Generic Doomsday Villain: Difference between revisions

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'''Yami''': [[And Then What?|What's the point in destroying the world? What do you gain from it?]]
'''Yami''': [[And Then What?|What's the point in destroying the world? What do you gain from it?]]
'''Anubis''': I don't understand the question.
'''Anubis''': I don't understand the question.
'''Yami''': You are the most disappointing movie villain since General Grievous!|''[[Yu-Gi-Oh!: The Abridged Series|Yu-Gi-Oh: The Abridged Movie]]''}}
'''Yami''': You are the most disappointing movie villain since General Grievous!
|''[[Yu-Gi-Oh!: The Abridged Series|Yu-Gi-Oh: The Abridged Movie]]''}}


The '''Generic Doomsday Villain''' is an overpowering antagonist without a believable goal, motive or plan. They do not [[Well-Intentioned Extremist|fancy themselves to be doing the right thing]], they're not [[Driven by Envy]], they have no [[It's Personal|personal vendetta]] against any of their victims, they are not [[Only in It For the Money|in it for the money]] and they're not seeking [[Revenge]] for any real or imagined wrong done to them. Why are they evil? Because they're spreading destruction and misery.
The '''Generic Doomsday Villain''' is an overpowering antagonist without a believable goal, motive or plan. They do not [[Well-Intentioned Extremist|fancy themselves to be doing the right thing]], they're not [[Driven by Envy]], they have no [[It's Personal|personal vendetta]] against any of their victims, they are not [[Only in It For the Money|in it for the money]] and they're not seeking [[Revenge]] for any real or imagined wrong done to them. Why are they evil? Because they're spreading destruction and misery.
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{{noreallife|Calling real-life people either "evil" or "stupid" is an extremely bad idea - calling them both is even worse.}}
{{noreallife|Calling real-life people either "evil" or "stupid" is an extremely bad idea - calling them both is even worse.}}
{{examples}}


{{examples}}
== Anime and Manga ==
== Anime and Manga ==
* Of all the villains in ''[[Saint Seiya]]'', Hades is perhaps the least motivated and most small minded. His grand plan is to cause The Great Eclipse, which will perpetually block out the sun and kill everyone on Earth. Being the king of the dead, you'd imagine he wants to do this, because he wants an army of the dead to attack Olympus with or maybe he's trying to give humanity a "peaceful" death because he foresees [[World War Three]]. Nope. He just has this nebulous dislike (not even hate) of the living and mortals, thinking them mildly distasteful.
* Of all the villains in ''[[Saint Seiya]]'', Hades is perhaps the least motivated and most small minded. His grand plan is to cause The Great Eclipse, which will perpetually block out the sun and kill everyone on Earth. Being the king of the dead, you'd imagine he wants to do this, because he wants an army of the dead to attack Olympus with or maybe he's trying to give humanity a "peaceful" death because he foresees [[World War Three]]. Nope. He just has this nebulous dislike (not even hate) of the living and mortals, thinking them mildly distasteful.
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* Many villains in ''[[Shonen Jump]]'' series [[Filler]] arcs and [[Non-Serial Movie]]s end up with the flimsiest of motivations for whatever evil thing it is that they're doing.
* Many villains in ''[[Shonen Jump]]'' series [[Filler]] arcs and [[Non-Serial Movie]]s end up with the flimsiest of motivations for whatever evil thing it is that they're doing.
* Anubis in ''[[Yu-Gi-Oh!]] [[The Movie]]''. No reason is given for why he wants to destroy the world. [[Yu-Gi-Oh!: The Abridged Series|The Abridged Series]] lampshades this. If there is a reason, it's just that [[Everybody Hates Hades|a god of death is supposed to end life,]] [[Money, Dear Boy|and 4Kids wanted a quick buck.]]
* Anubis in ''[[Yu-Gi-Oh!]] [[The Movie]]''. No reason is given for why he wants to destroy the world. [[Yu-Gi-Oh!: The Abridged Series|The Abridged Series]] lampshades this. If there is a reason, it's just that [[Everybody Hates Hades|a god of death is supposed to end life,]] [[Money, Dear Boy|and 4Kids wanted a quick buck.]]

== Comic Books ==
== Comic Books ==
* The [[Trope Namer]] is Doomsday, whose sole reason for being was [[The Death of Superman]]. While previous [[Superman]] villains were usually really smart guys or evil robots or alien warlords or some other intelligent type to contrast Supes' [[Superpower Lottery]], Doomsday was just raw unstoppable emotion on wheels with no agenda outside destruction and couldn't be reasoned with. Most of his depth comes from the back story in later comics. Doomsday was estabilished as a "guinea pig" that became both [[Nigh Invulnerable]] through [[Adaptive Ability|adapting to withstand what defeated him]] and [[Enemy to All Living Things|bloodthirsty]] for [[Freudian Excuse|dying so many times to get that]]). In essence Doomsday is just a primitive, animalistic being - something which does not leave much space for personality.
