Evil Overlord: Difference between revisions

{{trope}}

 

 

The [[Archetypal Character|archetypal]] [[High Fantasy]] (and sometimes [[Heroic Fantasy]]) [[Villains|villain]].

 

 

 

Seldom enjoys [[Royal Blood]], just to make taking him down proper. Nebulous lords of evil tend to work best as a [[Sorcerous Overlord]] which often makes a righteous physical butt kicking all the more satisfying. May have [[Mad Scientist's Beautiful Daughter|a]] [[Overlord, Jr.|kid]].

If [[The Bad Guy Wins|he wins]], he'll probably establish [[The Empire]]. In fact, [[The Emperor]] is at about the same rank or higher in tropes on authority, and a single character is likely to be both. See also [[Diabolical Mastermind]] for the step below and [[Galactic Conqueror]], [[Dimension Lord]], [[Multiversal Conqueror]], [[God of Evil]] and [[Eldritch Abomination]] for the steps above.

 

 

 

* Various ''[[Digimon]]'' villains, including most of the ''[[Digimon Adventure|Adventure]]'' bad guys and the [[Digimon Adventure 02|Digimon Kaiser]].

** Bagramon tops this for conquering all of the digital world, as well as nearly conquering Earth as well.

* Emperor Beld and Wagnard from ''[[Record of Lodoss War]]''.

* {{spoiler|Sosuke Aizen}} from ''[[Bleach]]'' is a sociopath manipulator who betrays everyone who trusts him and doesn't hesitate to leave even his closest associates [[Not Quite Dead]] on the floor.

* ''[[Inuyasha]]'' subverts the trope. Naraku does take over a castle but that's because he wants control over the people who serve the young lord whose body he's possessed. He kills everyone in the castle soon enough and focuses on building up enemies and destroying the bonds between people at every opportunity. He has absolutely no interest in taking over the world, however. He simply wants to [[The Corrupter|twist all bonds]].

* Talpa from ''[[Ronin Warriors]]''.

* Lelouch and Schneizel from ''[[Code Geass|Code Geass R2]]'' are fighting for this position. Slightly subverted in that {{spoiler|Lelouch appears to be one but pulls a Milliardo Peacecraft maneuver like in ''[[Gundam Wing]]'' by dying a villain but uniting the world}}, while Schneizel acts all nice when it's been indicated he's the real deal. Having a father who promoted Social Darwinism means they may need something more to overshoot him...or not.

* [[The Emperor|Emperor Ganishka]] of Kushan in ''[[Berserk]]''. He [[I Have You Now, My Pretty|kidnaps]] Queen Charlotte and creates a demonic army by dropping pregnant women into an [[Eldritch Abomination]], after which their corrupted children rip themselves out of their mothers' wombs and devour them. Playing this trope straight is probably the only reason that ''[[Berserk]]'' isn't a complete [[Deconstructor Fleet|deconstruction]] of [[Heroic Fantasy]].

* [[Big Bad|Great Demon King Chestra]] from ''[[Violinist of Hameln]]''. You can guess this from his title, really. Though ''[[Violinist of Hameln]]'' is an action/comedy series that parodies a lot of shonen and fantasy tropes, this particular trope is played [[Complete Monster|horrifyingly straight]].

* Claw from ''[[Kimba the White Lion]]''.

 

== Comic Books ==

* Lord Void of ''[[Dreamkeepers]]''. [[Names to Run Away From Really Fast|We mean, look at his name.]]

* [[Doctor Doom]] holds a lock on this position in the [[Marvel Universe]].

* The [[Marvel Universe]] has the interdimensional entity [[Dimension Lord|Dormammu]], who has less of a street cred than Darkseid, but is so ridiculously more powerful that he [[Did You Just Punch Out Cthulhu?|routinely beats up various cosmic entities through his own power]], by far outranks all Marvel's known rulers of hell, and is worshipped as god in thousands of magical universes. His pleasant ambition is to slaughter and usurp all higher entities, conquer all life and afterlife, and turn all of existence into an eternal torture camp dedicated to his personal glory... He's essentially Marvel's most terrifying villain when you think about it, more akin to an [[Eldritch Abomination]] really, except being even more powerful... But then you remember that his head is on fire, and that he's usually severely downscaled to let anyone even have a shot at surviving.

