, "Ghost Channel" is an important episode since this actually has XANA itself confronting the heroes as a duplicate of Jeremy. [[labelnote:Explanation]]It addresses itself in the first person with the thought "Soon I won't have anymore obstacles". Plus it was obvious that no one else in the fake world could truly think, and the clone Jeremy not only could think but took charge in a way that stood out from everyone else in the fake world who could clearly not think for themselves. [[/labelnote]

In this episode XANA demonstrates smugness over the heroes and especially Jeremy. Upon being revealed and expresses massive anger and then sadism as it tries to kill the heroes. XANA has a personality very definitely. It's goal is demonstrated over and over again to be world domination, whatever means possible and it needs to get all obstacles out of the way to do so. It's plan start off simplistic, but once Season 2 hits, the long run scheme is pretty clever. The motives are unclear, but from dialog stem from itself and its possessed minions seem to stem from a combination of power-hungriness, sadism, self-preservation, and a general hatred of humanity.

XANA is smart. XANA has plans. XANA is cold and calculating.

Moral Agency?

The series itself indicates that XANA has full control over its actions. It is stated by Franz Hopper himself that XANA has achieved self-awareness and autonomy. The man also implies that negotiating with it is possible, though rejected. Throughout the series, XANA is treated more as a person and less as a malfunctioning program. The Marabounta was treated as a program, as was William's clone. XANA is not treated like either of them but as its own person who just happened to be an AI. Also, it can clearly think. Some fan interpretations paint XANA as just following its programming, but the series itself presents no such thing.

Redeeming Qualities?

After the battle with the Marabounta, XANA willingly pulls its monsters out, seemingly a kind gesture. The next time they team up, literally next episode, XANA goes back to trying to kill them once they meet their mutual goals. XANA throws that one redeeming quality down the toilet. Everything else possibly redeeming is more out of being pragmatic then a genuine redeeming quality.

Verdict?

I don't know. I know it is quite likely that XANA won't make, but I wanted this effort post done anyway.

But holy crap was this a long post. Please tell me if there is something that I didn't address.

11111001011 11111001011 from Peachtree City, GA Since: Dec, 2018 Relationship Status: Abstaining
erazor0707 (4 Score & 7 Years Ago) Relationship Status: Wishfully thinking
#140912: Dec 22nd 2018 at 4:33:09 PM

I'll upvote Xana. Way too creative in its plan to be a GDV.

But, my God, what a rapsheet...

G-Editor The 47th President Since: Mar, 2015 Relationship Status: Above such petty unnecessities
The 47th President
#140913: Dec 22nd 2018 at 4:34:55 PM

Having watched the show myself I’ll give XANA a [tup]

My sandbox of EPs and other stuff
Bullman Enid Sinclair Since: Jun, 2018 Relationship Status: Longing for my OTP
MasterJoseph Frolaytia X Qwenthur of Heavy Object from Not telling. Since: Mar, 2018 Relationship Status: All I Want for Christmas is a Girlfriend
Kylotrope Barb(Its a thread joke you wouldn't get it) from Honolulu Hawaii Since: Apr, 2018
Barb(Its a thread joke you wouldn't get it)
#140916: Dec 22nd 2018 at 4:58:05 PM

[tup] to XANA

Things are really about to get Fun around here
Beast from Ontario, Canada Since: Aug, 2012 Relationship Status: Browsing the selection
#140917: Dec 22nd 2018 at 5:03:35 PM

[tup] XANA

"It's like...a cliff, and if I do it, I'm just gonna...fall." "I think we're already falling."
Godzillawolf Since: Jul, 2010
#140919: Dec 22nd 2018 at 5:22:51 PM

Okay, just finished third part of Spider-Man PS 4 DLC, and has anyone called Hammerhead yet? I know he's been mentioned and it will be two weeks before he can be given a post, but I don't recall anyone calling dibs.

That said, regardless, I think he just matched Dr. Octopus and Mr. Negative's heinousness threshold in a very specific way (not going to mention it, but there's a whole side mission devoted to it).

Edited by Godzillawolf on Dec 22nd 2018 at 5:24:15 AM

Lightysnake Since: May, 2010
#140920: Dec 22nd 2018 at 5:23:53 PM

I think Fried or Polar have dibs on it? I dunno.

Though yes to XANA

Edited by Lightysnake on Dec 22nd 2018 at 5:24:17 AM

username2527 Since: Nov, 2013
#140921: Dec 22nd 2018 at 5:23:56 PM

[tup] XANA. Very surprised by the lack of controversy as of yet.

KazuyaProta Shin Megami Tensei IV from A Industrial Farm Since: Jan, 2015 Relationship Status: [TOP SECRET]
Godzillawolf Since: Jul, 2010
#140923: Dec 22nd 2018 at 5:34:09 PM

[up]Kay. Then I'll put this out for reference: it's the stealing desperately needed humanitarian supplies purely out of greed part.

Also [tup] to XANA, always felt he counted.

Also to note: XANA's original prime directive was simply to destroy Project Carthage, another computer program, XANA decided to Kill All Humans all on his own.

Edited by nombretomado on Dec 22nd 2018 at 5:35:22 AM

username2527 Since: Nov, 2013
#140924: Dec 22nd 2018 at 5:35:46 PM

[up] Exactly. XANA is basically doing the opposite of what it was programmed to do.

Scraggle Since: Nov, 2012 Relationship Status: THIS CONCEPT OF 'WUV' CONFUSES AND INFURIATES US!
#140925: Dec 22nd 2018 at 5:41:28 PM

Yeah. Sure there to XANA on reflection.

Edited by Scraggle on Dec 22nd 2018 at 6:41:45 AM


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