* The [[Trope Namer]] is Doomsday, whose sole reason for being was [[The Death of Superman]]. While previous [[Superman]] villains were usually really smart guys or evil robots or alien warlords or some other intelligent type to contrast Supes' [[Superpower Lottery]], Doomsday was just raw unstoppable emotion on wheels with no agenda outside destruction and couldn't be reasoned with. Most of his depth comes from the back story in later comics. Doomsday was established as a "guinea pig" that became both [[Nigh Invulnerable]] through [[Adaptive Ability|adapting to withstand what defeated him]] and [[Enemy to All Living Things|bloodthirsty]] for [[Freudian Excuse|dying so many times to get that]]). In essence Doomsday is just a primitive, animalistic being - something which does not leave much space for personality.
* Bane decayed into this after breaking Batman's back and ultimately having served his purpose, which is why he got thrashed by Azrael in what almost seemed like a bit of an afterthought. Eventually the writers fixed Bane by giving him an identity beyond being "the guy who broke Batman's back once", as well as a surprisingly sympathetic backstory. Not to mention distancing him from Batman. Unfortunately, there is also a tendency for some of his portrayals to focus entirely on the steroidal "Venom" aspect of his character and nothing else [[Badass Decay|meaning that once someone cuts his tubes, he goes down quick.]]
* Bane decayed into this after breaking Batman's back and ultimately having served his purpose, which is why he got thrashed by Azrael in what almost seemed like a bit of an afterthought. Eventually the writers fixed Bane by giving him an identity beyond being "the guy who broke Batman's back once", as well as a surprisingly sympathetic backstory. Not to mention distancing him from Batman. Unfortunately, there is also a tendency for some of his portrayals to focus entirely on the steroidal "Venom" aspect of his character and nothing else [[Badass Decay|meaning that once someone cuts his tubes, he goes down quick.]]
* Onslaught was more powerful than anything the [[X-Men (Comic Book)|X-Men]] had ever faced, took nearly all the Marvel heroes to beat, had no overarching plan other than "blow shit up" and existed solely to set up "Heroes Reborn", which was later retconned back anyway. Onslaught did have a back story as a psychic entity born from the combined mentality of Professor X (mutants and humans should co-exist) and Magneto ([[Humans Are the Real Monsters|humans will never accept mutants]]). So he wanted to turn everyone in the world (and later the universe) into a hive mind with himself in control. However, many of the details behind his character were scattered amongst various Marvel comics titles (requiring someone to read all the comics tied into the Onslaught saga for all the details), or [[All There in the Manual|crammed into a book released solely as a summary for the Onslaught saga]], [[Word of God|complete with notes and information on what was planned for the saga from the writers themselves]]. For some, Onslaught's Generic Doomsday Villain nature made the writers' attempts to focus on Onslaught's plan changing from "kill all the humans so mutants can prosper" to "kill everyone in the world for no reason" much less dramatic that it was intended to be.
* Onslaught was more powerful than anything the [[X-Men (Comic Book)|X-Men]] had ever faced, took nearly all the Marvel heroes to beat, had no overarching plan other than "blow shit up" and existed solely to set up "Heroes Reborn", which was later retconned back anyway. Onslaught did have a back story as a psychic entity born from the combined mentality of Professor X (mutants and humans should co-exist) and Magneto ([[Humans Are the Real Monsters|humans will never accept mutants]]). So he wanted to turn everyone in the world (and later the universe) into a hive mind with himself in control. However, many of the details behind his character were scattered among various Marvel comics titles (requiring someone to read all the comics tied into the Onslaught saga for all the details), or [[All There in the Manual|crammed into a book released solely as a summary for the Onslaught saga]], [[Word of God|complete with notes and information on what was planned for the saga from the writers themselves]]. For some, Onslaught's Generic Doomsday Villain nature made the writers' attempts to focus on Onslaught's plan changing from "kill all the humans so mutants can prosper" to "kill everyone in the world for no reason" much less dramatic that it was intended to be.
** Let's not forget Apocalypse, whose ''only'' motive for doing anything is vaguely established Social Darwinism, so he's mainly defined by how big and powerful he is. Of course, this is usually [[Depending on the Writer]].
** Let's not forget Apocalypse, whose ''only'' motive for doing anything is vaguely established Social Darwinism, so he's mainly defined by how big and powerful he is. Of course, this is usually [[Depending on the Writer]].
* The [[Crisis on Infinite Earths|Anti-Monitor]] has many of these qualities. No real personality, motivations or backstory, just ridiculous amounts of power in one package. Still, part of the concept is that he's so ridiculously powerful that it's difficult to so much as get his attention so there is some reasoning behind his seemingly Generic Doomsday Villain nature.
* The [[Crisis on Infinite Earths|Anti-Monitor]] has many of these qualities. No real personality, motivations or backstory, just ridiculous amounts of power in one package. Still, part of the concept is that he's so ridiculously powerful that it's difficult to so much as get his attention so there is some reasoning behind his seemingly Generic Doomsday Villain nature.
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* The ''Transformers: Stormbringer'' series turns the Decepticon Thunderwing into the "force of nature" variation of this trope.
* The ''Transformers: Stormbringer'' series turns the Decepticon Thunderwing into the "force of nature" variation of this trope.
