Evil Redhead: Difference between revisions

{{trope}}

 

 

 

[[Redheaded Bully|Bullies in school media often have red hair]] because of the [[Fiery Redhead|temperamental redhead stereotype]]. Note the dovetailing with the [[Violent Glaswegian]], though that seldom overlaps. Contrast [[Redheaded Hero]], wherein the hero's red hair makes them noble leaders, and [[Redheaded Stepchild]], wherein the redhead is despised but not ''necessarily'' evil, as well as the growing tendency over the past few decades for [[Heroes Want Redheads|heroes to have red-haired romantic interests]], especially [[Green Eyed Red Head|green-eyed ones]].

Compare [[Evil Albino]], [[Blond Guys Are Evil]], and [[Blondes Are Evil]].

 

{{examples}}

 

* Yuriannu Faithful from [[Linebarrels of Iron]] is one for the villain team, who also engages in purposeful [[Foe Yay]] with the hero, has a [[Sexy Secretary]] alterego, and has a definite [[Evil Is Sexy]] vibe.

* While not so much evil as "egotistical", flame-haired Maaya Nanako of ''[[Umisho]]'' claims to be leading male Kaname's [[Unlucky Childhood Friend]]. His memories of her are not at all pleasant.

** He's also the only Japanese person in the series to have light brown hair - which frequently turns red, depending on the, er, light.

* In ''[[Mermaid Melody Pichi Pichi Pitch]]'', the first shown member of every [[Quirky Miniboss Squad]] is a redhead (Izuuru, Sheshe, Fuku). Also twisted with Sara, whose natural colour was bright orange but [[Paint It Black|changed to black]].

** Aside from Fuku (who never attacks the Mermaid Princesses directly, anyway), the first real member of Michel's Winged Ones who shows up is [[Villainous Crossdresser|La]][[Kiss of the Vampire|dy]] [[Evil Is Sexy|Ba]][[Lesbian Vampire|t]], who also has burgundy red hair.

** And Akane Karasuma, aka Sailor Lead Crow, in the fifth. Also a [[Dark-Skinned Redhead]].

*** Her boss Galaxia [[Blondes Are Evil|has gold-blonde hair]]...which fades into blood red.

** Bring Stabity and Devine Nova fits this trope to a T.

* Sir [[Blood Knight|Luciano]] [[Ax Crazy|Bradley]], the Knight of Ten, from ''[[Code Geass]]''.

** [[Anti-Villain|These two aren't really evil, you know.]] Nove is more of a [[Perpetual Frowner]] while Vita is just [[Tsundere|really heavy on the Tsun side of the scale]].

** Arnage of Huckebein from ''Force'' plays it straighter (thus far?).

** Though she's not quite evil, [[Dark Chick|Karin]] could qualify as well.

** Subverted by Android 16, a red-mohawked Friend To All Living Things (but Goku).

* Koros from ''[[Daitarn 3]]''

* Principal Gakuencho from the first [[Devil Hunter Yohko]] OVA

* [[Apocalypse Maiden|Mayo Sakaki]] from the 3rd ''[[Fushigi Yuugi]]'' OVA

* Momomi Minoi, the [[Cute and Psycho]] [[Yakuza Princess]] from ''[[Mezzo Forte]]'' fits quite well. One of her recreational activities seems to be casually murdering her father's employees when they fail to meet her expectations...and that's just when she's having fun. If someone actually tries to get in her way, she will do her best to ensure that they experience [[Fate Worse Than Death|far worse.]]

* [[Mirai Nikki|Gasai]] [[Yandere|Yuno]] has bright pink hair. {{spoiler|Subverted}} in the ending, but before that, <s>God</s>Deus help you if you [[Ax Crazy|try to separate her from her Yuki]].

* Sa Sakujun from [[Saiunkoku Monogatari]] is...not a nice person. At all.

 

 

* Dark Phoenix from ''[[X-Men (Comic Book)|X-Men]]'', in both the comic and [[The Movie]].

** Not to mention her clone, Madelyne Pryor, who became the Goblyn Queen.

** Also in ''X-Men'', Cain Marko, aka Juggernaut, is a redhead, though it's rarely explicitly shown thanks to his signature helmet of [[Luckily, My Powers Will Protect Me|psi blockage.]]

