Evil Is Cool: Difference between revisions

* [[The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari|Cesare]]. There's a reason that so many other characters - usually nicer ones - [[Looks Like Cesare|look like him]].

* Almost every Disney villain imaginable turns out to be cooler and much more lovable and funny than the protagonist. Having really awesome [[Villain Song]]s probably helps.

** Honest John and his sidekick, Gideon, from ''[[Pinocchio (Disney film)|Pinocchio]]'' have one of the coolest songs in Disney history: ''Hi Diddle Dee Dee''

** Jafar from ''[[Aladdin (Disney film)|Aladdin]]'' and [[Non-Human Sidekick|Iago]] before his [[Heel Face Turn]], one of the funniest characters in both the films and the tv series.

** Then, of course, we have the Balrog, who is probably the Boba Fett of the movies series: he's a [[One-Scene Wonder]] that takes out a major hero for the remainder of a movie and is one of the more memorable characters.

* Keyser Soze of ''[[The Usual Suspects]]'' is clearly a monstrously evil man if even half of the things said about him are true, but his coolness in doing them is indisputable, particularly given the {{spoiler|famous twist ending has made him a by-word for the [[Diabolical Mastermind]].}}

* Hans Landa from ''[[Inglourious Basterds]]''.

* For a very dark example, Col. Koobus from ''[[District 9]]''. He's undeniably a [[Colonel Badass]] in every respect (though also a mass-murdering [[Complete Monster]], which, of course, hasn't stopped a [[Misaimed Fandom]] bordering on [[Draco in Leather Pants|Draco In Leather Pantsing]]).

== Literature ==

* This has notoriously been the biggest problem with [[John Milton]]'s ''[[Paradise Lost]].'' Satan is, in fact, so much more interesting to read about than God or Christ (except when the latter [[Kung Fu Jesus|gets into His chariot]]) that [[William Blake]] thought Milton was "of the Devil's party without knowing it." The immense [[Misaimed Fandom]] hasn't helped. Even though what looked like was going to be an awesome battle scene over Earth turned into Satan running away after realizing that ''he's not cool anymore'', which the sneering angels already knew, and the rest of the story after that shows him being humiliated worse until he wins with Eve and the narrative loses interest in him, for the most part. He's still falling the whole time. But who gets past the first couple of books, anyway?

* ''Claudius the God'' is the story of Emperor Claudius, portrayed as a basically decent and honorable man thrust unwillingly into a position of ultimate power. ''[[I, Claudius]]'' chronicles the reigns of Augustus (and his wife [[Magnificent Bastard|Livia]]), [[Dirty Old Man|Tiberius]], and [[The Caligula|Caligula]]. Guess which one is the most fun read? In case you need a hint: one chapter of ''Claudius the God'' is devoted to the protagonist's [[Seasonal Rot|visit to the doctor.]]

* Defied in the [[Tortall Universe]]. Kel is disappointed that [[Evil Genius|Blayce]] is ''not'' some grand wizard, and instead, just a short and ugly wimp. [[The Brute|His muscle]] isn't too impressive either.

* Although you wouldn't know it from reading the actual book, where he is hideous, disgusting, and creepy, [[Dracula]] us essentially responsible for the entire western world's vampire obsession.

* [[Harry Potter (novel)|Lord Voldemort]] He's one of the most powerful and cunning characters in the series ''and'' has a kickass army of Dark wizards and various sinister creatures at his disposal.

* In the ''[[Inheritance Cycle]]'', Murtagh does a [[Face Heel Turn]] and get his strength boosted to many times his original level by being taught "secret magic" by Galbatorix. He is considered an [[Ensemble Darkhorse]] by many, especially in comparison to Eragon.

* Among the ''[[Redwall]]'' fandom, the [[Exclusively Evil]] vermin tend to be more well-liked than the [[Always Lawful Good]] woodlanders.

* Admit it: even after you find out that his {{spoiler|cluelessness and uselessness}} was a disguise, you can't help but love {{spoiler|Adachi Tohru}} from ''[[Persona 4]]''.

* If [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=go2SMXxE-8Q#t=2m29s this] video is of any guideline, Baal from ''[[Diablo]] 2'' counts.

* And then there's [[Resident Evil|Albert Wesker]]. He just became cooler and crueler throughout the series.

* Name one original ''[[Kingdom Hearts]]'' villain that isn't ''awesome''. Especially the various incarnations of [[Big Bad|Xehanort]]. ''Especially'' Xemnas. It helps when you're [[Norio Wakamoto]] dual-wielding red <s>lightsabers</s> [[Laser Blade|ethereal blades]].

==Web Comics==

* Ito, the God of Trust and Betrayal from ''[[A Moment of Peace]]'', [https://web.archive.org/web/20130607121002/http://www.amomentofpeace.net/comic.php?num=108 steals dreams and crushes hopes] for a living, and has prosthetic hands forged from moments of despair by crows that grew hands to strangle people.

* Richard from ''[[Looking for Group]]'' is an over-the-top chaotic evil necromancer working with an ostensibly good group, and he's easily the most interesting and coolest character in the series.

* Black Mage from ''[[8-Bit Theater|Eight Bit Theater]]'' viciously subverts this trope. Just about every single other character in the series utterly confirms it.