* Played Straight then subverted with Anathos from [[Les Legendaires]]. In his backstory, he is revealed to have destroyed the original world of Alysia for no other reason than testing the power he just got at this point. When coming back, on the other hand, he explicitly explains he wants to destroy the world as an act of revenge toward the other Gods for [[Sealed Evil in a Can|trapping him inside the Bearer for so many years.]]
* Played Straight then subverted with Anathos from [[Les Legendaires]]. In his backstory, he is revealed to have destroyed the original world of Alysia for no other reason than testing the power he just got at this point. When coming back, on the other hand, he explicitly explains he wants to destroy the world as an act of revenge toward the other Gods for [[Sealed Evil in a Can|trapping him inside the Bearer for so many years.]]

== Films -- Live-Action ==
== Films -- Live-Action ==
* You like the destruction they cause, but don't much care about them? Sounds like a C-list [[Kaiju]]. The better ones [[Monster Is a Mommy|have]] [[Roaring Rampage of Revenge|some motivation]] and / or [[The Woobie|are oddly sympathetic]], but the ones that never appeared in more than one movie are pretty much this. Whether it's a bad trope, of course, depends on how cool the destruction is.
* You like the destruction they cause, but don't much care about them? Sounds like a C-list [[Kaiju]]. The better ones [[Monster Is a Mommy|have]] [[Roaring Rampage of Revenge|some motivation]] and / or [[The Woobie|are oddly sympathetic]], but the ones that never appeared in more than one movie are pretty much this. Whether it's a bad trope, of course, depends on how cool the destruction is.
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* The villain from the fourth ''[[Mission: Impossible (film)||Mission Impossible]]'' movie has a generic doomsday agenda (provoke nuclear war, destroy planet) without a motivation deeper than being some sort of insane A-bomb mystic. [[Tropes Are Not Bad]], as his sketchy nature allows to concentrate on the heroes and present the plot in a very simple but entertaining [[Three Act Structure]].
* The villain from the fourth ''[[Mission: Impossible (film)||Mission Impossible]]'' movie has a generic doomsday agenda (provoke nuclear war, destroy planet) without a motivation deeper than being some sort of insane A-bomb mystic. [[Tropes Are Not Bad]], as his sketchy nature allows to concentrate on the heroes and present the plot in a very simple but entertaining [[Three Act Structure]].
* Darth Maul of the first ''[[Star Wars]]'' prequel is the prime example of this trope. He barely has any lines of dialogue in the entire movie, and quite literally exists and lives to serve his master as an obstacle for the Jedi to overcome. Seeing as the lightsaber duel he took part in (and his double-edged lightsaber) proved so memorable, fans see him as huge wasted potential.
* Darth Maul of the first ''[[Star Wars]]'' prequel is the prime example of this trope. He barely has any lines of dialogue in the entire movie, and quite literally exists and lives to serve his master as an obstacle for the Jedi to overcome. Seeing as the lightsaber duel he took part in (and his double-edged lightsaber) proved so memorable, fans see him as huge wasted potential.
* Malekith the Accursed in ''Thor: The Dark World'' pretty much ''defines'' this trope. He is out to destroy the universe and return everything to darkness because as a being of darkness and evil, light annoys him and he wants it gone. He's less a character and more a plot device to justify having Thor and Loki team up. Any scenes intended to flesh out Malekith's character were actually excised from the film.
* Malekith the Accursed in ''[[Thor: The Dark World]]'' pretty much ''defines'' this trope. He is out to destroy the universe and return everything to darkness because as a being of darkness and evil, light annoys him and he wants it gone. He's less a character and more a plot device to justify having Thor and Loki team up. Any scenes intended to flesh out Malekith's character were actually excised from the film.

== Literature ==
== Literature ==
* Rodney Casares from the Peter Clines book ''[[Ex Heroes]]''. He randomly turns up with the power to control the zombies, to survive the zombification with his own intelligence intact, and with enhanced physical abilities and stature he never had in life. The most that's ever explained about him is that he used to be a random gangbanger and that he was one of the first victims of the disease, but he is otherwise completely unique and exists for no reason other than to present a massive threat to the main cast.
* Rodney Casares from the Peter Clines book ''[[Ex Heroes]]''. He randomly turns up with the power to control the zombies, to survive the zombification with his own intelligence intact, and with enhanced physical abilities and stature he never had in life. The most that's ever explained about him is that he used to be a random gangbanger and that he was one of the first victims of the disease, but he is otherwise completely unique and exists for no reason other than to present a massive threat to the main cast.
* The Mule, villain in the second book of the [[Foundation]] trilogy, is a deconstruction of this trope. He's a {{spoiler|(actually rather scrawny)}} [[Genre Savvy]] mutant with potent [[Emotion Control]] powers in an otherwise generic space opera setting trying to take over the galaxy just because he can. Of course, for all of his [[Genre Savvy]]-ness, {{spoiler|he still ends up brainwashed by the [[Ancient Conspiracy|Second Foundation]]}}.