** Then there's Belasco, the red-haired, devil-horned sorcerer who stole Illyana Rasputin's childhood.

** Also, Hush, one of Bruce's childhood friends, introduced rather recently (and has taken [[The Only One Allowed to Defeat You]] route as of ''Detective Comics'' #846).

** The Scarecrow and the Riddler can be redheads depending on the artist.

** And who contained the original Luthor's brain. Naturally, the pre-clone Luthor had red hair before he went bald.

*** Carried over into the ''[[Smallville]]'' continuity, where the young Luthor was a redhead [[It Makes Sense in Context|until the day of the meteor shower.]]

* Lightning Lord, older brother of the Ranzz siblings of ''[[The Legion of Super Heroes|Legion]]'' fame...although his more iconic look is from after his hair has turned [[White-Haired Pretty Boy|white]].

* Carnage's alter ego Cletus Kasady has red hair.

* 'Red' Gurdy Pickens, the recurring [[Villain Sue]] of B.A.'s campaigns, in ''[[Knights of the Dinner Table]]''.

* Based on the cover art and the video game, [[Scott Pilgrim]]'s ex-girlfriend Envy is one, though they made her [[Blondes Are Evil|blonde]] in the movie. To be fair, {{spoiler|her "evilness" isn't so clear-cut, as we learn what an [[Unreliable Narrator]] Scott is}}.

* {{spoiler|[[Batman|Jason Todd]]}} was retconned into being a redhead. {{spoiler|Batman}} apparently made him dye his hair black to hide the fact that {{spoiler|the role of Robin had gone to someone else.}}

 

== Fanfic ==

* ''[[Naruto]]'' fanfics that have [[A Form You Are Comfortable With|the Kyuuubi assume a human form]] almost invariably have it appear as a [[Heroes Want Redheads|beautiful red-headed woman]].

** The fact that the Kyuubi's fur is actually ''orange'', not red, is never acknowledged.

* In fanfiction, [[Harry Potter|Ginny]] will get this treatment. Ron, too, [[Ron the Death Eater|but that goes without saying]].

 

 

* Buddy, aka Syndrome, the main villain of ''[[The Incredibles]]'', had bright red hair that was styled in a flame-esque way.

** Brad Bird, who directed ''[[The Incredibles]]'', seems fond of this trope. Kent Mansley (the paranoid government agent in ''[[The Iron Giant]]'', which was also directed by Brad Bird) also has red hair and blue eyes, just like Syndrome.

 

== Film -- Live-Action ==

* Maxwell "Wizard" Wallace from ''[[August Rush]]'', played by [[Robin Williams]] with [[Dyeing for Your Art|a lot of hair dye]].

* Malachai, the blood-thirsty teen from ''[[Children of the Corn]]''.

* Magenta from ''[[The Rocky Horror Picture Show]]'' certainly applies.

* Randal Graves of the [[View Askewniverse]] could fit in here somewhat. Although he isn't ''technically'' evil, he thinks nothing of spitting water in customers' faces, ordering porno titles in front of children, [[Manipulative Bastard|manipulating his best friend into horrible but brilliant verbal traps]], indirectly destroying several of said friend's romantic relationships, and generally causing chaos and frustration wherever he goes. And when he's not in black and white, he is titian-haired (dirty red-blonde).

* Scut Farkus from ''[[A Christmas Story]]''.

* ''[[Star Wars]]'': in the movies, Emperor Palpatine or Darth Sidious has grey or white hair that turns bald. However, in the ''[[Star Wars Expanded Universe]]'', particularly ''[[Dark Empire]]'', even though the colours don't really match up to a number of things, the Emperor's young clones have red as their hair colour! Of course, when you consider the trope description and the fact that Palpatine is a [[Complete Monster]], it is not too difficult to see why this is apparently his original hair colour!

== Literature ==

* Pictured above: Melisandre of ''[[A Song of Ice and Fire]]'' is an marginal example. As a [[Knight Templar]] priestess who worships a fire-themed god and often recommends human sacrifice by burning, she's regarded by many characters as an [[Evil Chancellor]]. However, she's also firmly committed to fighting the overtly evil [[Our Liches Are Different|Others]], believing that the brutal actions she recommends are necessary for the greater good of humanity. Ultimately, her morality is somewhat debatable.

