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{{trope}}
{{quote|''"It's funny, really. Twilight here was suspicious of my behavior all along. [[Nice Job Breaking It, Hero|Too bad the rest of you were too caught up in your wedding planning to realize the suspicions were correct!]]"''|'''{{spoiler|Queen Chrysalis}}''', [[My Little Pony:
Someone who is so obviously up to no good that the one character who seems ''aware'' of it is shocked [[Only Sane Man|no one else seems to notice]]. Everyone else, especially those with a tendency to be [[Horrible Judge of Character|Horrible Judges Of Character]], may just consider them a little quirky and wonder what the observant character's problem is.
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Sometimes this can be a villain hiding as a lesser immoral person. For example, no one would be the least bit surprised to find out that any given politician is a slimy scheming [[Jerkass]], and thus they manage to hide their greater villainy as the simple pettiness of your every day scumbag.
Less extreme than the [[Villain with Good Publicity]], who is thought of highly by most people; the
Characters that are [[Too Dumb to Fool]] can be their most dangerous enemies.
Compare with [[It Was Here, I Swear]], [[Not-So-Imaginary Friend]], [[Mama Didn't Raise No Criminal]], [[Mistaken for An Imposter]]. Contrast [[They Look Just Like Everyone Else]] and [[Most Definitely Not a Villain]]. For when the
See [[Hidden in Plain Sight]] for when a [[MacGuffin]] does this.
{{examples|page=Devils in Plain Sight}}
== Anime and Manga ==
* Hiruma from ''[[Eyeshield 21]]'' plays with this trope; he's a conniving, scheming, trigger-happy [[Magnificent Bastard]] and doesn't care who knows it (his name can even be read as "[[Meaningful Name|devil in broad daylight]]"). Also, he avoids repercussions for his actions not by avoiding or sucking up to authority figures, but by ''[[
▲* Guu in ''[[Jungle wa Itsumo Hale Nochi Guu|Haré+ Guu]]''.
▲* Hiruma from ''[[Eyeshield 21]]'' plays with this trope; he's a conniving, scheming, trigger-happy [[Magnificent Bastard]] and doesn't care who knows it (his name can even be read as "[[Meaningful Name|devil in broad daylight]]"). Also, he avoids repercussions for his actions not by avoiding or sucking up to authority figures, but by ''[[Blackmail|blackmailing]]'' them.
** And he ''looks'' pretty devilish, to boot.
* ''[[Neon Genesis Evangelion]]'': Subverted in the manga version; Asuka is always nice to all the NERV staff, but with Shinji, Rei, Toji and Kensuke she is her usual, bitchy self. She keeps up this act for a while until, during a party, she punches out Toji in front of Misato after he starts revealing all her past angry outbursts. Misato then admits that they always knew that Asuka was faking her more amiable personality, prompting her to go ballistic... on Shinji.
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** Slightly adverted as, once they know he's evil, they only keep him around because he's so strong and regularly helps them out, when it overlaps with his goals/ is bored.
** Also the fact [[Story-Breaker Power|he's so strong there isn't much they can do about him,]] short of risking blowing up the universe. That it's Xelloss' eventual goal and Lina can do it may be part of the reason he likes hanging with her.
** [[Lampshade
** No-one ever trusted him to begin with, and indeed Xellos never seemed to actually try to be trustworthy either, introducing himself as "Xellos, the mysterious priest." As the characters note, "Who introduces THEMSELVES as 'the mysterious priest'?" It's just that being a rather more literal devil in plain sight never occurred to anyone but Gourry.
* Nobody in ''[[Mai-Otome]]'' except for Chie seems to suspect anything of #2 Coral Tomoe, even though the latter's sarcastic tone of voice (and occasional smirk, even in front of the teachers) is often blatantly obvious.
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'''Marik''': Wahahaha! Destroy you all!