** Several Marvel villains fit this trope. Shuma-Gorath is an even more powerful demon than Dormammu, and all the Hel Lords those two are above are still this in their home turf, as is virtually any demon or evil Death God with their own realm. [[Doctor Doom]] qualifies for this trope, as does Loki and other arch-villains whenever they gain territory, or world domination as they often do for a time.

* One of the more common types of foe in ''[[The Warlord]]''. Deimos was the most dangerous and most persistant.

* Emperor Golgoth of ''[[Empire]]''.

 

== Film ==

** Most other Sith Lords in the ''[[Star Wars]]'' universe with a position of command of some sort fit this trope as well, notably Darth Vader and Count Dooku (two of Palpatine's [[The Dragon|apprentices]]). In the ''[[Star Wars Expanded Universe]]'', we have Darth Revan, Darth Nihilus, Darth Malak, Darth Krayt, and many, many others.

 

== Literature ==

* ''[[The Chronicles of Narnia]]'': Although the Evil Overlord is usually both male and associated with black (hence, Dark Lord), C. S. Lewis' ''The Lion, The Witch, and the Wardrobe'' presented a female [[Winter Royal Lady|associated with whiteness]], the White Witch, as Narnia's evil ruler. ''The Magician's Nephew'' revealed that she had been Empress of Charn and destroyed all the life in her original world rather than lose. And in ''The Silver Chair'', {{spoiler|the Lady of the Green Kirtle is queen of Underland and out to conquer Narnia.}} Human Evil Overlords include the Tisroc of Calormen in ''The Horse and his Boy'' and Caspian's Uncle Miraz in ''Prince Caspian''.

* As always, ''[[Discworld]]'' provides examples.

* Lord Voldemort from the ''[[Harry Potter]]'' series. Even though he only really becomes any sort of Overlord in book seven, people treat him as one from the start, including his followers using the term Dark Lord. But up until he actually takes over, he's more of a terrorist/cult leader.

* The Shadow Lord from Emily Rodda's series ''[[Deltora Quest]]''.

* Arawn the Death Lord of Annuvin from the ''[[Prydain Chronicles]]''. He actually started out in the series backstory as the [[The Dragon|right-hand man]] to the previous Dark Lord, Queen Achren, but [[The Starscream|deposed her.]] It is worth noting that Arawn subverts certain aspects of this trope. Rather than being an unfathomably powerful opponent, he is portrayed as a [[The Chessmaster|cunning trickster]] who corrupts mortals through illusion and deceit. In combat, he proves to actually be [[Anticlimax Boss|quite weak,]] relying on his army of [[Nigh Invulnerable]] undead minions to protect him.

** The Adderhead, [[Big Bad]] of the [[Show Within a Show|Book within a Book]] and [[Refugee From TV Land|Capricorn's]] former boss, is a much clearer example.

** His team is as follows. His [[The Dragon|Dragon]], Dracon (no less!) is an ancient half-elf who is [[Immortality|immortal]] and extremely powerful, and his best friend. [[The Dark Chick]] was mind-raped into submission. [[The Brute]] (the [[Mook]] Captain) is entirely loyal and very intelligent. The [[Mad Scientist]] has yet to be introduced, but can produce technology to warp reality and use magic.

* Rugaard from E. E. Knight's ''Age of Fire'' series is a partial subversion of this trope. While he's an Evil Overlord, he's a dragon, carries a good approval rating from most of his underlings, even his personal slaves Rayg, Rhea and Fourfang with him intervening to save them more than once, practices Equal Opportunity Evil, shows most of the traits we'd expect of a fantasy hero, and oh, plans to subjugate all the hominids in the world. But it's all justified, you see, because not a single free homonid he's encountered has ever been vaguely nice to him.