* The Mule, villain in the second book of the ''[[Foundation]]'' trilogy, is a deconstruction of this trope. He's a {{spoiler|(actually rather scrawny)}} [[Genre Savvy]] mutant with potent [[Emotion Control]] powers in an otherwise generic space opera setting trying to take over the galaxy just because he can. Of course, for all of his [[Genre Savvy]]-ness, {{spoiler|he still ends up brainwashed by the [[Ancient Conspiracy|Second Foundation]]}}.
* A classic literary example would be Professor Moriarty of ''[[Sherlock Holmes]]'' fame. He's introduced in the last chapter of ''The Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes'' and is talked up to be Holmes's [[Arch-Enemy]] who is supposedly his intellectual equal, even though we never see evidence of this. He was also said to be "the Napoleon of crime", and had a hand in many of Holmes' previous capers. In this particular case, he was behind a conspiracy bigger than anything Holmes had tackled before, and it ended up supposedly costing Holmes his life. And yet he had little page time and no personality to speak of, only defined by the threat he posed. Of course, he became the [[Breakout Villain]] and has since been more fleshed out in adaptations and spin-offs.
* A classic literary example would be Professor Moriarty of ''[[Sherlock Holmes]]'' fame. He's introduced in the last chapter of ''The Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes'' and is talked up to be Holmes's [[Arch-Enemy]] who is supposedly his intellectual equal, even though we never see evidence of this. He was also said to be "the Napoleon of crime", and had a hand in many of Holmes' previous capers. In this particular case, he was behind a conspiracy bigger than anything Holmes had tackled before, and it ended up supposedly costing Holmes his life. And yet he had little page time and no personality to speak of, only defined by the threat he posed. Of course, he became the [[Breakout Villain]] and has since been more fleshed out in adaptations and spin-offs.

== Live-Action TV ==
== Live-Action TV ==
* Arthur Petrelli from ''[[Heroes (TV series)|Heroes]]'' is a conscious attempt to avert this, with him stealing Peter's [[Physical God]] powers and ''not'' using them to cause wanton destruction. Though his lack of motivation or any real plan land him into this trope anyway. He existed to steal Peter's power and as soon he did that he faded into the background and sat around waiting for {{spoiler|Sylar to kill him}}.
* Arthur Petrelli from ''[[Heroes (TV series)|Heroes]]'' is a conscious attempt to avert this, with him stealing Peter's [[Physical God]] powers and ''not'' using them to cause wanton destruction. Though his lack of motivation or any real plan land him into this trope anyway. He existed to steal Peter's power and as soon he did that he faded into the background and sat around waiting for {{spoiler|Sylar to kill him}}.
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== Mythology and Religion ==
== Mythology and Religion ==
* Surtr, the fire giant who is responsible for the end of the world in [[Norse Mythology]], is probably the [[Ur Example]]. He doesn't appear in any myths except the one that tells of Ragnarok, where he and his armies invade Asgard, he kills Freyr and engulfs the world in fire, and even that myth gives him little description or characterization. Still, while he may not appear, he is referred to in numerous other tales of both the Poetic Edda and the Prose Edda. And he's hardly the only Jotunn lacking character depth.
* Surtr, the fire giant who is responsible for the end of the world in [[Norse Mythology]], is probably the [[Ur Example]]. He doesn't appear in any myths except the one that tells of Ragnarok, where he and his armies invade Asgard, he kills Freyr and engulfs the world in fire, and even that myth gives him little description or characterization. Still, while he may not appear, he is referred to in numerous other tales of both the Poetic Edda and the Prose Edda. And he's hardly the only Jotunn lacking character depth.

== Professional Wrestling ==
== Professional Wrestling ==
* Between 2002-2006 in [[WWE]], it was incredibly hard to sum up [[Triple H]]'s character beyond "World Champion", "[[Stephanie McMahon]]'s husband", and "sledgehammer aficionado".
* Between 2002-2006 in [[WWE]], it was incredibly hard to sum up [[Triple H]]'s character beyond "World Champion", "[[Stephanie McMahon]]'s husband", and "sledgehammer aficionado".
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* Michelle McCool gets this, in large part due to being a [[Creator's Pet]] because of her relationship with [[The Undertaker]]. The worst is likely the Piggie James angle - she spent months running down Mickie James all building up to Mickie beating her and taking the Women's Championship... then Michelle won it back about two weeks later and has had no problems with Mickie since. It didn't help that "Piggie" James spent most of the feud getting the crap beaten out of her and being mocked about her weight. Being hated is a [[Rudo]]'s job but they are supposed to get properly punished to please the fans that now hate them.
* Michelle McCool gets this, in large part due to being a [[Creator's Pet]] because of her relationship with [[The Undertaker]]. The worst is likely the Piggie James angle - she spent months running down Mickie James all building up to Mickie beating her and taking the Women's Championship... then Michelle won it back about two weeks later and has had no problems with Mickie since. It didn't help that "Piggie" James spent most of the feud getting the crap beaten out of her and being mocked about her weight. Being hated is a [[Rudo]]'s job but they are supposed to get properly punished to please the fans that now hate them.
** Though when she started feuding with [[Beth Phoenix]], [[Kelly Kelly]] and Natalya her wins and losses were more even, along with Layla.
