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{{trope}}
[[File:Bang 9072.jpg|link=Batman Beyond: Return of the Joker|frame|[[The Joker|His]] act's a real ''[[Monster Clown|killer]]''.]]
{{quote|''"He's an absolutely awful human being. The strange thing about comedy is that if an awful character makes people laugh, people feel affectionate towards him. [[Jerkass Dissonance|It's insane because if they had to sit next to him for five minutes at a dinner, they would absolutely not be able to cope with him]]. They would loathe him. But because he makes them laugh, they think, [[Draco in Leather Pants|deep down, he's alright]]."''
|'''[[John Cleese]]'''}}
Villains can be many things... [[Magnificent Bastard]], [[Complete Monster|horrific]], [[Nietzsche Wannabe|philosophical]]... but special attention goes to the villain that makes you [[Actually Pretty Funny|laugh]]. It might be because he's [[Harmless Villain|an idiot]], it might be that you empathize with him, or it might be simply that his actions are so unexpected. In any case, some villains will always be funny.
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Often overlaps with the [[Harmless Villain]] (Harmless Villains are inherently funny, but funny villains are not inherently harmless), [[Affably Evil]] ([[Don't Explain the Joke|get the joke]]?), [[Faux Affably Evil]] (who are often funny), the [[Ineffectual Sympathetic Villain]] and [[Magnificent Bastard]]. And with [[Large Ham]] (playing a villain seems to be very fun). It's also a prerequisite for the [[Terrible Trio]] and the [[Quirky Miniboss Squad]]. Contrast with [[Monster Clown]], because clowns make people cry. Interestingly, this either subverts or complements [[Evil Has a Bad Sense of Humor]], as does [[Too Funny to Be Evil]], a closely related sister trope. Tends to be the sort who [[Crosses the Line Twice]]. See also: [[Laugh with Me]] and [[Beware the Silly Ones]].
{{examples}}
== [[Anime]] and [[Manga]] ==▼
* Jason Beck from ''[[The Big O]]''. When he's not being an egotistical fop, he's actually frighteningly competent. Too bad this is overshadowed by his over
▲== Anime and Manga ==
▲* Jason Beck from ''[[The Big O]]''. When he's not being an egotistical fop, he's actually frighteningly competent. Too bad this is overshadowed by his over the top hubris, which pushes him firmly into the "Laughably" part of this trope.
* Most of the villains of early ''[[Dragon Ball]]'' are like this. Such villains include General Blue, who is utterly hilarious in personality but also a very deadly opponent, and Emperor Pilaf, who has no idea what he's doing. Also Majin Buu, especially in his Fat Buu form, where his antics and are so childish, goofy, and cartoonish that you almost forget that his "games" are killing millions of people, at least until the [[Establishing Shot]] of the barren wasteland where a thriving city used to be.
* The [[Terrible Trio|Team Rocket]] trio from ''[[Pokémon (anime)|Pokémon]]'' are this, which is the reason why they are so popular. At least until [[Took a Level in Badass|Best Wishes]], when their boss gives them an actual serious assignment.
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* Barry the Chopper of ''[[Fullmetal Alchemist (manga)|Fullmetal Alchemist]]'' is an unrepentant [[Serial Killer]] whose lunacy and total inability to understand normal human morality is [[Played for Laughs]]. Some people view Envy as this, though that has more to do with its terrible fighting skills and [[Fashion Victim Villain|godawful fashion sense]] than with any real humour on its part.
** Before he went all [[One-Winged Angel]], [[Big Bad|Father]] had a tendency to make small, sardonic quips while horrendous battle raged all around him - usually along the lines of "Why does everybody feel the need to demolish my home?"
* Dr. Gel from ''[[Space Dandy]]''. It's almost hard to even call this super-intelligent alien gorilla a "villain"... He's just ''so fun!'' Unfortunately, [[Butt Monkey|given all the humiliations he suffers]] as a result of his Laughably Evil schemes, you almost feel bad laughing at him.
