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Fashion Victim Villain (view source)

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{{trope}}
[[File:mrfreeze.png|link=Batman and Robin (film)|frame|<small>Tremble before my bathrobe [[Doomy Dooms of Doom|of DOOM!]] Or else I'll [[Pungeon Master|kick some ice]]!</small> ]]
 
 
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Did the [[Evil Overlord]] suddenly ''forget'' that he was in a serious action-adventure and decide to play dress-up with a trunkful of his mother's old castoffs?
 
Uh-oh. It seems we have a [['''Fashion Victim Villain]]''' on our hands.
 
This trope comes into play whenever a villain decides to don an outrageous, over-the-top costume, usually replete with [[Colour-Coded for Your Convenience|Dark Colors]], [[Shoulders of Doom]] and [[Spikes of Villainy]], thinking it will make him look like a fearless, all-powerful [[Badass]]. Instead, it makes him look pitiable and ridiculous, if not slightly unhinged.
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It's not hard to see why this should happen. Villainy, as a profession, tends to attract [[Large Ham|flamboyant personality types]]. Still, this is no excuse for dressing up as a [[Depraved Homosexual|gothic drag queen]] during the least appropriate times, and no amount of [[Super Strength|inhuman strength]], [[Kick the Dog|dog-kicking]], or [[Magnificent Bastard]]-ness can restore a villain's menace once it's been undercut by a move like this, at least most of the time. (Unless the villain happens to be a [[Monster Clown]], and the over-the-top costume and makeup is part of his/her schtick.)
 
A [['''Fashion Victim Villain]]''' most often dresses in this manner during moments of triumph or when they're first meeting with the heroes (in a failed attempt to impress them). Sometimes they may dress like this unintentionally -- aunintentionally—a radiation suit, designed for the very utilitarian purpose of protecting the villain, may have ridiculously large hips or a phallic helmet, or be colored with loud shades. Either way, one can expect the audience watching the show to [[WTH Costuming Department|chortle a bit]] upon seeing the villain's new threads. The heroes themselves may mock the villain for his lack of taste, but just as often will let it pass without comment (especially if they have [[Death Trap|other, more pressing matters]] on their minds). The villain's allies and [[Mooks|henchmen]] probably won't dare to even crack a smile around the villain (when he is around).
 
Of course, it was also stated in the Evil Overlord List #29, which stated "I will dress in bright and cheery colors, and so throw my enemies into confusion." Still, that's no excuse for not doing it ''well''.
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* This trope is spoofed in ''[[The Return (fanfic)|The Return]]'', where [[Big Bad]] Alexia and her [[The Dragon|Dragon]] Aurora continually dress like catwalk models with OTT fake tans and makeup and are mercilessly mocked by the heroes. Thanks to an [[Evil Makeover]] {{spoiler|Dark Mercury}} also comes in for ribbing, but she is acting more as a [[Card-Carrying Villain]] on purpose so probably feels she needs the rather hideous and impractical get up.
* The parody crossover "[http://www.fanfiction.net/s/53202/1/Harry_Potter_in_the_Realm_of_Dungeons_and_Dragons Harry Potter in the Realm of Dungeons and Dragons]" plays with this. [[Harry Potter|Harry, Ron and Hermione]] wind up in the realm of the animated show ''[[Dungeons and Dragons (animation)|Dungeons and Dragons]]'', where much amusement is gotten from the fact that the D&D kids regularly face off with 'a one-horned devil in an evening gown.'
* In [http://www.fanfiction.net/s/7295884/1/Mao_Grou this] [[Kung Fu Panda]] fanfic, ''everyone'' (yes, even the [[Villain Protagonist|protagonists]]) is a [[Fashion Victim Villain]]. The biggest offender is, probably fittingly enough, {{spoiler|Josef Stalin}}.
* [[My Immortal]] takes this to its logical conclusion, where all the bad guys are stereotypical preps wearing pink. It has the balls to depict [[Big Bad|Voldemort]]/[[Rouge Angles of Satin|Volfemort/Vlodemort/Volxemort/]][[Star Wars|Darth Valer/]][[The Matrix|Tom Andorson/]][[Lord of the Rings|Tom Bombodil]] wearing '''high heels'''.
* ''[[Queen of All Oni]]'': Minor villain [[Smug Snake|Lung]], at least in the opinion of Tarakudo. And since the former's described as looking like "[[Flash Gordon (comic strip)|Ming The Merciless']] Goth cousin", the latter may have a point. And in addition to clothes, Tarakudo also derides Lung's choice of lair, viewing his abandoned, ancient, cliffside fortress as an unoriginal cliche.
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* Esmé Squalor in ''[[A Series of Unfortunate Events]]'' is an extreme example.
* ''[[Soon I Will Be Invincible]]'': [[Who Dares?]] laugh at the tights and red velour cape of Doctor Impossible]]!
* One goblin villain in the Drizzt Do'Urden series combined this with [[Rummage Sale Reject]]--all—all his clothing was scavenged at random off slain humans, and he had no idea what went with what. For that matter, he had no idea that bras are female-only.
* [[War of the Dreaming|Azrael de Gray]], [[Evil Sorcerer]] and [[Fish Out of Temporal Water]]. Also known as "That guy in the pimp jewelry."
* Ublaz Mad Eyes in ''[[Redwall]]''. His evil plan, resulting in years of work and the horrible deaths of hundreds of innocents, was all so he could get hold of a pink pearl crown.
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{{reflist}}
[[Category:Villainous Fashion Sense]]
[[Category:Home Page/YMMV]]
[[Category:Standard Superhero Suits]]
[[Category:YMMV Trope]]
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