Evil Tastes Good: Difference between revisions

{{trope}}

 

{{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]].

 

See also: [[Exotic Entree]], [[Finger-Lickin' Evil]], [[You Taste Delicious]], [[Horror Hunger]], [[Licking the Blade]] and [[A Glass of Chianti]]. Contrast [[Being Evil Sucks]]. Combine with [[Delicious Distraction]] for [[Harmless Villain|humorous]] (or [[Bait the Dog|horrifying]]) results. (Usually) not to be confused with [[I'm a Humanitarian]].

 

== Anime & Manga ==

* The beautiful Maestro Delphine in ''[[Last Exile]]'' luxuriated gluttony and decadence. Her egocentrism and villainy were reinforced by her pointing out a special meal she's sharing with the lead takes several thousand liters of water to grow, enough for several families to live on in their water-scarce world.

* In Volume 4 of ''[[Monster (manga)|Monster]]'', the Neo-Nazi gangster called "the Baby" continually compares the arson he plans to commit against the Turkish section of town to a fine meal, with {{spoiler|the destruction of the chemical warehouse}} as the "main course". When it's prevented by Tenma, he sadly notes, "My main course has gone cold..."

* In the first anime of ''[[Fullmetal Alchemist]]'', the homunculi gain their powers by eating "red stones", which are [[Human Resources|made from people.]] [[Complete Monster|Envy]] gives some to Wrath while [[Hannibal Lecture|Hannibal Lecturing]] him into a [[Face Heel Turn]]. Envy remarks on his enjoyment for the taste of them.

* The Gluttony chapter of the book of Eibon in the [[Soul Eater|Soul Eater manga]].

* Yami Malik of ''[[Yu-Gi-Oh!]]'' often states in the manga that he will "devour" his victims and their emotions will add "spice".

* Aipos of ''[[Mnemosyne]]'' entire reason of dicking the world over is because {{spoiler|the resulting time spores containing pain and suffering ''tastes good.''}}

 

 

* [[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.

 

 

== Film ==

* Harry Osborn in the third ''[[Spider-Man (film)|Spider-Man]]'' movie uses this trope in a [[Double Entendre]]. After manipulating Peter into thinking Mary Jane has dumped him for Harry, he tells a waitress asking him about the pie he's eating that it "tastes so good."

* In ''The Polar Bear King'', the Witch infuses her wedding feast with a moderate amount of Evil for her guests (including the Devil himself). Too much evil is apparently fatal.

* "The hunger has returned to [[Mr. Brooks]]' brain. It never really left."

== 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!"

** From the series premiere of ''[[He-Man and the Masters of the Universe]]'':

** From David Gerrold's character "Solomon Short": "Revenge is a dish best served lightly browned with a side of carrots. And maybe with some fava beans and a light Chianti."

** At the start of chapter 21 of [[Sandy Mitchell]]'s ''[[Ciaphas Cain]]'' novel ''The Traitors Hand'':

** Parodied yet another way in ''[[Get Fuzzy]],'' where Bucky uses this line on Satchel. To which he replies: "Like gazpacho!"

 

== Tabletop Games ==

* Both ''[[Vampire: The Masquerade]]'' and ''[[Vampire: The Requiem]]'' describe drinking blood as both sensual and delicious, the best and only rush vampires have left. From the ''Masquerade'' revised core book:

** 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.

 

 

* 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

'''Screw-On Head:''' If by 'candy' you mean 'ancient forbidden evil' then, yes, I told you not to put it in your mouth. }}

 

* In [[Neverwinter Nights 2]]: Mask of the Betrayer, evil ''literally'' tastes good.

* Albedo from ''[[Xenosaga]]'' has this quote: "AHHHH, YEEEESSS? FEED ME YOUR HOSTILITY, PIERCE ME WITH YOUR HATRED!!"

** "The proof is in the pudding. The pudding ... of their doom!"

** "The plates have been licked. Dessert is imminent."

* Akechi Mitsuhide from ''[[Sengoku Basara]]'' is very fond of eating-related analogues.

** At one point he talks about drizzling rage dressing on a salad of evil.

* In [[Professor Layton and the Last Specter]], [[Tim Curry|Descole]] drops the line, "Witnessing your downfall will be... ''delicious''".

** And [http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0031.html brain sucking has all kinds of tastes!]

** Also subverted: in the prequel book ''Start of Darkness'', a pre-lich Xykon goes on about his... strange relationship with bad coffee. The first thing he and his minions do after he's been turned into a lich and escaped his confinement is return to the old [[Greasy Spoon]]... only for him to find he can no longer taste anything. He flips out.

** Also:

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.

'''Sebastian:''' Yes. I will have the ziti. }}

** Also parodied a few pages before where Sebastian describes how he feeds a cow dairy products to make it fat, then butcher it, feed the steaks to infants, and then suck their blood. To quote Sebastian, "It is '''so''' decadent."

* In Demonology101 a Witness comments that the food at the [[Unholy Matrimony|wedding]] of [[Faux Affably Evil|Isaac Jenner]] and [[Our Demons Are Different|Madeline]] is delicious. Apparently evil doesn't just taste good, it makes a fine shrimp dish too.

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

 

 

* ''[[Robot Chicken]]'' did a sketch in which a flashflood killed all the smurfs, who were then picked up by Gargamel. He cooked them and ate a bite with great anticipation, before realizing they tasted horrible, lamenting the years he had wasted hunting them, and ordering Chinese food.

* ''[[Invader Zim]]'' is rife with these. In all the wrong places.

* Taken literally on ''[[Teen Titans (animation)|Teen Titans]]'': when evil candy start attacking Cyborg, he eats them and then comments, "I never knew evil tasted so good."

** He was hungry! You'd eat ''anything'' if you're hungry!

* [[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.

 

 

** Just for clarity, force-feeding is how you get most foie gras (it's the quickest method, and, in France, is legally the only method by which the end product can be called "foie gras". The other way is to wait until it's time for winter migration, when the liver is fatty anyway). It's just that not all foie gras producers are so inept as to burst the stomachs of their geese. Also, geese don't have a gag reflex, so it's not clear if the minute-long feeding each day is actually painful.

* In [[The Bible]], eating pigs is described as an "abomination" and in some Abrahamic traditions (not just Judaism), people refuse to eat pork for this reason. In cultures that ''do'' eat pigs, bacon is considered one of the tastiest foods.

* Another Chinese food, is Bird's Nest Soup. (What is it with the Chinese and their diet?!) Which is [[Exactly What It Says on the Tin]]. A soup made out of a bird's nest. The bird being the swallow. Which makes its nest by using its spit in place of cement. (Am not making this up. Harvesting these spitwads/nests means that the birds have a hard time breeding, and are thus, dying out....because their spit is delicious.

* It is illegal in the United States, France, and most of the western world to capture, sell, or cook the endangered [[wikipedia:Ortolan Bunting|ortolan]] (the bird, not the ''[[Star Wars]]'' species). And in response, resourceful gourmets pay great sums to get the dish. [[Anthony Bourdain]], who wrote about an underground feast featuring ortolans, describes them as "one tasty f—ing bird.”

** Interestingly, a common ritual is for the ortolan-eater to cover his or her head with a napkin while eating the bird. This is sometimes explained as preventing the ortolan's odors from dissipating and reducing interference from the other senses. But one legend ascribes this practice to a priest who felt so guilty about what he was eating that he was trying to hide from God.

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

[[Category:Food Tropes]]