** Though when she started feuding with [[Beth Phoenix]], [[Kelly Kelly]] and Natalya her wins and losses were more even, along with Layla.

== Tabletop Games ==
== Tabletop Games ==
* The Necrons from ''[[Warhammer 40,000]]'' were introduced as a faction of [[Skele-Bot 9000|skeletal androids]] with [[Omnicidal Maniac|a grudge against organic life]] and that was pretty much all they did: [[Crush! Kill! Destroy!|kill, kill, kill]] without any sort of personality, [[The Voiceless|much less dialogue]]. Their 5th Edition codex, however, [[Retcon|added]] a more detailed backstory to the army (albeit one very similar to ''[[Warhammer Fantasy Battle]]'''s Tomb Kings), so while the average Necron warrior might be [[Soulless Shell|a mindless drone]] [[Came Back Wrong|after so many millennia of being repeatedly killed and repaired]], the ruling caste consists of actual characters with quirks and motivations beyond "kill all humans." As always, there's debate whether the new background is better or worse than the Necrons being a race of mysterious, silent killers.
* The Necrons from ''[[Warhammer 40,000]]'' were introduced as a faction of [[Skele-Bot 9000|skeletal androids]] with [[Omnicidal Maniac|a grudge against organic life]] and that was pretty much all they did: [[Crush! Kill! Destroy!|kill, kill, kill]] without any sort of personality, [[The Voiceless|much less dialogue]]. Their 5th Edition codex, however, [[Retcon|added]] a more detailed backstory to the army (albeit one very similar to ''[[Warhammer Fantasy Battle]]'''s Tomb Kings), so while the average Necron warrior might be [[Soulless Shell|a mindless drone]] [[Came Back Wrong|after so many millennia of being repeatedly killed and repaired]], the ruling caste consists of actual characters with quirks and motivations beyond "kill all humans." As always, there's debate whether the new background is better or worse than the Necrons being a race of mysterious, silent killers.
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** The Terrasque is similar in most respects.
** The Terrasque is similar in most respects.
* The [[Big Bad]]s of the ''[[Old World of Darkness]]'' tend to be treated similarly, but then again, the manifestation of any of them was explicitly a sign of the apocalypse.
* The [[Big Bad]]s of the ''[[Old World of Darkness]]'' tend to be treated similarly, but then again, the manifestation of any of them was explicitly a sign of the apocalypse.

== Videogames ==
== Video Games ==
* Occasionally when Russia appears in a modern [[First-Person Shooter]]. Real Russians are not amused by the [[Unfortunate Implications]].
* Occasionally when Russia appears in a modern [[First-Person Shooter]]. Real Russians are not amused by the [[Unfortunate Implications]].
* The title characters of the ''[[Overlord]]'' games are meant to be classic stereotypical [[Evil Overlord]]s and thinly-veiled [[Lord of the Rings|Sauron]] [[Captain Ersatz|copycats]]. While the characters are often doing evil and the players do get to determine how evil they are, it's really [[Evil Chancellor]] Gnarl that [[Card-Carrying Villain|carries their villain cards]] for the [[Silent Protagonist]]s.
* The title characters of the ''[[Overlord]]'' games are meant to be classic stereotypical [[Evil Overlord]]s and thinly-veiled [[Lord of the Rings|Sauron]] [[Captain Ersatz|copycats]]. While the characters are often doing evil and the players do get to determine how evil they are, it's really [[Evil Chancellor]] Gnarl that [[Card-Carrying Villain|carries their villain cards]] for the [[Silent Protagonist]]s.
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* While the reapers of ''[[Mass Effect]]'' always have had shades of this, having next to no characterization besides Sovereign and Harbinger, the [[Big Bad]]s of ''[[Mass Effect]]'' and ''[[Mass Effect 2]]'' respectively, it was heavily implied that whatever motivated the reapers was something organic lifeforms could not hope to comprehend. When their motivation was revealed at the Climax of ''[[Mass Effect 3]]'', it pushed them into this trope. Apparently, the reason the reapers exterminate all spacefaring civilizations to a man ever 50,000 years is to {{spoiler|prevent the creation artificial intelligences- known as synthetics in the ''[[Mass Effect]]'' galaxy-which would ultimately kill all organic life in the galaxy.}} Beyond making next to no sense on multiple levels, this motivation contradicted practically everything the previous games had established about {{spoiler|synthetics}} in subtext. and felt extremely out of place in the setting, and more like a [[Hand Wave]] for the [[Sadistic Choice]] that was [[Mass Effect 3]]'s ending. The fact that this motivation was literally related to the player in the last five minutes also doesn't help.
