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Villains like this may be greedy, violent, [[Badass]], etc. but most importantly, they are [[Obviously Evil|Evil]]. It's in the job description. They refer to ''themselves'' as Evil, with a capital "E". Stretch it out to "Eeeeeevil" for emphasis. (They may even pronounce the "I" with emphasized shortness. Ee-vill. Like the froo-it of the dev-ill.) Terminal cases even require their minions to call them "[[The Magnificent|Your Evilness]]". In fact, calling them evil, vile, ruthless, or any generally negative epithet will be an [[Insult Backfire]] and be [[Arson, Murder, and Admiration|taken as the kindest of compliments.]]
The '''Card Carrying Villain''' demands [[Villain Cred|to be respected and feared and on top of the heap over everyone else]] because [[Evil Is Cool]] and [[Good Is Dumb]].
Thus, they are expected to [[Kick the Dog]] and never [[Pet the Dog]]. If they acted differently, [[Slave to PR|they'd lose their Evil ranking]]. Especially ironic if the reason they [[Face Heel Turn|fell]] was because they wanted freedom from constraints on their actions. Whatever action they as a good guy wanted to do is considered "bad", so they have to do other bad things as well now. After a while, they usually forget about [[Motive Decay|whatever goal it was that turned them Evil]] in the first place. So...in a very odd way, they're very much [[The Fettered]]; since their actions are bound by the expectation of Evil.
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* 1979's ''The Villain,'' a western comedy with Kirk Douglas as the hapless, [[Looney Tunes|Wile E. Coyote-esque]] titular character.
* Oba from the second [[Joshuu Sasori|''Female Prisoner Scorpion'']] film, ''Jailhouse 41''. She's very quick to exaggerate her own badness compared to the legendary Sasori (the titular character), but her crowning moment of evilness is the point at which she outdoes all the other women present in describing the crime for which she was imprisoned: {{spoiler|she drowned her two-year-old son and then stabbed her unborn baby to death, because her husband had an affair. She hikes up her dress to show off the scars...and keeps it up and in everyone's face for what seems like an eternity.}} She absolutely embraces this persona and the fear it engenders in almost everyone, and ultimately {{spoiler|dies still muttering about going back to her home island, burning down everyone's house, and stabbing them all.}}
== Literature ==
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* [[Complete Monster|Conrad Bland]] in Mike Resnick's ''Walpurgis III''. He's quoted as saying "Evil is its own justification," declares that a decent and honorable man is "the Enemy" he must destroy ... and he'd never make a pact with Satan, because [[Eviler Than Thou|he doesn't feel any need to own Satan's soul]].
▲== Live Action TV ==
* Taken literally in [[Hikonin Sentai Akibaranger]] where all the villains carry business cards that they toss to The Akibarangers
* The Janitor from ''[[Scrubs]]'' identifies himself as evil and takes great dislike in anyone who doesn't fear him, coining the phrase "Fearitude" for his presence.
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{{quote|'''Sherlock Holmes:''' You're insane.
''' {{spoiler|Jim}} Moriarty:''' [[Insult Backfire|You're just getting that now?]] }}
== Music ==
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* Danish metal band Evil only released one EP, but half the tracks on there fit this trope perfectly: [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_fOy3n-MHAI their namesake track] and [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JNtQ4k96Vjc "Son of the Bitch."]
* Many songs from the point of view of a serial killer. For example, "The Ripper" by [[Judas Priest]].
== Newspaper Comics ==
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'''Catbert''': All of them. Some are just more noticeable. }}
** Don't forget Phil The Prince of Insufficient Light.
== Professional Wrestling ==
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* [[The Undertaker]], when giving his [[Motive Rant]] upon one of his heel turns, said, "And I know that some of you are wondering how it is that I can join forces with such an evil, despicable, maniacal individual [as [[Paul Bearer]]]...well, if that isn't reason enough all by itself then I don't guess I can explain it to you folks any better!" He would go around calling himself The Lord of Darkness and saying things like, "Embrace the purity of evil."
* William Regal actually has the word "Villain" written on his tights.