== [[Comic Books]] ==
* [[The Joker]] thrives on this trope. One of the main goals towards portraying the character is to make his actions such that you can laugh one moment, and be horrified the next. Brilliantly brought out by many of the actors to portray him in other media, most prominently [[Batman (film)|Jack Nicholson]], [[Batman: The Animated Series|Mark Hamill]], [[The Dark Knight Saga|Heath Ledger]] and, most recently, [[Young Justice|Brent Spinner]]. Whether it's electrocuting a gangster while singing showtunes, casually (and cheerfully) stalking an everyday accountant in the middle of rush-hour traffic, or doing a magic trick by making a pencil [[Eye Scream|disappear]], you can always find it either way with the Joker. [[Batman (TV series)|Cesar Romero]] too. Maybe it's because he was so [[Harmless Villain]] or such a [[Large Ham]], or maybe just because the show was [[So Bad It's Good]], but he was genuinely hilarious, if not nearly as terrifying as Ledger's Joker.
{{quote|'''Paul Dini''' on the Joker: Joker's that perfect combination of schoolyard bully and class clown. The kind of sicko who will make you laugh just before he sticks the knife in and twists it.}}
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* [[GL Orange Lantern Corps/Characters|Larfleeze]] of the [[Green Lantern]] books is the [[Daffy Duck]] of the DCU.
* Jameson is a power-hungry undead [[Mad Scientist]] and demonologist. He's also the [[Meta Guy]] of ''[[Creature Tech]]'', and as such spends most of his time making [[Pungeon Master|awful puns]], [[Shout-Out|references to other media]], [[Chewing the Scenery]], [[Getting Crap Past the Radar]], and [[Lampshade Hanging|hanging lampshades]] anywhere they'll fit.
▲== Fan Fics ==
* {{spoiler|Chaos}} from the ''[[Tamers Forever Series]]''. While [[Anti-Hero|he's not technically evil]] there's no denying that he's one of the most ruthless and hilarious characters in the series.
* [[Lex Luthor]] in the ''[[Superman (film)|Superman]]'' movies is funny for many reasons, but it meshes well with the character. Lex Luthor in ''[[Superman: Brainiac Attacks]]'' is ridiculously campy, and it doesn't... work... well...▼
▲== Film -- Animated ==
* ''[[The Thief and the Cobbler]]:'' Zigzag, the [[Evil Chancellor]], is usually amusing, but is introduced by a scene where he condemns a cobbler to death for spilling tacks he happened to step on, and [[It Got Worse|only gets worse]].
* The [[Disney Animated Canon]] provides us lots of Laughably Evil villains:
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** In ''[[The Incredibles]]'', Syndrome is another Disney villain who is both humorous and unnerving. Many of his lines will sound ''very'' familiar to anyone who is a comicbook fanboy or knows one, and his goofy, hammy demeanour can almost make you forget that the guy is guilty of mass murder, would knowingly kill children, and is essentially plotting to start killing hundreds of innocent people and get hero-worshipped for ''stopping''. Just as an example:
{{quote|''Elastigirl? You married Elastigirl? (notices the children) And got '''bizzaaaay!'''''}}
** Hades from Disney's ''[[Hercules (1997 film)
{{quote|'''Hades''': ''Er, guys? [[The Exit Is That Way|Olympus would be]] '''[[The Exit Is That Way|that]]''' [[The Exit Is That Way|way...]]''}}
*** He manages to carry on this trait to the TV series, and to ''video games''... any ''[[Kingdom Hearts]]'' cutscene featuring Hades are generally hilarious.
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** The hyenas from ''[[The Lion King]]''.
* Baron Ruber of ''[[Quest for Camelot]]'' twitches, talks to himself, and does silly little dances during his [[Villain Song]].
* [[Alan Rickman]] as the Sheriff of Nottingham in ''[[Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves]]''
{{quote|'''Guy of Gisborne:''' Why a [[Cut His Heart Out with a Spoon|spoon]], cousin? Why not an axe, or...
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* The Octopus in [[Frank Miller]]'s ''[[The Spirit (film)|The Spirit]]''. Gems include the line "I'm gonna kill you all kinds of dead!" and accidentally making a clone that was only a head and a foot.