* Belial from ''[[The Salvation War]]'': [http://bbs.stardestroyer.net/viewtopic.php?t=118769&highlight= Armageddon]. Interesting subversion: He's not the guy in charge, in fact he's a nobody in Old Nick's court. So much so that the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah were considered highly amusing party tricks - and he's just there as the ''court jester''. Turns out, however, that they're not quite [[Superweapon Surprise|"party tricks" after all]]...

* Darken Rahl and Emperor Jagang in ''[[The Sword of Truth]]'' series by Terry Goodkind. Rahl is more archetypal since his minions ''know'' he's evil but still follow him out of loyalty, while Jagang and his empire think they're right.

* Paul Atreides of ''[[Dune]] Messiah'' is somewhat of a deconstruction/subversion of the trope. He is worshiped as a god by his Fremen legions whose jihad has spread their religion across the universe at the expense of billions of people, the once [[Proud Warrior Race]] is now rich and corrupt, and in comparison the Shaddam IV who he overthrew seems like a saint. However, none of this was Paul's intention. A group of overzealous Fremen started the religion and jihad and after 12 years it escalated to the point of Paul being a figurehead without any power to stop it, leading to the irony of being a powerful emperor who commands his subjects yet a powerless god who can't stop his worshipers. He also still manages to be the hero of the story because almost all of his enemies want to overthrow him for their own selfish purposes rather than stop the jihad. Paul was on top of this to begin with mostly because as enough of a prophet to see the big war is coming (back in the first book), he tried to somewhat limit the inevitable destruction by taking control.

** His son, Leto II, the [[God-Emperor]], is another deconstructive example. He rules over [[The Empire|territories from several galaxies with an iron fist]], [[A God Am I|demands that his subjects worship him]], [[Amazon Brigade|commands an army of savage female fanatics]], and [[Unobtanium|uses his monopoly over the spice]] to prevent any challenge to his authority. What only he knows, however, is that he is using his reign as a means to free humanity from prescient rulers like himself and to ensure that humanity follows his "Golden Path" - the path away from extinction. His contemporaries think he is simply a power hungry despot.

* In the ''[[New Jedi Order]]'', the absolute ruler of the [[Scary Dogmatic Aliens|Yuuzhan Vong]] actually has "Supreme Overlord" as his main title. {{spoiler|It turns out he's just a mindless shell [[The Man Behind the Man|Onimi]] uses to act as his public face}}.

* Lord Sparr in ''[[The Secrets of Droon]]''. {{spoiler|At least until he pulls a [[Heel Face Turn]].}}

* Parodied in ''[[Myth Adventures|Something M.Y.T.H. Inc.]]'', in which the common people of Possiltom ''think'' Skeeve is an example of this trope because he consorts with (friendly and likeable) demons, keeps a (goofy pet) dragon, and has (out of dire necessity) raised their taxes.

* The ''[[Shannara]]'' series is littered with them:

** The Dagda Mor and his eventual heir, Tael Riverine, who lord over an [[Evil Dimension]] of creatures sealed away long ago who merely seek freedom, though freedom entails overrunning the world with monsters.

* Completely subverted in Jacqueline Carey's duology "[[The Sundering]]" which is told from the viewpoint of the Evil Overlord. Although he suffers from chronically bad press it turns out that he and his subjects just want to be left alone and it is the god of the Elves who is trying to throw down.

* ''[[The Tough Guide to Fantasyland]]'' naturally has a whole peice about Dark Lords, including the rarity of Dark Ladies.

* Used frequently in [[John Carter of Mars]]. In the first three books alone we get several distinct flavors of this one- [[Villainous Glutton|Tal Hajus]], [[Priest King|Matai Shang]], [[God Guise|Issus]] and [[The Caligula|Salensus Oll]].

* {{spoiler|Freddy Johnson as}} Osiris in [[The Tumbleweed Dossier]].

 

** Giles becomes this in the serial novel "The Lost Slayer", after getting vamped. He's king of Sunnydale and some of the rest of southern California.