== Theatre ==▼
* Many [[Shakespeare]] villains were motivated simply by wanting to be a villain:▼
** Most famously, ''[[Richard III]]''.▼
** Don John in ''[[Much Ado About Nothing]]'', counseled to act nice to remain in the Prince's good books, retorts that he's always believed in being true to your nature. Since his nature is that of a villain, he's going to go ahead and ''be'' one, rather than pretend not to be—even if it's counter to his best interests.▼
*** And, of course, in case you have any doubts about that true nature, he's also a [[Values Dissonance|bastard]]. Being born out of wedlock makes you inherently a jerk.▼
** Iago continually changes his reasoning for his actions in ''[[Othello]]''. Originally, it was out of jealousy because he was passed over for promotion; however, he eventually abandons not only this justification, but ''all'' possible rationalizations. He is identified simply as a "Villaine" in the list of characters in the first folio, and [[Samuel Taylor Coleridge]] famously noted his "motiveless malignity". Iago himself, when questioned on his motivation, simply refuses to explain anything...though there are those who [[Epileptic Trees|attribute his actions]] to [[Ho Yay|less incomprehensible motives]].▼
*** Or there's the possibility that he's simply jealous of ''anyone'' who has anything good that he doesn't and fucks with Cassio, Desdemona, and Othello accordingly.▼
** Aaron in ''Titus Andronicus'' states outright that all he wants to do with his life is be evil; the only reason he aids the play's antagonist instead of working against her is because it gives him a chance to do very evil, uncouth things. It's because [[Values Dissonance|he's black, and black people are evil.]] His last line in the play is:▼
{{quote|'''Aaron:''' If one good deed in all my life I did,▼
I do repent it from my very soul. }}▼
*** [[Alternate Character Interpretation|Modern interpretations]], including Julie Taymor's [[This Is Your Premise on Drugs|memorable version]], sometimes have his actions as [[Freudian Excuse|payback for the way he is treated]], and add a [[Pet the Dog]] moment or two.▼
* Captain Hook in [[Peter Pan]]. In pretty much any version (novel, play, or movie adaptation).▼
== Radio ==
* The ironically named Mr Gently Benevolent in the Dickens parody ''[[Bleak Expectations]]''. Also, the less ironically named Hardthrashers and their cousins, the Sternbeaters, Whackwallops, and Grimpunches.
== Religion ==▼
* [[Satan]] is often depicted in this manner.▼
== Sports ==▼
* Thoroughly embraced by Floyd Mayweather Jr., who actively and gleefully seizes the black hat in the build-up to any of his big fights. Initially, the boxing ur-example would have been Muhammad Ali, but he eventually became the most beloved figure in boxing, even today.▼
* During the 80s, the Miami Hurricanes reveled in being the college football team America cheered against.▼
== Tabletop Games ==
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** And then there's the whole reason they're like that—the Ebon Dragon had an active hand in their creation. Each of the Primordials represents a principle of Creation, and the Ebon Dragon once represented betrayal. Every thing he does is based around screwing someone over, even if it screws him as well.
▲== Theatre ==
▲* Many [[Shakespeare]] villains were motivated simply by wanting to be a villain:
▲** Most famously, ''[[Richard III]]''.
▲** Don John in ''[[Much Ado About Nothing]]'', counseled to act nice to remain in the Prince's good books, retorts that he's always believed in being true to your nature. Since his nature is that of a villain, he's going to go ahead and ''be'' one, rather than pretend not to be—even if it's counter to his best interests.
▲*** And, of course, in case you have any doubts about that true nature, he's also a [[Values Dissonance|bastard]]. Being born out of wedlock makes you inherently a jerk.
▲** Iago continually changes his reasoning for his actions in ''[[Othello]]''. Originally, it was out of jealousy because he was passed over for promotion; however, he eventually abandons not only this justification, but ''all'' possible rationalizations. He is identified simply as a "Villaine" in the list of characters in the first folio, and [[Samuel Taylor Coleridge]] famously noted his "motiveless malignity". Iago himself, when questioned on his motivation, simply refuses to explain anything...though there are those who [[Epileptic Trees|attribute his actions]] to [[Ho Yay|less incomprehensible motives]].
▲*** Or there's the possibility that he's simply jealous of ''anyone'' who has anything good that he doesn't and fucks with Cassio, Desdemona, and Othello accordingly.