'''Joey''': ''[thinking]'' Man, if I could only put my finger on it... }}
*
* ''[[Gankutsuou]]'': Let's see, the Count has long, sharp nails, pointed ears, fangs, his picture doesn't develop if he's photographed, has moments of cruel and disturbing behavior, oh yeah, and he's blue. Only one character ever calls attention to his odd features, and [[Horrible Judge of Character|Albert]] can't understand why his friends could possibly suggest that the Count is evil.
** Of course in [[The Count of Monte Cristo]], people calling the Count a vampire is a continuously running joke. Even though he isn't blue.
* ''[[Panty & Stocking with Garterbelt|Panty and Stocking With Garterbelt]]'': Scanty and Kneesocks, quite literally. Not even the [[Big Red Devil|red skin]], [[Horned Humanoid|horns]], devil tails or the fact they were actually called [[Exactly What It Says on the Tin|''The Demon Sisters'']]
* An odd example: Mephisto Pheles of ''[[Blue Exorcist]]'' seems to be playing with this. It's difficult to tell at this point, but his first entrance drew immediate suspicion. He [[Villainous Fashion Sense|dressed extravagantly]], [[Man in White|wore all white]], had [[Large Ham|dramatic mannerisms]], and his looks made it obvious that he was a demon of some sort. Heck, even his [[Names to Run Away From Really Fast|name]] [[Louis Cypher|is an obvious pun on that of a famous demon]]. But then this was subverted as it turned out that {{spoiler|a lot of people have demon blood in the series, and some of them are exorcists.}} Then it turns out that he may be {{spoiler|another one of Satan's sons - possibly his eldest, actually. Then again, the main character is also a son of Satan. So, Mephisto could still go either way at this point.}} He plays loads of "tricks" on his students, such as {{spoiler|letting high-level demons on campus to challenge the potential exorcists (particularly [[Anti-Anti-Christ|Rin]])}} [[Trickster Mentor|which, he implies, is for the purpose of making them all stronger.]] But then he may have...[[Wild Mass Guessing|some other reasons.]] The fandom suspicion only mounts the more "tricks" he plays, but there's still too much evidence to support the idea that he may {{spoiler|genuinely want to bring peace to Assiah and Gehenna.}} He was in fact friends with Rin's adoptive [[Badass Preacher|father]], and was {{spoiler|responsible for sealing Rin's demon soul inside the demon sword when Rin was born.}} Really, he is pretty much the most mysterious character in the series at this point. It's highly possible that he is a
* {{spoiler|Kumiko-san}} from ''[[Kamisama Kazoku]]'' plays this trope LITERALLY. Only Tenko gets to see {{spoiler|her}} true face, and her stories are so outrageous that no-one believes her - least of all Kazoku.
* In ''[[One Piece]]'s'' 3rd movie, the main villain Count Butler, he even wears a coat that has the Kanji of EVIL written on his back, all while claiming he isn't evil.
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== Comic Books ==
* Nobody outside of people he has come in direct contact with (most of the people anyway) seem to notice that Roark Jr. from the ''[[Sin City]]'' story "That Yellow Bastard" is a psychopathic [[Serial Killer]] who has raped, tortured and killed a vast number of little girls (that may be because [[Screw the Rules, I Have Money|his father is a United States Senator and no one on the force dares to try to bring him down]]
* ''[[Johnny the Homicidal Maniac]]'': The title character commits ridiculously over-the-top mass murder and even himself seems puzzled why he hasn't been caught. It is later revealed that the reason why Johnny doesn't get caught is that {{spoiler|he is a "waste-lock", a person created to watch over focal points of residue left over from negative human energy. This is revealed to him from none other than the Devil. It is implied, in the comic "I Feel Sick," that when the accumulated human waste acquires a mind of its own, it can allow a person to do whatever they want, even kill, without being caught. The doll tries to tempt Devi with this devil's deal.}}
* ''I Luv Halloween''. A black comedy of the darkest kind. About a group of amoral trick-or-treaters who want their Halloween candy even in the midst of an alien invasion and zombie apocalypse. One of the characters is Devil-lad, a hooded young boy wearing a devil's mask who patiently goes along with the group's crazy hijinks. The other trick-or-treaters note he smells like sulfur. Proven in the second volume, when he nonchalantly rises from a crater after being in the middle of a nuclear explosion. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qxDZ7DQmYwA&feature=related
* As most [[Muggles]] in the [[Marvel Universe]] are [[Too Dumb to Live]], none of [[Villain with Good Publicity|Norman Osborn]]'s previous actions prevent him from doing whatever he wants.