* Pam Ferris as [[Dean Bitterman|The]] [[Sadist Teacher|Trunchbull]] in ''[[Matilda (film)|Matilda]]''. While ''still'' managing to keep the character ''scary'', no less.
* Captain Renault in ''[[Casablanca]]''. Really he is for most of the film a disgusting petty tyrant, but he makes up for it by being funny. In fact this was a delicate thing for the movie to pull off; it can be hard to mock evil while avoiding the possibility of making it seem less evil.
== [[Literature]] ==▼
▲== Literature ==
* The title devil from ''[[The Screwtape Letters]]'', who [[Evil Has a Bad Sense of Humor|has no sense of humor himself.]] [[Lampshaded]] at one point where he complains that the girl the Patient is falling in love with is "the sort who would find ''me'' funny."
* The ''[[Ciaphas Cain]]'' series tends to draw from this trope for its humor, only instead of the source being an individual villian, it is the [[Grimdark]] nature of the ''[[Warhammer 40,000]]'' setting itself that provides the source.
▲== Live Action TV ==
* [[John Simm]]'s Master in ''[[Doctor Who]]'' certainly qualifies as a Crosses The Line Twice villain.
** The Daleks themselves can fall into this. Dreaded conquers and destroyers do seem a lot less scary when the protagonist defeats one simply by throwing his hat over its eye stalk, or one of his sidekicks manages to escape by simply running down a staircase; even funnier to see this alien believed to be a human-hating abomination stupidly trying to follow and tumble down the stairs in the process.
* ''[[Lost
* All of the villains in the [[Adam West]] ''[[Batman (TV series)|Batman]]'' show fit, but the best examples are all of the one-shot villains that are unique to the show. And the Riddler, whose infamous riddles would continuously be solved by a [[The Load|Boy Wonder]] who was otherwise only good for getting kidnapped.
* All of the villains on ''[[The League of Gentlemen]]''. There are very few shows that could make a pair of [[Brother-Sister Incest|incestuous]] [[Corrupt Hick]] [[Serial Killer]]s hilarious.
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* Yogostein, Kitaneidas, and Kegalesia in ''[[Engine Sentai Go-onger]]''.
** [[Kaizoku Sentai Gokaiger|Oiles Gils]] is an [[Adult Child]] [[General Failure]] who throws tantrum and gets into hijinx that makes him the butt of jokes and generally act like a [[Spoiled Brat]]. He still has some nasty tendencies of plots that makes even his more serious [[Dragon]] [[Even Evil Has Standards|horrified enough.]]
* The ''[[Power Rangers]]'' franchise has a lot of these guys, really - ranging from Squatt and Baboo the [[Tagalong Kid]] monster henchmen of Rita Repulsa to Flit the [[Fly Crazy]] [[Combat Commentator]].
==
* [[Chris Jericho]] was one of these in [[WCW]] and in his early days in [[World Wrestling Entertainment|WWE]]. When he returned to the WWE, he tried to be a face, but has since lapsed back into this, and is much better.▼
* Monsieur (and also Madame) Thénardier in the musical version of ''[[Les Misérables (theatre)|Les Misérables]]'', quite an achievement considering how nasty he is in the book. Monsieur Thénardier's [[Villain Song]] "Master of the House", in which he swindles guests out of money and possessions, stands out as a rare moment of light relief and is probably the funniest song in the entire play.▼
* Similarly, Fagin in ''[[Oliver!]]''▼
==
▲* [[Chris Jericho]] was one of these in [[WCW]] and in his early days in [[WWE]]. When he returned to the WWE, he tried to be a face, but has since lapsed back into this, and is much better.
* Da Orkz of ''[[Warhammer 40,000]]'' are a race of [[Psychopathic Manchild]]ren who fill in as the ''comic relief'' of the setting, in no small part due to [[Crosses the Line Twice|crossing the line twice]]. Most factions in Warhammer 40k will wage genocidal war on you because they hate you with the burning fire of a thousand suns. The Orks will wage genocidal war on you because it's their idea of entertainment.