* All Shades from the ''[[Inheritance Cycle]]'' have red hair.

* [[Anne Rice]]'s ''[[Vampire Chronicles]]'' has many red-haired vampires. Most notably, Maharet and her scary-as-hell sister Mekare - though the yandere-like Armand arguably fits the bill too. Maharet, however, is nothing approaching evil (apart from being a vampire, which she was made into against her will).

* In the ''[[Illuminatus]]'' trilogy, Satan prefers redheads and they explore this trope in depth.

** Well, it's a reference to old folk-beliefs. It works because the Black Mass participants believe it should. In an inversion, one of the participants is a protagonist who is taking his first steps in his path away from social conventions towards illumination. He and the redhead get some good sex out of the deal and get to meet {{spoiler|Malaclypse the Elder disguised as}} Satan disguised as Billy Graham.

* [[Lampshaded]] in the short story "Nobody Here But-" by [[Isaac Asimov]] where the protagonist suspects his girlfriend is bitchy just because she has to live up to her red hair.

* Celia Madden of ''The Damnation of Theron Ware''. (Though perhaps "evil" might be a bit strong, as "bitchy" serves just as well. But it still counts.)

** Congrats, it's [[Word of God]]'d!

* Brand from ''[[The Book of Amber]]'', who wanted to destroy the universe and remake it in his own image. And his redheaded siblings, Bleys and Fiona, are also fairly morally dubious.

* The [[Satan|Lone Power]], from the ''[[Young Wizards]]'' series, often appears as a young man with red(dish) hair.

* [[Psycho Misandrist]] Adept Red of the ''[[Apprentice Adept]]'' series

* ''[[Children of the Corn]]'' has Malachi.

** Averted with [[Tomboy|Pepper]], one of [[Anti-Anti-Christ|Adam]]'s friends.

* In [[Poul Anderson]]'s ''[[Operation Chaos]]'', the genie tries to invoke this, abusing Ginny for having "hair like hell". She ignores it.

* ''Sisterhood'' series by [[Fern Michaels]]: lawyer Adel Newsom is definitely this. It's a good thing that she's actually stupid.

* Ruin, the personification of entropy, chaos, and destruction in ''[[Mistborn]]'' - while usually either shapeless or impersonating people - physically manifests as a redheaded man.

 

 

== Live Action TV ==

* Semi-averted in ''[[Waterloo Road]]''. The show's only redhead, Danielle, hangs around with Aleesha, who is pretty evil (sabotaging ''Park Side Story'', tricking Karla into the whole petition thing). However, Danielle, to her credit, has balked at many of Aleesha's more evil schemes and actively refuses to take part in them.

* Kimberly Mancini and Sydney Andrews from ''[[Melrose Place]]''. Also, Violet from ''[[Melrose Place]]'', 2009.

** But Vamp Willow is redheaded but evil.

** Glory had reddish-blonde hair and wore a lot of red.

** Played straight with the Mayor.

* Spellbinder Ashka from, well, ''[[Spellbinder]]'' was a redhead and also a power-hungry, cunning, vicious bitch.

* Both film adaptations of ''[[Dune]]'' have this going on: David Lynch's has a strawberry-blond Feyd-Rautha (played by an enthusiastic Sting in brass underpants) and the miniseries features Ian McNiece as a Baron Harkonnen rocking the henna look.

* Joey Caruso from ''[[Everybody Hates Chris]]''.

* Sharona in ''[[Sonny With a Chance]]''.

* Budnick from ''[[Salute Your Shorts]]''.

* ''[[The Sarah Connor Chronicles]]'' has Catherine Weaver.

** This was, however, a rather sad addendum to her original [[Heroes Want Redheads]] function (which was perhaps subverted in that the redhead wanted the hero!).

* ''[[The Young Ones]]'': three brunettes, one ginger, all [[Unsympathetic Comedy Protagonist|unpleasant]]. Still, guess which one is the most violent and destructive.

** Well, she DID get tapped to play [[The Sarah Connor Chronicles|Catherine Weaver]], as mentioned above.

* And before Garbage, this was [[Oingo Boingo|Danny Elfman's]] stage persona. He looks so cheerfully demonic that you have to wonder why he wasn't cast as the [[Batman|Joker]].