* In the earliest Spider-Man comics, Aunt May
* Dr. Doom makes frequent attempts to take over the world that would be considered acts of war by real world standards, and most governments in the world just ignore him. No wonder he feels he better suited to rule the world.
** This may count as [[Fridge Brilliance]] though: maybe world leaders have gotten the clue that all Doom wants is to keep having his little tiff with Reed Richards, so they just lay low and let the [[Fantastic Four]] deal with him to avoid getting targeted and devastated by Doom rather than just battered a bit in the crossfire.
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** Not only Slughorn, hell, Dumbledore too.
* Rhoda Penmark in ''Bad Seed'' personifies this trope.
* ''[[American Psycho]]'': Patrick
* ''[[The Black Hole]]'': Dr. Reinhardt. Even though the "heroes" suspect, they don't suspect hard enough. What makes it even more jarring is Reinhardt's explicitly evil robot [[The Dragon|Dragon]] Maximilian, who manages to stir up little additional suspicion. (The title of this trope is justified by this
* ''[[There Will Be Blood]]'': The main character is clearly one of these, complete with the [[Meaningful Name]] of Daniel Plainview. How much better his enemies the Sundays are is up to debate. At least {{spoiler|until the bodies begin piling up.}}
* ''[[Hot Fuzz]]'': Simon Skinner, owner of the local supermarket. He often behaves extraordinarily creepy around Sergeant Nick Angel, having a bit of a [[Psychotic Smirk]], making puns about killing and showing up around the murder scenes. The fact that the murders committed lead Angel to believe that Skinner is responsible in order to get more land for his supermarket doesn't help either (though [[Red Herring|that wasn't the true nature]]. {{spoiler|Turns out Angel's only part right.}})
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* ''[[The Dead Zone]]'': A large part of the premise of Stephen King's novel.
* Smerdyakov in ''[[The Brothers Karamazov]]'' is really just thought of as a scullion who has airs of intellectualism about him, and who carries [[Nietzsche Wannabe|blasphemous notions about religion.]] He's also thought of as pathetic to others because he suffers from epileptic seizures. {{spoiler|The idea of him being the murderer is absurd to everyone in town for these reasons, yet he is.}} Only the protagonist seems to have any deep misgivings about him. I mean come on, he even flashes [[Psychotic Smirk
* Count Olaf of ''[[A Series of Unfortunate Events]]''. Though the Baudelaire orphans always see through his flimsy disguises, [[Adults Are Useless|none of the adults]] [[Cassandra Truth|ever believe them]].
** Until the last book, when the orphans are shocked to discover a community of adults who ''immediately'' perceive Count Olaf as both obviously in disguise and an untrustworthy villain. This comes with its own problems, of course, as they've already encountered "[[Jumping Off the Slippery Slope|The Slippery Slope]]".
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** Petyr "Littlefinger" Baelish is obviously up to no good from the moment he appears in ''A Game Of Thrones'' and even tells Ned Stark not to trust him. When Ned does trust him, he betrays Ned, to no one's surprise. In the next two novels, where Littlefinger interacts with the Lannisters/the [[Deadly Decadent Court]], mostly everyone seems to think that Littlefinger is just some ambitious commoner who wants to be a lord, and only Tyrion gets how much of a ruthless and dangerous backstabber he really is, {{spoiler|or so he thinks. Even Tyrion never imagined that Littlefinger was essentially the [[Big Bad]] who deliberately engineered the civil war engulging the continent, and orchestrated the murder of [[The Good Chancellor|John Aryn]] that kicked off the plot. He still doesn't know that, in fact- Baelish only confessed it in a [[Motive Rant]] to his hostage Sansa Stark, and he is doing it for the sake of power and is well on his way to becoming the most powerful man in the realm. He's probably holding stuff back from her too.}}
* John Reed in ''[[Jane Eyre]]''. He torments Jane constantly, sometimes in front of his mother who doesn't stop the bullying (then again, Mrs Reed never did like Jane). And the servants who notice the bullying [[Adults Are Useless|simply tell Jane to put up with it.]]