** ''[[Warhammer Fantasy Battle]]'' also has skaven. With antics including but not limited to: [[Never My Fault]] (from [[Self-Serving Memory]] if necessary), [[Dirty Coward|"skaven caution"]], [[Chronic Backstabbing Disorder|relentless betrayal]], and [[Master Race|unwarranted sense of superiority of their race]], skaven are often a source of comedy (usually [[Black Comedy]]).
* ''[[In Nomine]]'' features Kobal, the Demon Prince of Dark Humor. There is also his "blood brother" Haagenti, the Demon Prince of Gluttony, who also holds purview over torture and sight gags (which many consider to be a form of torture).
* ''[[Pathfinder]]'' goblins, bless their psychopathic little hearts.
* Goblins in any given ''[[Magic: The
== [[Theatre]] ==
▲* Monsieur (and also Madame) Thénardier in the musical version of ''[[Les Misérables (theatre)|Les Misérables]]'', quite an achievement considering how nasty he is in the book. Monsieur Thénardier's [[Villain Song]] "Master of the House", in which he swindles guests out of money and possessions, stands out as a rare moment of light relief and is probably the funniest song in the entire play.
▲* Similarly, Fagin in ''[[Oliver!]]''
== [[Video Games]] ==
* Edwin from ''[[Baldur's
* Many, if not all, of the main enemies in the ''[[Super Mario Bros.]]'' series. From Bowser's kidnapping of the princess turning out to be lovesickness, [[Super Mario Bros. 2|Wart]] being the tyrant of a dream world while [[Weaksauce Weakness|critically weak to vegetables]] (he hates the taste), to even the names of many of the stage bosses (King Caliente's Spicy Return!). Not to mention anyone who's an antagonist in an RPG or spinoff (*[[Super Paper Mario|Chunks Awaaaay!]]* ) ([[Mario & Luigi|I HAVE FURY]]!).
** Special mention also goes to [[Monster Clown|Dimentio]], who often has rather quirky behaviors that count as somewhat comical, and yet commits genuinely horrific actions while cracking jokes.
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* Jester from ''[[Devil May Cry]] 3'' is funny as [[Incredibly Lame Pun|Hell]].
* [[Final Fantasy VI|Kefka]], a rare example of a villain who can make you laugh, even when he's gleefully crossing the [[Moral Event Horizon]]. It also doesn't help that he's the ''[[Final Fantasy]]'' equivalent of [[The Joker]].
** Another example
* Caulder of ''[[Nintendo Wars|Days of Ruin]]'' fame is a [[Catch Phrase|fascinating]] example. Among other things, he {{spoiler|releases a biological weapon and attacks civilians}} [[For Science!|for the lulz.]] And he makes it funny.
** There's also Waylon, a greedy coward whose [[At Least I Admit It|honesty about his selfishness]] gives him all of the game's [[Actually Pretty Funny|best lines]].
* Many of the demons in the ''[[Disgaea]]'' series (except the psychopaths like [[Disgaea 2: Cursed Memories|fake/real Zenon, evil Adell]], super evil [[Disgaea 3: Absence of Justice|Mao]], etc) qualify for this trope.
* ''[[Rayman]]'': The [[Raving Rabbids]]. DAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHH!
* ''[[City of Heroes]]''{{'}}s Dr. Aeon. While he's one of the non-harmless examples of the trope, it's more because he's [[Genius Ditz|such a scatter-brained moron]] that he ends up posing as much of a danger to the world [[The Chew Toy|as to himself]].
* Foxbat from ''[[Champions Online]]''. He's been described as an evil version of Adam West-era Batman.
* Zorbak in ''[[Adventure Quest]]'' has transcended evil. He's Ebil! Mwahahah!
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{{quote|'''Kaos''': My head is awesome, I tell you! Fear it! Fear my ''GIANT FLOATING HEAD!''}}
* In the first ''[[Mother]]'' game, Hippies will try to attack Ninten with rulers. They'll also try to shout into a bullhorn that Ninten's mother was looking for him.