* Darken Rahl in ''[[Legend of the Seeker]]''

* Chancellor Dongalor is a parody of this in ''Krod Mandoon and the Flaming Sword of Fire''

* Lord Zedd of ''[[Mighty Morphin Power Rangers]]'' is introduced as this. Even after his [[Jaded Washout|slide into has-been territory]], it was still a very real, very frightening moment when he appeared in the Command Center after capturing Kimberly and forcing the Rangers to pilot his evil zords. His subsequent hand-to-hand fight with Tommy later confirmed his status in this category.

* The Gorma Emperor from ''[[Gosei Sentai Dairanger]]''.

 

== Newspaper Comics ==

 

== Tabletop Games ==

** And then there are the Infernal Exalted, who ''must'' play this trope to the fullest, since it's their way of working off [[Villainous Breakdown|Torment]]. As per usual, this also has a [[Dark Is Not Evil]] aspect, as Acts of Villainy aren't actually inherently evil (The one drafted by [[Evil Matriarch|Kimbery]], for example, asks that you give your opponents [[Cruel Mercy]]...but doesn't actually have provisions for making it so that living is a [[Fate Worse Than Death]]).

** Don't forget Nicol Bolas for [[Instant Awesome, Just Add Dragons]].

 

== Toys ==

* Makuta Teridax in ''[[Bionicle]]'', {{spoiler|especially when he takes over the universe.}}

 

== Video Games ==

* Dr. Robotnik of ''[[Sonic the Hedgehog]]'' in some incarnations.

* In ''[[Heroes of Might and Magic]] 3'', the Warlocks and Overlords of Nighon fit this trope perfectly.

* Zetta, ''[[Makai Kingdom]]'''s [[Badass]] Freakin' Overlord of the entire Netherworld...until he blew it up. [[Planet of the Apes Ending|Damn you, Zetta! Damn you to]]...oh, wait.

** ''[[Makai Kingdom]]'' reveals that Overlords are a dime a dozen in the [[Nippon Ichi]] [[The Verse|'verse]], as anybody with enough mana can rule over their own collection of vassals and worlds.

* In ''[[La Pucelle]]'', {{spoiler|Priere}} can become an Overlord if {{spoiler|she}} [[You Kill It, You Bought It|kills too many demons in the Dark World]], leading to a [[Nonstandard Game Over]]. {{spoiler|Oddly enough, this is actually the canon ending.}} The remake incorporates this into the storyline, making it {{spoiler|a requirement for the good ending.}}

* The titular character from the ''[[Legacy of Kain]]'' series spends a lot of time as this. He does take breaks to save the world, but he actually just wants to keep it alive so he can keep lording over it.

* In the ''[[City of Villains]]'', Lord Recluse is king. Well more like [[President Evil|dictator]], but he has all the features- [[Five-Bad Band]], [[Redshirt Army]], island domains that vary between [[Vice City]] and urbanised [[Mordor]].

* Shao Kahn in ''[[Mortal Kombat]]''. And before him, {{spoiler|Onaga.}}

* ''[[Final Fantasy]]'' villains often fall into the Evil Overlord bin: but curiously, very seldom the actual [[Big Bad]].

* Jie Revorse in ''[[Star Ocean 1|Star Ocean]]''.

* The ''[[Fire Emblem]]'' series likes this trope.

** Ashnard in ''Fire Emblem 9''.

* Varesh Ossa in ''Guild Wars: Nightfall'' is a very good example, although unlike other cliched evil overlords, she is in fact control of her actions and knows fully well what she is doing.

* ''Final Fantasy Adventure''/''Mystic Quest'' and its remake ''Sword of Mana'' has an overlord as a villain, they even blatantly name him "Dark Lord". He is not actually the [[Big Bad]], to no one's surprise after years of similar storylines.

* Grigori Rasputin attempts to become this in ''[[Shadow Hearts]]: Covenant''.

* [[Oda Nobunaga]] in any Capcom game, including the ''[[Onimusha]]'' and ''[[Sengoku Basara]]'' series (and the latter's [[Anime]] adaptation).

* In ''[[Imperium Nova]]'', [[The Emperor]] of each galaxy is inevetibally labeled an evil overlord by his or her opponents. Whether or not the labeling is true is a matter of discussion.