 

 

== Mythology ==

** According to some translations of the Bible, the devil has [[What Do You Mean It's Not Heinous?|curly red hair]].

** And then there was the [[Foe Yay|attempted schtupping of Horus]]...sheesh.

* Loki, the god of mischief in [[Norse Mythology]], in contrast to the much more masculine [[Redheaded Hero]] Thor. In Norse tradition, those born with red hair and blue eyes were thought to possess supernatural strength and were more likely to be [[Fiery Redhead|harbingers of battle]]. The modern depiction of Thor with blond hair is wrong on multiple levels, as blonds were considered to be calmer and more strategic in battle, hence Odin's coloration.

* Rumour has it that red hair was considered a positive factor in selection to become a druid - this may account for the malign reputation of red-headedness amongst those cultures that were hostile to Celts. (And probably among the Christian missionaries too.)

* At least one painting of [[Classical Mythology|Pandora]], the first-woman whose curiosity brought diseases into the world, gives her fiery red hair and a scary look on her face.

** A few pre-Raphaelites depicted Salomé as a ginger, too.

 

 

== Tabletop Games ==

 

 

== Theater ==

* The original [[Sweeney Todd]] was a redhead in the book. Modern depictions tend to run more toward [[Looks Like Cesare|Looking Like Cesare]], though.

** Many depictions of [[Yandere]] [[Stepford Smiler]] Mrs. Lovett have her as a redhead.

* ''Redhead''.

 

 

== Video Games ==

** All the Gerudo, actually, but they're thieves, whereas Ganondorf is out-and-out evil.

* [[Neverwinter Nights|Aribeth]] has reddish hair (much more apparent from her portrait than her character model), though she is only evil for about half of the first campaign and you get to [[Heel Face Revolving Door|choose whether she stays evil]] in Hordes of the Underdark.

** Subverted to some extent by Silver's manga counterpart, who is a red-haired antihero.

*** Silver in the games isn't exactly evil, just a bit of a [[Jerkass|jerk...]]

* Erol in ''[[Jak and Daxter|Jak II]]'' {{spoiler|and ''Jak 3''}}, although, most of the time, his hair is hidden by his helmet.

* Walter Bernhard from ''[[Castlevania]]: Lament of Innocence''. And damn, does he ever have fun with the 'evil' part.

** Subverted in ''Portrait of Ruin'': Stella and Loretta are redheaded twins (though occasionally coloured with violet hair), but they're just [[Brainwashed and Crazy]].

** Partially subverted in ''Curse of Darkness''; Isaac is completely nutters, but {{spoiler|it's heavily implied that, half the time, Dracula is driving or at the very least co-piloting him. Isaac's a willing 'passenger', but still...}}

* Another subversion: Axel Almer of ''[[Super Robot Wars]]''. He's an honest [[Evil Redheads]] in ''Advance'', as well as the GBA version of [[OG 2]]. However, in the subsequent remakes, he's more or less a [[Noble Demon]], not outright evil...then he pulls a [[Heel Face Turn]], making him a [[Redheaded Hero]] (as does his heroic self in ''Advance'').

** His predecessor Reno certainly counted in the original ''[[Final Fantasy VII]]''. Guy was a ''bastard'' to fight if you were underlevelled on that bloody pillar.

* {{spoiler|Lara's evil doppelganger}} in ''[[Tomb Raider|Tomb Raider: Underworld]]''.

* Triumph Studios seems to love playing with this trope in their ''[[Overlord]]'' series of games, as Rose, one of the mistresses from ''Overlord'', is a redhead. In ''Overlord II'', all three mistresses have hair colors that are various shades of red. However, Rose and Kelda (the most redheaded of the mistresses) are actually non-evil (Rose believes in Order and Kelda is the [[Victorious Childhood Friend]]) and arguably the [[Only Sane Man|Only Sane Women]] of the setting.

* Sandra the gem thief from ''[[Legend of Mana]]''.

* If played as a [[Sliding Scale of Idealism Versus Cynicism|Renegade]], default female [[Player Character|Shepard]] in ''[[Mass Effect]]''.

* Crimson Viper, from [[Street Fighter]] IV.

* The Draugr in Skyrim tend to have red hair and beards.