* While the reapers of ''[[Mass Effect]]'' always have had shades of this, having next to no characterization besides Sovereign and Harbinger, the [[Big Bad]]s of ''[[Mass Effect]]'' and ''[[Mass Effect 2]]'' respectively, it was heavily implied that whatever motivated the reapers was something organic lifeforms could not hope to comprehend. When their motivation was revealed at the Climax of ''[[Mass Effect 3]]'', it pushed them into this trope. Apparently, the reason the reapers exterminate all spacefaring civilizations to a man ever 50,000 years is to {{spoiler|prevent the creation artificial intelligences- known as synthetics in the ''[[Mass Effect]]'' galaxy-which would ultimately kill all organic life in the galaxy.}} Beyond making next to no sense on multiple levels, this motivation contradicted practically everything the previous games had established about {{spoiler|synthetics}} in subtext. and felt extremely out of place in the setting, and more like a [[Hand Wave]] for the [[Sadistic Choice]] that was [[Mass Effect 3]]'s ending. The fact that this motivation was literally related to the player in the last five minutes also doesn't help.
* Downplayed with M. Bison from ''[[Street Fighter (video game)|Street Fighter]]''. Exactly how he became such a power-hungry tyrant with plans of [[Take Over the World|world domination]] hasn't been explored much, nor has much detail been given about how his Psycho Power works or how he got it. Some of this was addressed in more recent titles, but still left vague.
* Downplayed with M. Bison from ''[[Street Fighter (video game)|Street Fighter]]''. Exactly how he became such a power-hungry tyrant with plans of [[Take Over the World|world domination]] hasn't been explored much, nor has much detail been given about how his Psycho Power works or how he got it. Some of this was addressed in more recent titles, but still left vague.
* While Ganondorf himself is more into [[Take Over the World|conquest]], some other [[Big Bad]]s are evil for evil's sake (''[[The Legend of Zelda: Oracle of Seasons and Oracle of Ages|The Legend of Zelda Oracle Games]]''' Onox, ''[[The Legend of Zelda: Phantom Hourglass|The Legend of Zelda Phantom Hourglass]]''' Bellum, ''[[The Legend of Zelda: Spirit Tracks|The Legend of Zelda Spirit Tracks]]''' Malladus, etc...).
* While Ganondorf himself is more into [[Take Over the World|conquest]], some other [[Big Bad]]s are evil for evil's sake (''[[The Legend of Zelda: Oracle of Seasons and Oracle of Ages|The Legend of Zelda Oracle Games]]''{{'}} Onox, ''[[The Legend of Zelda: Phantom Hourglass]]''{{'}} Bellum, ''[[The Legend of Zelda: Spirit Tracks]]''{{'}} Malladus, etc...).
* In ''[[Guild Wars]]'' ''Nightfall'', Warmarshall Varesh wants to wake a dark god and its legion of demons, unleash Torment upon the world, and bring about eternal night and suffering because ... [[And Then What?|hmm]].
* In ''[[Guild Wars]]'' ''Nightfall'', Warmarshall Varesh wants to wake a dark god and its legion of demons, unleash Torment upon the world, and bring about eternal night and suffering because ... [[And Then What?|hmm]].
* ''[[Kid Icarus: Uprising]]'' features two: The Aurum, a Hoarde of Alien... uh, bees that "are created from, and return to, nothing." and {{spoiler|The Chaos Kin, a pure manifestation of evil that takes control of a host and slowly devours its soul.}} Both are presented as serious threats; the former requiring ''all'' the warring factions to do an [[Enemy Mine]] and team up, and the latter being a major [[Knight of Cerebus]] that causes the game to take an unexpected plunge into [[Darker and Edgier]] territory.
* ''[[Kid Icarus: Uprising]]'' features two: The Aurum, a Hoarde of Alien... uh, bees that "are created from, and return to, nothing." and {{spoiler|The Chaos Kin, a pure manifestation of evil that takes control of a host and slowly devours its soul.}} Both are presented as serious threats; the former requiring ''all'' the warring factions to do an [[Enemy Mine]] and team up, and the latter being a major [[Knight of Cerebus]] that causes the game to take an unexpected plunge into [[Darker and Edgier]] territory.
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** Pretty much every evil character in ''[[MS Paint Adventures]]'' total is in it [[For the Evulz]].
** Pretty much every evil character in ''[[MS Paint Adventures]]'' total is in it [[For the Evulz]].
** And then His killing spree of the Trolls was out of [[Unstoppable Rage|pure anger]] after {{spoiler|Jade dies again}}.
** And then His killing spree of the Trolls was out of [[Unstoppable Rage|pure anger]] after {{spoiler|Jade dies again}}.
* [[Goblins]] has Kore, a legendary Dwarven [[Light Is Not Good|Paladin]] who kills anybody even vaguely connected to the [[Exclusively Evil|"Evil"]] races, especially the women and children. Why? [[The Stoic|He's not saying]], but his Armor Class is ridiculous enough to let him get away with it.
* ''[[Goblins]]'' has Kore, a legendary Dwarven [[Light Is Not Good|Paladin]] who kills anybody even vaguely connected to the [[Exclusively Evil|"Evil"]] races, especially the women and children. Why? [[The Stoic|He's not saying]], but his Armor Class is ridiculous enough to let him get away with it.
* The Snarl from ''[[The Order of the Stick|Order of the Stick]]''. Not a major player in the story, but ready to obliterate everything if it ever gets loose.
* The Snarl from ''[[The Order of the Stick]]''. Not a major player in the story, but ready to obliterate everything if it ever gets loose.

