Evil Tastes Good: Difference between revisions

{{quote|"I ate the soul of a monk once. It tasted like chocolate."|'''Richard the Warlock''', ''[[Looking for Group]]''}}

 

 

The [[Seven Deadly Sins]] describe materialism and overindulging in earthly pleasures as sinful and wrong, and out of the seven deadlies Gluttony is one of the least glamorous. So when villains use taste to describe evil you just ''know'' there's something creepy and ugly about them, no matter how [[Beauty Equals Goodness|attractive they are]]. For much the same reasons Lust is why [[Evil Feels Good]], and most villains like to describe their power in tactile and addictive terms like "Strong", "Smooth", and "Intoxicating". This might explain why some villains get [[Drunk on the Dark Side]].

 

 

* In ''[[Lucifer (comics)|Lucifer]]'' Hell produces a highly addictive drug called Pain, which is distilled from the suffering of the damned (specifically it is masochistic suffering as Lucifer notes early on that all the people in Hell are there because they feel the need to be punished). Exactly what it tastes like is never elaborated on but it is highly addictive. When the damned are given hope the taste is spoiled.

* [[Superman]] villain Parasite often describes the powers he steals in culinary terms. Superman's power set is Parasite's favorite meal, though he's not averse to stealing other powers.

 

 

== Sayings ==

* "Revenge is a dish best served cold" is often attributed to the 1782 French novel ''[[Dangerous Liaisons|Les Liaisons Dangereuses]]'' by Choderlos de Laclos. This, however, is not true; the possibly first use of the phrase occurs in another French novel, ''Mathilde'' by Eugène Sue (1841). The line was famously said in ''[[Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan|Star Trek II the Wrath of Khan]]''; this particular usage has been parodied or [[Shout-Out|referenced]] many times since:

** At the beginning of [[Kill Bill]] this quote is attributed as "an old Klingon Proverb."

** Parodied on ''[[The Simpsons]]'' by Sideshow Bob: "Revenge is a dish best served family style!"

{{quote|What is it like? My dear, words can not describe it. Imagine drinking the finest champagne and the sensation of the most sensual lovemaking you've ever experienced. Overlay that with the rush the opium fiend feels as he takes that first breath on the pipe, and you have some sense, some tiny, infinitesimal sense of what it feels like to drink the blood of...a human being.}}

** Also, in both game lines vampires can ''devour the soul'' of another vampire, which aside from giving them more power, and being even worse than cannibalism, tastes/feels better than drinking blood. It's also addictive.

* Would iliaster, from [[Infernum]], count? This is the spiritual essence of a soul, physically torn away and polluted with anguish and suffering, and demons must consume it to survive. Iliaster is also used for things like engine fuel and the basis for medicines. Basic iliaster, called plasm, is actually noted as "crude, tasteless and unsatisfying"—demons who can afford it prefer to soak meat and, occasionally, vegetables (best not look too closely at either) in the stuff to add some more flavor and texture. Strain, iliaster generated from souls forced to labor on through exhaustion, apparently tastes better (though it's only as "nutritious" as plasm), but is mainly used as the demon equivalent of ''petrol''. Agony, generated from souls kept conscious despite intense physical pain, is very potent (five times stronger than an equivalent dose of plasm) and is generally regarded as the wine of Hell. Sorrow, produced through psychological pain, is twice as nutritious as Agony and is the closest thing demons have to sacramental.

 

* In ''[[Stargate Atlantis]]'', the Wraith need to drain life energy from others in order to survive. Whether this is evil is up for debate; they have to do so in order to survive, after all. But there's no mistaking the almost-rapturous joy that the Wraith experience while draining others, as well as the incredible pain that their victims go through. (The process is so traumatic that the Wraith actually have to strengthen their victims using a special chemical in order to prevent them from dying instantly of shock.) Most Wraith are also very malicious and sadistic, so they probably qualify as an example of the trope. Worth noting is one of Todd's lines in a recent episode. While offering the Atlantis crew some food they picked up during a culling, he mentions he hopes the fruits "taste as good as the farmers who grew them." An early episode had an unusually droll Wraith comment that "Unfortunately, your last chef proved far more appetizing than the meals he prepared." Although he was a single episode baddie, after a season or so some of the ideas behind that character evolved into the character of Todd.

* At various points in ''[[Buffy the Vampire Slayer]]'' and ''[[Angel]]'', vampires like Drusilla would liken the taste of someone's blood to "cloves and honey", and life force draining warlocks would say it tasted "like strawberries". And Glory described a mind she had eaten as a "nummy treat". Spike even goes as far as referring to humans as "Happy Meals with legs". On the other hand, when asked what evil itself tasted like, Willow made a face and described it as "a little chalky."

* Sylar in ''[[Heroes (TV series)|Heroes]]'' occasionally describes his [[Mega Manning|acquisition of powers]] in culinary terms, talking about his "hunger" to "consume" or "sink his teeth into" the "delicious" powers of others. There is widespread fan speculation that he steals superpowers by [[Brain Food|eating the brains]] of superhumans. Even after the whole "brain eating" thing was explicitly [[Jossed]], the characters continue to refer to Sylar's desire for power as a "hunger" and his process of taking the powers of others as "feeding". Potential victims (the Level 5 Villains) are referred to as a "smorgasboard" and a "buffet".

* In Mike Mignola's short-lived (read: one episode) "[[The Amazing Screw On Head]]", the following exchange occurs

Black Mage: That's...that's just super. }}

* ''Absurd Notions,'' in its earlier years, has a comic annotated with the statement that revenge, like meringue, is sweet and best served cold.

{{quote|'''Catering Chef:''' Would you like some baked ziti, sir?

'''Sebastian:''' How...''innocent'' is the baked ziti?

{{quote|'''Banai:''' ''Trust a [[Cain and Abel|Jenner]] to have the best served wedding I've been to in the last twenty years.''}}

* Richard from ''[[Looking for Group]] LFG'' once drained the soul of a monk. "It tasted like chocolate," he said.

 

 

* [[South Park|Eric Cartman]] describes "the tears of unfathomable sadness," caused by {{spoiler|him killing Scott Tenorman's parents and grinding them up into chili}} as "yummy."

* ''[[Aqua Teen Hunger Force]]'' there is the Broodwich, a sandwich created in hell which transports anyone who eats it into another dimension where some creature with an axe is hellbent on killing you.

* In the pilot for Grim Adventures of Billy and Mandy, when Grim makes his first appearance, A giant vortex appears. Billy asks what it is, so Mandy takes a bit on her finger, tastes it and says that it's a swirling vortex of pure evil. She then has a second helping.

* In the [[Kim Possible]] episode "Odds Man In", Dr Drakken uses a chain of gourmet cupcake shops to disguise his new strategically placed lairs, much to the shock and disappointment of the heroes, who had been eating them throughout the episode. In another episode, he intends to brainwash the American military by putting mind-control serum in their sandwiches.

 

 

[[Category:This Is Your Index On Drugs]]

[[Category:Food Tropes]]