** To get an idea of how evil, watch [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gy5rcqCzzJA&list=FLNvBDxxOuDioCJcvAqISxcw&index=45&feature=plpp_video this] (spoiler warning!).

** Then we have {{spoiler|Mimi Miney}} from the previous game. {{spoiler|It turns out, her and Dollie have a bit more than a thing or two in common, in fact.}}

** There's also {{spoiler|Souta Sarushiro}} from ''[[Ace Attorney Investigations]] 2''.

 

== Visual Novels ==

* [[Psycho for Hire]] Valentino from the ''[[Marilith]]'' webcomic. To her defense, she was made a psycho killer in a gulag.

* Lysinda and Oasis from ''[[Sluggy Freelance]]''. Particularly emphasized with Lysinda, who sports red hair even when the rest of the strip is in black and white.

** Pompey, Vaarsuvius' second [[Evil Counterpart]] in the Linear Guild has bright red hair - part of his being an evil opposite to V involves the fact that V wears red and has purple hair while Pompey wears purple and has red hair.

** While he's only made a few appearances in the comic, the Norse deity Loki is a literal [[Fiery Redhead]] and identified as being [[Chaotic Evil]]. On the other hand, he [[Affably Evil|seems pretty nice]] and [[Friendly Enemy|gets along well with Thor]].

** [[Manipulative Bastard|Christian]] has dark-reddish-brown hair and a soul patch to boot.

* [[Evil Diva]] has the red hair of the character she's supposed to have. [[White Sheep]], unfortunately for her.

* Cerise from [[Eerie Cuties]] and [[Magick Chicks]], who is not only part of [[Alpha Bitch|Melissa's]] clique, but also plots to overthrow Melissa and take over.

 

== Web Original ==

* In ''[[Survival of the Fittest]]'', Melina Frost of V3.

** While not an actual redhead, [[Evil Brit|Maxwell Lombardi]] has dyed red streaks in his hair. And given that he is one of the few killers in v4 to actually ''enjoy'' killing...well, he fits.

* ''[[Broken Saints]]'' - {{spoiler|Lear Dunham. His son Gabriel also has a reddish tint to his hair, at least in some lights.}}

* The [[MS Paint Adventures|MS Paint]] [[Interactive Comic|Fan Adventure]] ''Alanna'' has Tristan, primary antagonist and confirmed murdered. {{spoiler|Later in the story, Alanna finds a half-empty bottle of red hair dye.}}

* [[Monster High]]: [[Alpha Bitch]] catgirl, Torelie Stripes.

 

 

== Western Animation ==

* ''[[South Park]]'' did an entire episode, "Ginger Kids", where Cartman was convinced that "gingers" (pale, freckled, red-headed kids) were monstrous, Children of the Corn-like abominations. In what would have been a surprising example of [[Hypocritical Humor]] were we speaking of anyone other than Eric Cartman, after his friends tried teaching him a lesson by making him up to look like a "ginger" while he slept, Cartman soon decided that "his people" were the master race. And since this ''is'' Cartman we're talking about, he was attempting genocide before the end of the episode.

** The Ginger kids return in the 200th and 201st episode and demand the town hand over Muhammad so they could obtain his ability to not get ripped on. It is revealed a now [[Ax Crazy]] Scott Tenorman is their leader. He justifiably wants revenge on Cartman for making him eat his parents. He puts him through an ordeal much like the one the Joker put Commissioner Gordon through in ''[[The Killing Joke]]''.

* Kelly from ''[[Stoked]]''.

* Princess Morbucks from ''[[The Powerpuff Girls]]'', who is probably the best example of [[Screw the Rules, I Have Money]].

* Mertle from ''[[Lilo and Stitch]]''.

* [[Vain Sorceress|Spectra's]] human form in ''[[Danny Phantom]]'' is a redhead.

* Candace, from ''[[Phineas and Ferb]]'', is a more benign example of the trope. She's not really evil per se; she just wants her brothers to get caught doing the outlandish things they do. Several episodes prove just how much she loves them.

* Ed Wuncler III from ''[[The Boondocks]]''.

* ''[[Looney Tunes]]'': Yosemite Sam.

 

{{reflist}}

[[Category:Evil Tropes]]

[[Category:Paint the Index Red]]

[[Category:Hair Colors]]

[[Category:Evil Redhead]]