== Web Originals ==
== Web Originals ==
* Mecha Sonic from [[Super Mario Bros Z]] fits this. It's justified (perhaps deconstructed) in that even when he was just Metal Sonic, Eggman didn't give him a personality beyond "make Sonic dead" and "blow up anything in my way", so he's running off nothing but what he's known how to do all along.
* Mecha Sonic from ''[[Super Mario Bros Z]]'' fits this. It's justified (perhaps deconstructed) in that even when he was just Metal Sonic, Eggman didn't give him a personality beyond "make Sonic dead" and "blow up anything in my way", so he's running off nothing but what he's known how to do all along.
* ''[[Atop the Fourth Wall]]'': The Entity is a deconstruction. When it reveals its' master plan is to assimilate everything in existence into itself, Linkara calls it out on having such a simple and generic motive that will leave it with nothing else to live for. Upon letting this sink in, the Entity suffers from an existential crisis and then decides to find out what happens when an Outer God dies.
* ''[[Atop the Fourth Wall]]'': The Entity is a deconstruction. When it reveals its' master plan is to assimilate everything in existence into itself, Linkara calls it out on having such a simple and generic motive that will leave it with nothing else to live for. Upon letting this sink in, the Entity suffers from an existential crisis and then decides to find out what happens when an Outer God dies.
** In-universe, this is what Linkara considered Batman in the Elseworld "Catwoman: Guardian of Gotham" storyline to be. He considers this trope to be the worst kind of villain.
** In-universe, this is what Linkara considered Batman in the Elseworld ''Catwoman: Guardian of Gotham'' storyline to be. He considers this trope to be the worst kind of villain.
* The reason why [[SCP Foundation]] [http://www.scp-wiki.net/eldritch-application refuse to take] [[Zalgo]] as SCP.
* The reason why [[SCP Foundation]] [http://www.scp-wiki.net/eldritch-application refuse to take] [[Zalgo]] as SCP.
{{quote|''"You're overpowered, you don't have a hook, and quite frankly, you're boring."''|'''"The Director"'''}}
{{quote|''"You're overpowered, you don't have a hook, and quite frankly, you're boring."''|'''"The Director"'''}}

== Western Animation ==
== Western Animation ==
* In ''[[Teen Titans (animation)|Teen Titans]]'' Trigon was easily the most powerful villain of all, seeing as how he {{spoiler|destroyed the world approximately 12 seconds after entering our dimension}}. However, being the "incarnation of evil" doesn't seem to leave much room for a complex or interesting personality. Luckily, every episode with Trigon in it also had [[Magnificent Bastard|Slade]] around acting as [[The Dragon]].
* In ''[[Teen Titans (animation)|Teen Titans]]'' Trigon was easily the most powerful villain of all, seeing as how he {{spoiler|destroyed the world approximately 12 seconds after entering our dimension}}. However, being the "incarnation of evil" doesn't seem to leave much room for a complex or interesting personality. Luckily, every episode with Trigon in it also had [[Magnificent Bastard|Slade]] around acting as [[The Dragon]].
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* [[Evil Overlord|Pariah Dark]] from ''[[Danny Phantom]]'' had elements of this, being an obscenely powerful ghost out for world domination, but without a terribly interesting personality. However, the [[Made for TV Movie]] he appeared in featured major roles from a lot of the more interesting [[Rogues Gallery]] members (such as [[Arch Enemy|Vlad]], [[The Hunter|Valerie]], [[Magic Knight|Fright Knight]], and [[Egomaniac Hunter|Skulker]]), so it all evened out.
* [[Evil Overlord|Pariah Dark]] from ''[[Danny Phantom]]'' had elements of this, being an obscenely powerful ghost out for world domination, but without a terribly interesting personality. However, the [[Made for TV Movie]] he appeared in featured major roles from a lot of the more interesting [[Rogues Gallery]] members (such as [[Arch Enemy|Vlad]], [[The Hunter|Valerie]], [[Magic Knight|Fright Knight]], and [[Egomaniac Hunter|Skulker]]), so it all evened out.
** Nearly ''all'' of the third season villains were generic [[Take Over the World]] villains with little difference between them apart from appearances, voice, and powers (IE: Nocturne, Vortex, and Undergrowth).
** Nearly ''all'' of the third season villains were generic [[Take Over the World]] villains with little difference between them apart from appearances, voice, and powers (IE: Nocturne, Vortex, and Undergrowth).
* The ''[[Justice League Unlimited]]'' version of Brimstone is a superweapon that went berserk for no identifiable reason other than to give Green Arrow a reason to join the league.
* The ''[[Justice League Unlimited]]'' version of Brimstone is a super-weapon that went berserk for no identifiable reason other than to give Green Arrow a reason to join the league.
** Most of the Legion of Doom henchmen assembled in the third season, because there's way too many of them and too little time for them to get much characterization.
** Most of the Legion of Doom henchmen assembled in the third season, because there's way too many of them and too little time for them to get much characterization.