** That's blatant [[Parental Favoritism]], and none of the servants will help Jane because John Reed is next in line to inherit the house. If they invoke his ire, it's bad luck for them down the road.
* The Mystery Wanderer in [[Stationery Voyagers]]. Nobody can figure out that he's {{spoiler|Melchar.}} And yet, he at best only plays the role of an anti-hero. Never a true good guy. But no matter how much he creeps everyone out, they keep giving him a free pass.
* Literally the case in the ''[[Left Behind]]'' book series.
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** Done yet again in season 4 with Trinity, the serial killer that nobody suspects... just like Dexter. His relationship with his family and the effect he has on them makes an interesting commentary on what he's ''really'' like, but outside of his family nobody other than Dexter suspects him.
*** And, of course, there's the Ice Truck Killer from the first season, whose persona is quite disarming. Most of Dexter's victims could also fit into this trope quite well.
* The [[Too Good to Last|one-season wonder]] '80s sitcom ''It's Your Move'' featured Jason Bateman as a manipulative [[High School Hustler|teenaged con artist]] whose single mom was (initially, at least) blissfully unaware of his intrigues. The first dozen or so episodes dealt with his efforts to prevent the mother's equally devious boyfriend from exposing him. When she finally got wise to him, the show's whole comedic premise was effectively [[
* ''[[Dollhouse]]'': Laurence Dominic. In episode 5, he tries to kill Echo. In episode 9, {{spoiler|he is revealed to be the mole. Note that at the time of the episode's airing, the [[Dollhouse/WMG|Dollhouse WMG page]] had <s>eight different guesses</s> eight guesses as to the identity of the mole, only one of which was a repeat, and yet no one had bothered to guess that it was Dominic. Because we're too [[Genre Savvy]] to fall for such an ''obvious'' [[Red Herring]]...yeah.}}
* Oddly enough, the Devil in ''[[Reaper]]'' frequently exemplifies this trope.
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* ''[[Brimstone (TV series)|Brimstone]]'': The Devil is shown at the local hot dog stand and jogging.
* ''[[Battlestar Galactica]]'': Count Iblis in the original is this... literally.
* From ''[[Merlin (TV series)|Merlin]]'', Agravaine, who waltzes around Camelot in a forbidding all-black outfit and Severus Snape's hairstyle, frequently flashing [[Psychotic Smirk
== Newspaper Comics ==
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* Jan Rosencrantz in ''[[Vagrant Story]]''. Everyone knows he's a traitor and an all-round bastard. It's just that no one ''cares''. He turns out to be more powerful and ambitious than the characters had anticipated.
** And many times more ruthless.
* Hellen Gravely in ''[[Luigi's Mansion|Luigi's Mansion 3]]'' right from the first trailer, fans saw something suspicious about this woman that Luigi, Mario, and Peach clearly didn't, and indeed, she's one of the [[Big Bad Duumvirate]] luring them into a trap.
* ''[[Shin Megami Tensei]]'' gave us [[Louis Cypher]]. We all know about that one, though.
** Ironically though, even if you do realize that, he's actually a pretty nice guy personality wise, and in some games he has a really strong claim to being considered a good guy anyway, especially compared to just how [[Eviler Than Thou]] his competition can be.
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* ''[[Kingdom Hearts: Birth By Sleep]]'': Master Xehanort might as well be carrying a neon sign reading "I am evil, nyahahaha". Nobody, other than Yen Sid, seems to notice, not even the guy who ''fought him once before in a battle of light against darkness''.