* {{spoiler|Cicero}}, from ''[[The Elder Scrolls V:
* {{spoiler|Hades}} from ''[[Kid Icarus: Uprising]]''. [[OOC Is Serious Business|The few times]] when {{spoiler|he}} gets dead serious, however, {{spoiler|he's}} [[Complete Monster|actually pretty terrifying.]]
* [[Crazy Awesome|Sho Minamimoto]] from ''[[The World Ends With You]]'', if only for how bizarre he is. Even when he's planning genocide and {{spoiler|planning to kill god}}, he's somehow hilarious. A language or math certainly helps in that.
== [[Web Comics]] ==
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*** Even Kusari [http://www.sluggy.com/comics/archives/daily/120405 is] [http://www.sluggy.com/comics/archives/daily/120414 learning] [http://www.sluggy.com/comics/archives/daily/120415 sarcasm].
* Lord Attez seems this way in ''[[Cwen's Quest]]''. Although we only see [https://web.archive.org/web/20090418164422/http://www.drunkduck.com/Cwens_Quest/index.php?p=314161 very little of him], it seems pretty clear he is a hysterical & horrible person from his [https://web.archive.org/web/20100822094346/http://www.drunkduck.com/Cwens_Quest/index.php?p=432637 various traumatized children].
* Black Mage in ''[[8-
* Richard from ''[[Looking for Group]]''.
* [[Big Bad|Xykon]] from the ''[[The Order of the Stick]]''. He may be a horrible threat, but he gets some of the best lines and comedic moments.
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{{quote|'''Tarquin:''' But once he won the first two or three bouts I threw his way, I couldn't just slit his throat in the night, you know? He's a crowd favourite. It's weird, no matter how many no matter how many people he kills, the audience still think he's lovable.}}
== [[Web Original]] ==▼
▲== Web Original ==
* {{spoiler|Tez On Toast}} in later episodes of ''[[Kate Modern]]'', in a decidedly un-harmless way.
* [[Doctor Steel]].
* There will be blood / It might be yours / So go kill someone / Signed [[Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog|Bad Horse]]
* ''[[Diamanda Hagan]]'' runs on this.
== [[Western Animation]] ==▼
▲== Western Animation ==
* Don Karnage in ''[[Tale Spin]]''. Let's see: [[Just a Stupid Accent|Funny accent]]? Check. [[Ambiguously Gay|Eccentric and flamboyant]]? Check. [[Surrounded by Idiots|Incompetent Minions]]? Check. Ruthless pirate who thinks nothing of dropping a child twenty thousand feet to his death or setting a town on fire with a [[Lightning Gun]]? Erm... check.
* All the villains in ''[[Darkwing Duck (animation)|Darkwing Duck]]'', with the possible exception of [[Knight of Cerebus]] Taurus Bulba. Negaduck is a good example of a villain who pulls of both [[Large Ham|hilarious]] and [[Ax Crazy|dangerous]] at the same time.
{{quote|'''Negaduck''': "When I throw...'' '''THE SWITCH!!!!!'''"''}}
{{quote|'''Darkwing''' (taken by surprise after already doing his dramatic intro): Er...I am the terror that flaps in the night. I am...the sur-surprise in your...cereal box...
'''[[Deadpan Snarker|Bulba]]''': Yes, yes, I know. I heard. }}
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* Prime Evil, from ''[[Filmation's Ghostbusters|Filmations Ghostbusters]]'', was absolutely hilarious, thanks to a) the writing and b) Alan Oppenheimer's [[Large Ham]] acting.
* Like everything else in ''[[Freakazoid!]]'', the villains were hilarious.
▲* [[Lex Luthor]] in the ''[[Superman (film)|Superman]]'' movies is funny for many reasons, but it meshes well with the character. Lex Luthor in ''[[Superman: Brainiac Attacks]]'' is ridiculously campy, and it doesn't... work... well...
▲** Bizarro is a creature with all the powers of the Man of Steel, and [[Dumb Muscle|an intellect that insults egg plants by association]]. To be fair, he may actually be quite competent, especially in the DCAU where he is the only one to notice that something is wrong with Lex Luthor (namely that Lex and Flash are body swapped), but because he expresses himself in opposite action every time he speaks, no one gives him the time of day.