*** Also, there's Doomsday himself. Even with the ability to talk in full sentences, he can't escape being this trope.
*** Also, there's Doomsday himself. Even with the ability to speak in full sentences, he can't escape being this trope.
* A few of the ''[[Sushi Pack]]'' villains fall into this, most notably the Titanium Chef, who wants to spread chaos throughout the world for no other reason than he has [[Tome of Eldritch Lore|a book that tells him how]].
* A few of the ''[[Sushi Pack]]'' villains fall into this, most notably the Titanium Chef, who wants to spread chaos throughout the world for no other reason than he has [[Tome of Eldritch Lore|a book that tells him how]].
* ''My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic'' has King Sombra, the [[Big Bad]] of the Season 3 premiere. He's built up as a huge threat to the Crystal Empire, and is revealed to have set up an intricate security system to prevent anypony from getting the Crystal Heart. But seeing as he's become a dark force of nature, his characterization is nonexistent whenever he shows up, especially in comparison to the show's previous villains. There is barely any backstory or motivations for him to speak of, and he actually has only ''five'' lines of dialogue in the entire two-parter, none of them being spent on any meaningful interaction with the other characters.
* ''[[My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic]]'' has King Sombra, the [[Big Bad]] of the Season 3 premiere. He's built up as a huge threat to the Crystal Empire, and is revealed to have set up an intricate security system to prevent anypony from getting the Crystal Heart. But seeing as he's become a dark force of nature, his characterization is nonexistent whenever he shows up, especially in comparison to the show's previous villains. There is barely any backstory or motivations for him to speak of, and he actually has only ''five'' lines of dialogue in the entire two-parter, none of them being spent on any meaningful interaction with the other characters.
* ''[[Megas XLR]]'' featured many of these as one-shot villains, most notably Ender, who existed to "end" things, and Gurrkek the Planet-Killer.
* ''[[Megas XLR]]'' featured many of these as one-shot villains, most notably Ender, who existed to "end" things, and Gurrkek the Planet-Killer.
* Atomic Skull from ''Superman vs. the Elite'' has no motivation for his violence. He killed people just to draw out Superman so that they could fight. Why does he want to fight Superman? ''Just because.''
* Atomic Skull from ''Superman vs. the Elite'' has no motivation for his violence. He killed people just to draw out Superman so that they could fight. Why does he want to fight Superman? ''Just because.''
* Vaatu from ''[[The Legend of Korra]]'' is definitely this. It's actually justified since he's the spirit that embodies evil, chaos, and destruction, thus he has nothing but dark thoughts and feelings.
* Vaatu from ''[[The Legend of Korra]]'' is definitely this. It's actually justified since he's the spirit that embodies evil, chaos, and destruction, thus he has nothing but dark thoughts and feelings.
* Surtur from ''[[Avengers Earths Mightiest Heroes]]''. He basically wants to destroy everything, just because.
* Surtur from ''[[The Avengers: Earth's Mightiest Heroes]]''. He basically wants to destroy everything, just because.
** When it comes to the Masters of Evil, Crimson Dynamo is probably the standout in regards to this trope, since his hatred of Iron Man is almost all there is to him.
** When it comes to the Masters of Evil, Crimson Dynamo is probably the standout in regards to this trope, since his hatred of Iron Man is almost all there is to him.
* The [[Bigger Bad]] of ''[[Scooby Doo Mystery Inc]]'', {{spoiler|the Nibiru Entity, was this. We're never told why he went bad, only that he became the most evil Annunaki of all at some point for some reason. His personality is as generic pure evil as you can get, and his ultimate goal is to devour worlds, galaxies, and realities just to gain unlimited power, which he would use [[For the Evulz]]. To top it all off, "Nibiru" ''literally'' means "Doomsday", as explicitly pointed out in the show. So the Entity lives to bring about Armageddon just because ''he can''.}}
* The [[Bigger Bad]] of ''[[Scooby-Doo! Mystery Incorporated]]'', {{spoiler|the Nibiru Entity, was this. We're never told why he went bad, only that he became the most evil Annunaki of all at some point for some reason. His personality is as generic pure evil as you can get, and his ultimate goal is to devour worlds, galaxies, and realities just to gain unlimited power, which he would use [[For the Evulz]]. To top it all off, "Nibiru" ''literally'' means "Doomsday", as explicitly pointed out in the show. So the Entity lives to bring about Armageddon just because ''he can''.}}
* The Juggernaut in ''[[X-Men: Evolution]]'' devolved into this. In his first appearance, his goal was to kill Xavier for putting him in prison. But when he next showed up, Xavier is nowhere to be seen, and he just decides to wreck random destruction for no given reason. His main purpose was as plot device to get the X-Men to fight out of genuine heroism despite people's discrimination against them, even though their chances of beating him were slim due to his raw power.
* The Juggernaut in ''[[X-Men: Evolution]]'' devolved into this. In his first appearance, his goal was to kill Xavier for putting him in prison. But when he next showed up, Xavier is nowhere to be seen, and he just decides to wreck random destruction for no given reason. His main purpose was as plot device to get the X-Men to fight out of genuine heroism despite people's discrimination against them, even though their chances of beating him were slim due to his raw power.