* Lord Bane from the old TBS ''Warlords III''

* Dagoth Ur in ''[[The Elder Scrolls]] III: Morrowind.''

* Dracula of ''[[Castlevania]]''. Besides the obvious hints, the "Dark Lord" is his official title, and after he's killed off for good in 1999, said title is still up for grabs. Nobody's actually succeeded in taking it proper. {{spoiler|Or wanted to, for that matter, in one case - Soma Cruz, being Drac's reincarnation, came close accidentally, and he had to fight to not turn evil. Dmitrii Blinov nearly became the Dark Lord intentionally. ''Nearly''.}}

* Nightmare from the ''[[Soul Series]]'' fits this trope perfectly in his appearance in ''Soulcalibur IV''.

* Dark Warlord Zanshin from ''[[Throne of Darkness]]''. {{spoiler|The player's lord becomes one after taking his place.}}

* The Devourlord from {{spoiler|the Demon Path of}} ''[[Soul Nomad and The World Eaters]]'' {{spoiler|aka [[Villain Protagonist|you.]]}} Combines this with [[Omnicidal Maniac]] for a terrifying result.

 

* [http://www.thebeastlegion.com/issue-01-page-21-enter-dragos/ Lord Dragos] from ''[[The Beast Legion]]'' is the perfect example of tyrannical Evil despot who rules the land with an iron fist.

* The Editor of ''[[Evil Overlords United]]''.

* ''[[Sluggy Freelance]]'':

** Lord Horribus, at least during the "That Which Redeems" arc. Oddly enough, Horribus is really only second-in-command of the demon armies. The actual Demon King spends the entire [[Demonic Invaders|Demonic Invasion]] on the toilet.

** A wonderfully [[Crazy Awesome]] version is found in the "Holiday Wars" storyline where {{spoiler|Bun-bun}} realises he can become one and [[Take Over the World]] by becoming the [[Anthropomorphic Personification]] of all the holidays. (Being the embodiment of Halloween gives the right "dark" flavour among what would otherwise mostly be too cheerful portfolios.)

 

== Web Original ==

* The aptly-named Dark Overlords from the web fiction series ''[[Dimension Heroes]]''.

* ''[[Whateley Universe]]'' example: supervillain Gizmatic, the King of Karedonia. Which he conquered and then enlarged.

* The Sunflower Emperor in the ''[[Protectors of the Plot Continuum]]'' [[Mirror Universe|Mirror Multiverse]]. The Mysterious Somebody had a similar role in the prime multiverse, as the PPC's former ruler.

* Lord Doom and The Emperor hold this position in the ''[[Global Guardians PBEM Universe]]''.

* [[Diamanda Hagan]] actually ''admits'' to being this, having minions [[Bad Boss|who she regularly orders to execute themselves]].

 

== Western Animation ==

* Aku from ''[[Samurai Jack]]''.

* The Dark Lord [[Fluffy the Terrible|Chuckles the Silly Piggy]] from ''[[Dave the Barbarian]]''.

* Pariah Dark from ''[[Danny Phantom]]'' who, despite appearing in one hour-long special, managed to take over one world and one entire dimension.

* Maximus of ''[[Atomic Betty]]'' actually calls himself "Supreme Evil Overlord Maximus I.Q.

* The [[Big Bad]] of ''[[Blackstar]]'' is called the Overlord.

* Lucius Henious VII on ''[[Jimmy Two-Shoes]]''.

* Queen Dark took over the world in ''[[Argai the Prophecy]]''.

 

== Real Life ==

* Vortigern was a [[Dark Age Europe|Dark Age]] Romano-British ruler who let the English in from Germany to fight the Scots and then fled when they decided they liked his country and wanted to take the whole thing. Interestingly, his name literally means "Overlord".

 

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'''[[Statler and Waldorf|Both]]''': Doh-ho-ho-ho-ho-hoh! }}

 

{{reflist}}

[[Category:Authority Tropes]]

[[Category:Archetypal Character]]

[[Category:Villains]]

[[Category:Power]]