** Blackarachnia is very popular amongst the fanbase—like she says, she's hot, poisonous, and deadly. (Also, a [[Femme Fatale]] with the sort of body most fanboys only get to look at, that might also have something to do with it.)

** Other popular Predacons include [[Magnificent Bastard|Megatron]], [[The Dragon|Inferno]], [[Mad Scientist|Tarantulas]], [[Mix-and-Match Critters|Quickstrike]], [[Ax Crazy|Rampage]], and [[The Chew Toy|Waspinator]].

** [[Big Bad|Megatron]]. In any incarnation. Also, [[Transformers Generation 1|G1]] Megatron's [[Leonard Nimoy]]-voiced alter ego [[Purple Is Powerful|Galvatron]] and, as mentioned above, his [[Tyrannosaurus Rex]] (later [[Our Dragons Are Different|dragon]]) [[Magnificent Bastard]] successor from ''[[Beast Wars]]'', also called Megatron.

* ''[[Care Bears]]'': for some older fans, the main villains of the Nelvana series and movies are more entertaining than the Care Bears and Cousins.

* ''[[The Dreamstone]]'' falls under similar territory. The fanbase largely favors Zordrak and the Urpneys over the cutesy residents of the Land Of The Dreams. Granted, for the Urpneys, it may be more a case of "[[Laughably Evil|Evil Is Funny]]".

* Similar to Xanatos and Slade above, Tombstone and Green Goblin, the two main [[Big Bad]]s of ''[[The Spectacular Spider-Man]]'', are perhaps two of the most awesome characters in a series full of them.

* Victor Veloci, the villain of the horrifically [[Anvilicious]] and [[Did Not Do the Research|poorly researched]] ''[[Dino Squad]]'', is seen by many of the show's few viewers as the only interesting character.

* ''[[Avatar: The Last Airbender]]'';

* [[Big Bad|Amon]] from ''[[The Legend of Korra]]'' is already getting this rep. He's voiced by [[Steve Blum]] and therefore has a [[Evil Sounds Deep|deep voice]] that he uses in frightening threats, a cool and scary mask, and doesn't even flinch when fire blasts into the room he and his mooks are in, incapacitating said mooks. Finally, he absolutely terrifies Korra. A completely [[Badass Normal|normal non-bender]] [[Nightmare Fuel|manages to terrify the most powerful bender in the world.]] And just as she's starting to get her confidence back, he ambushes her and delivers a [[Hannibal Lecture]] so effective that [[Heroic BSOD|she breaks down into tears afterwards.]]

** Amon has achieved true [[Magnificent Bastard]] status in record time. It took only six episodes to achieve it and he's only had a major part in THREE!

* An in-universe example: in one episode of ''[[The Simpsons (animation)|The Simpsons]]'', Bart dismisses the entire genre of Christian rock because "everyone knows the best rock groups are affiliated with Satan."

* ''[[Rick and Morty]]'': Well, there's [[Villain Protagonist|Rick]], of course, but it's rare to find a villain who isn't cool on this show. Some notable examples:

** Fart, a foul-smelling, sentient cloud of gas who loves to sing, and has a great voice for doing so.

* ''[[King of the Hill]]'' has Hank's father, Cotton. He's a bigot, he was a terrible father, he has almost no morals... And he's a ''really'' fun character that makes you [[Laughably Evil|laugh your ass off.]]

* The [[Netflix]] reboot of ''[[Carmen Sandiego]]'' lets you take your pick of villains. We have Tigress ([[The Rival]] to Carmen, [[Deadpan Snarker]] [[Cat Girl]]), Professor Gunnar Maelstrom (can give Emperor Palpatine competition for [[Evil Is Hammy|hammiest]] and coolest [[Evil Old Folks|Evil Old Guy]]), Countess Cleo (manages to be a villainous ''and'' exotic-looking [[Ms. Fanservice]] ''without'' acting or dressing like a call girl) Paper Star (costume alone puts her on top, and she can ''turn paper into lethal weapons''; probably inspired by Shego, but still adds a unique touch), and the Cleaners (the type of guys who are much scarier [[The Silent Bob|when they ''don't'' talk]]). Even [[Enemy Mime|Mime Bomb]], who was obviously created to [[Everyone Hates Mimes|enforce the usual opinion of mimes]], has a few awesome moments.

 

==[[Real Life]]==

* As mentioned above, [[Mean Character, Nice Actor|actors frequently mention that playing the villain is just more fun]], not just for the cooler clothes and such, but from an acting standpoint in general. Heroes can be rather [[Boring Invincible Hero|dull,]] simply doing the right thing because it's the right thing. That can be boring for an actor, but a villain usually has more layers. Is he [[With Great Power Comes Great Insanity|mad with power]]? Does he have a [[Freudian Excuse]]? How did they get to where they are? There's usually more in a villainous character for an actor to sink his teeth into.

* Many actors will tell you that playing the villain is a ''lot'' of fun. See [[The Villain Makes the Plot]] for the reasoning.

* The Roman Catholic baptismal vows include one about rejecting the "glamour of evil". They recognized it.

 

{{reflist}}

[[Category:Rule of Cool]]

[[Category:Evil Tropes]]

[[Category:YMMV Trope]]

[[Category:Villains]]