* In ''World of Warcraft'', Onyxia posed as Lady Katrana Prestor in order to give the very young king Anduin Wrynn bad advice that kept Stormwind weak.
* In ''[[Monster Girl Quest]]'', Luka is supposed to be a hero opposing the Monster Lord; his guide, friend, and lover (kinda-sorta) Alice might as well be wearing a t-shirt with the words "I am the Monster Lord" printed on it, given her actions, but Luka doesn't seem to get the hint and she doesn't come out and say it until late in the game, likely long after the player has figured it out.
== Web Comics ==
* Miho in ''[[Megatokyo]]'' fits this trope, at least if you ask Largo.
* "Victor," a so far unknown character from ''[[The Adventures of Dr. McNinja]]'' lampshades this trope in [
** And now Sparklelord.
* Manaus from ''[[Rumors of War]]'', and we're not even sure if he's ''done ''anything! But with a name that sounds like [[Names to Run Away From Really Fast|menace]], a [[In the Hood|dark hood and cloak]], and a [[Kubrick Stare]], who wouldn't think he was up to something!
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* Also played for laughs in one video of [[The Spoony Experiment]] where Dr. Insano ran for president... and won.
{{quote|'''Dr. Insano''': My advisor was Fu Manchu for God's sake, how can you be this STUPID!?! (insane giggling laughter)}}
* ''[[Whateley Universe]]'': Don
** Actually, they DO know.... even the Headmistress is fully aware. But they're keeping him on because he is the only link they have to the real, as of yet unknown, mastermind behind his actions....
* [[The Cinema Snob]] is particularly irritated by ''Driller Killer'''s lack of subtlety with regard to who the slasher is.
** A [[Running Gag]] in the ''Pieces'' review.
{{quote|'''Kendall:''' ''[innocently]'' But I don't know the killer!"
'''Snob:''' Sure you do! It's '''[[Dean Bitterman|THE DEAN!]]''' }}
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** This is one of the primary reasons for fans of the show [[Rooting for the Empire]]. This troper in particular finds it hard to support the human race when they are - almost completely - [[Too Dumb to Live]] and the prime example of the show's [[Crapsack World]].
** The only other person who knows Zim for what he truly is, is Dib's scary sister, Gaz. But she doesn't lift a finger, since she believes Zim is too stupid for his schemes to work. And most of the time she's right.
* Angelica of ''[[Rugrats]]'', though occasionally she ''did'' get caught. Her role was eventually trumped by Savannah Shane in both ''Rugrats Preschool Daze'' and ''[[All Grown Up!]]''. However, unlike Angelica, she has yet to receive any ''real'' comeuppance or consequences.
* Stewie on ''[[Family Guy]]''. It probably helps that no one expects <s>a toddler</s> an ''[[Enfante Terrible|infant]]'' to be an [[Evil Overlord]] wannabe.
** Considering ''[[Family Guy]]'' abandoned this entire (and originally brilliant) idea about ten seasons ago, in favor of making Stewie a walking gay stereotype, I'm not sure how much this counts anymore.
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* The anonymous bunny in the ''[[Ruby Gloom]]'' episode "Bad Hare Day".
* A bunch of mind-bendingly cute animals from an episode of the ''[[Powerpuff Girls]]''. Although it's not as if anybody didn't notice that they ''robbed banks'', but rather that everybody (sans the Girls) was mesmerised by their prettiness and fuzzyness and was willing to give away everything they demanded, that is money, gems and the city key of Townsville.
* ''[[The Fairly
** Inverted in that Timmy's parents are the only ones who ''don't'' notice that Vicky is a [[Complete Monster]]. They eventually do find out she's evil, but it gets [[Reset Button
{{quote|'''Dad:''' Now Chip Skylark's hit song "Icky Vicky" finally makes sense!
'''Doug Dimmadome:''' Well, what did you ''think'' that song was about? Pumpkins?!