▲** Aaron in ''Titus Andronicus'' states outright that all he wants to do with his life is be evil; the only reason he aids the play's antagonist instead of working against her is because it gives him a chance to do very evil, uncouth things. It's because [[Values Dissonance|he's black, and black people are evil.]] His last line in the play is:
▲{{quote|'''Aaron:''' If one good deed in all my life I did,
▲I do repent it from my very soul. }}
▲*** [[Alternate Character Interpretation|Modern interpretations]], including Julie Taymor's [[This Is Your Premise on Drugs|memorable version]], sometimes have his actions as [[Freudian Excuse|payback for the way he is treated]], and add a [[Pet the Dog]] moment or two.
▲* Captain Hook in [[Peter Pan]]. In pretty much any version (novel, play, or movie adaptation).
== Video Games ==
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* ''[[Precocious (Webcomic)|Precocious]]''? Well, the main kids [http://www.precociouscomic.com/archive/comic/2009/06/30 play as the Super Villain Union]. And when it's time to pick the Class President? Dionne quickly turns the campaign negative [http://www.precociouscomic.com/archive/comic/2010/03/12 as her selling point.]
* In ''[[El Goonish Shive]]'', Ellen was this initially in an effort to give herself some sense of identity.
== Web Original ==
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'''Vegeta:''' OF COURSE NOT, I'M [[Precision F-Strike|F**KING]] EVIL! }}
** Also Freiza, he even demands God to strike him down [[Did You Just Flip Off Cthulu|and laughs when he survives unscathed]]
== Western Animation ==
* ''[[Kim Possible]]''{{'}}s [[Rogues Gallery]] not only self-identify as evil without exception (there are no [[Well-Intentioned Extremist|Well Intentioned Extremists]] in this world), but most try very hard to prove it. Shego, in particular, is a good example. She's clearly in it as Drakken's [[The Dragon|Dragon]] for the money, but also tries to beef up her evil credibility on her own time; maybe because she [[Face Heel Turn|used to be]] a [[Superhero]]. One time, she was even manipulated into helping Kim Possible herself, when the heroine threatened to tell the world that Shego [[Old Shame|used to be a good guy]].
** Evil is a whole lifestyle in ''[[Kim Possible]]'', with its own magazines (Shego reads ''Villainess'' while not listening to Drakken's [[Evil Plan]]s), supervillain conventions and trade shows, and a corporation that supplies equipment and henchmen ("[[Trope Co|HenchCo]]"). Though a [[Disney]]-produced show, they aren't above take potshots at the corporate lifestyle and how nicely it dovetails with being a villain.
*** It even has an own TV show: Evil Eye for the Bad Guy.
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* In ''[[Thundercats 2011|ThunderCats (2011)]]'' This is [[Invoked]] in a very literal sense, as [[Big Bad]] [[Sorcerous Overlord]] Mumm-Ra must [[By the Power of Grayskull|call upon]] "Ancient Spirits of Evil" to grant him access to his [[One-Winged Angel]] Form.
* A number of ''[[Danny Phantom]]'' villains refer to themselves as such (most notably [[Large Ham|Technus]]). [[Big Bad]] Vlad Plasmius initially averted this - for the first two seasons, being called a villain was almost a [[Berserk Button]] for him - but after [[Villain Decay]] began to set in he started acting more like a conventional card-carrying baddie.
▲== Religion ==
▲* [[Satan]] is often depicted in this manner.
== Real Life ==
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* The corporation-targeting criminal organization known as The Monster with 21 Faces left this note when a police investigator committed suicide by setting himself on fire after failing to catch them: "We are bad guys. That means we've got more to do other than bullying companies. [[Evil Feels Good|It's fun to lead a bad man's life.]]"
* Anton Lavey, founder of the Church of Satan. [http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/e/e5/Anton_LaVey_photo.jpg Just look at him, for bad's sake.]
▲=== Sports ===
▲* Thoroughly embraced by Floyd Mayweather Jr., who actively and gleefully seizes the black hat in the build-up to any of his big fights. Initially, the boxing ur-example would have been Muhammad Ali, but he eventually became the most beloved figure in boxing, even today.
▲* During the 80s, the Miami Hurricanes
{{reflist}}
[[Category:{{PAGENAME}}]]
[[Category:Villain Ball]]
[[Category:Evil Tropes]]
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[[Category:Characterization Tropes]]
[[Category:Villains]]
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