* Most of the villains in ''[[Kim Possible]]'' are laughable, especially [[Harmless Villain|Dr. Drakken]] (with [[Deadpan Snarker|Shego's running commentary]] serving to [[Lampshade Hanging|highlight]] his laughability). Even the [[Scary Dogmatic Aliens]], who can't grasp English idioms and have [[Inventional Wisdom|a goddam Off-button in their ship]] (except when [[Moral Event Horizon|they threaten to kill Kim]] and [[Dead Guy on Display|mount her]] [[Berserk Button|in front of Ron]]).
* In ''[[Transformers Animated]]'', Blitzwing by himself is funny, particularly when his "random" personality is in control ("Ooh, I wanna see him turn into a fire truck, can I, can I, can I?"), but him and Lugnut sniping at each other is hilarious.
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* Aku from ''[[Samurai Jack]]'' is so much fun to watch that you often forget he's [[Made of Evil]], as he takes a break from hunting Jack to villainously order a pizza, subjects frightened children to his terrible storytelling, and swears revenge in a helium voice while in the form of a kangaroo rat.
** The "storytelling" thing may have been an attempt to raise the next generation to [[Villain with Good Publicity|revere him]]. It fails, obviously.
* All of the villains on ''[[The Powerpuff Girls]]''. While the bad guys in this cartoon are varied regarding themes and motivations, they all have one thing in common, they are very, ''very'' silly. Mostly [[Camp Gay|Him]] and to a slight lesser extent Mojo.
* The titular protagonist of ''[[Invader Zim]]''. Or just the Irkens in general, really. Who knew planet-scale genocide could be such a riot?
* Dr. Robotnik/Eggman of the ''[[Sonic the Hedgehog]]'' games is humorous but legitimately threatening most of the time. However, in ''[[Adventures of Sonic the Hedgehog]]'', he is depicted as bumbling and hilarious, aided by the stellar [[Large Ham]]ming of the late Long John Baldry.
** Almost all renditions of the doctor are this in heavy doses (save maybe [[Knight of Cerebus|the]] ''[[Sonic Sat AM]]'' version, though even he [[The Comically Serious|isn't void of comical moments]]).
* Heloise from ''[[Jimmy Two-
* [[The Devil Is a Loser|The Red Guy]] from ''[[Cow and Chicken]]''.
* Jetstorm from ''[[Beast Machines]]'' is [[Ax Crazy]] even by ''[[Transformers]]'' but his [[Large Ham]] personality and horrible sense of humour make him one of the most enjoyable villains in the entire franchise.
{{quote|"This is Captain Jetstorm speaking. Please feel free to run about the tarmac and flee for you miserable little lives."}}
* Skybite of ''[[Transformers: Robots in Disguise (anime)|Transformers: Robots in Disguise]]'' is the [[Ineffectual Sympathetic Villain]] version.
** Any Predacon who isn't Megatron/Galvatron.
* ''[[Phineas and Ferb]]'' has Dr. Heinz Doofenshmirtz. Yes, he wants to take over the entire Tri-State area, and has created everything from Killer Robots and mind-control helmets... [[Ineffectual Sympathetic Villain|but he's so bad at it, it's hilarious]]!
** Of course, Compared to his alternate universe self, Doof-2 from ''[[Phineas and Ferb The Movie: Across the 2nd Dimension]]'', [[Even Evil Has Standards|he's a pretty decent guy]]. Doof-2 was willing to kill complete innocents and his alternate-self, just for the sake of it. Though he still fills this trope by, among other things, announcing their doom with a sock-puppet.
* Every villain from ''[[The Little Flying Bears]]'', most notably Skulk and Sammy.
* Discord from ''[[My Little Pony:
** Mostly because Discord (or as the [[Fan Nickname|fans call him]] DisQord) is basically Q from ''[[Star Trek: The Next Generation]]'' after he got bored with annoying bald federation captains.
* A few villains in ''[[The Spectacular Spider-
* Skeletor from ''[[He-Man and the Masters of the
{{reflist}}
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