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* Mr.Kat from ''[[Kid vs. Kat]]''. Poor Coop...
* The Golden Eagle Twins in ''[[El Tigre the Adventures of Manny Rivera]]''. Two twins who take advantage of their superhero fame to scam the locals into getting whatever they want. Only Manny and Frida are aware of this.
* Cartman from ''[[South Park]].'' In many ways, this trope is averted: after all, most of the characters know just how horrible he is. That said, Stan and Kyle oftentimes get punished right alongside him, despite being [[Only Sane Man|generally good kids]] who are usually trying to ''stop'' whatever evil scheme he has going. This becomes especially painful (not to mention a [[Downer Ending]]) in "Toilet Paper," in which they're given much harsher punishments despite being genuinely
** A better example would be the one-time character Hat [[Mc Culloch]], a murderer of 23 babies who has a very large following of fans who believe his innocence. {{spoiler|At the end, when they ''do'' get him released from jail, the man [[
* ''[[G.I. Joe: Renegades]]'': The newest incarnation of Cobra has the ruthless terrorist organization posing as a benevolent corporation providing essentials such as defense technology, pharmaceuticals, retail outlets, and apple pie. Their corporate logo not only bares a casual resemblance to the classic "hooded cobra" symbol of the original, it also closely resembles the Greek letter "''Omega''". Add to that, the CEO "Adam Decobray" has never been seen in public, and even putting on his best nice-guy voice in video conferences, he ''still'' sounds like the creepiest, most sinister man that ever lived (as opposed the to [[Nightmare Fuel]] it really is) thanks to Charlie Adler's fiendishly subtle acting.
* On ''[[Total Drama]],'' [[Alpha Bitch|Heather]] in the first season; most of the characters actually figure this out pretty quickly, but [[Contractual Genre Blindness|somehow keep falling for her schemes anyway]]. Season three's [[Villain Sue|Alejandro]] is a more [[Egregious]]
* Vertex in ''[[Rollbots]]''. In one episode, he is in a disguise (which is about as sinister as when [[Paper-Thin Disguise|undisguised]]) and directly has a conversation with Pounder and Aria of all people, right in front of Spin, the one person who knows the truth about him.
* The cats Si and Am in ''Lady and the Tramp''.
{{quote|"We are Siamese if you please/We are Siamese if you don't please" as they try to knock of vases and get in the crib... }}
* In ''[[Thundercats 2011|ThunderCats (2011)]]'', [[Catfolk]] Grune is an [[Ambition Is Evil|ambitious]] and rapidly rising military man who quite blatantly drops conversational hints to his friend and fellow soldier Panthro that he hopes to become [[The Usurper]] of Thundera:
{{quote|'''Grune''': Look at us, Panthro, soon [[We Can Rule Together|we'll run]] this entire kingdom.
'''Panthro''': You planning on becoming [[King of Beasts|a lion]]?
'''Grune''': No, I'm planning on becoming ''king''. }}
** Panthro [[Horrible Judge of Character|writes this off]] as hyperbole, up until Grune, frustrated that he can't amass the necessary powerbase, [[Turncoat|turns his coat]] and allies with a legendary [[Sorcerous Overlord]] to destroy Thundera outright.
* [[Zig Zagged]] in the season two finale of [[My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic|My Little Pony Friendship Is Magic]]. Twilight Sparkle assumes Princess Cadence is evil, namely because she didn't respond to her [[Secret Handshake]], and how she (Cadence) mistreats her friends. She tries to warn her friends, but they simply wave it off, and her last attempt causes them to leave her in disgust. {{spoiler|It isn't until Twilight arrives with the real Cadence that she is sorta proven right. But by then, the Changeling impersonating Cadence had already become too powerful to stop. Her quote at the top of the page pretty much points out how everyone but Twilight screwed up big time.}}
{{reflist}}
[[Category:Infernal Tropes]]▼
[[Category:Invisibility Index]]
[[Category:Villains]]
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