Magnificent Bastard/Comic Books: Difference between revisions

* [[The Joker]]. He has pulled every Gambit in [[Xanatos Planned This Index|the book]] in his ''[[Comic Book Time|seventy year long career.]]''

** Another [[Batman]] example is Ra's Al Ghul, who, out of all the Batman villains, poses the biggest threat globally. He too, like [[The Joker]], has pulled almost every single plan and gambit one could think of for his final goal of wiping out ninety percent of the world's population. Add his [[Affably Evil|polite exterior]] and cunning mind, and you have one Batman villain who is ''not'' to be trifled with.

*** His most Magnificent act of Bastardry was surely his reformation: he still gets to compete with Batman, but now he gets paid to do it, the police don't chase him, and there are many, many fewer Bat-beatings to be endured. The fact that good guy Riddler is an even bigger annoyance to Batman than bad guy Riddler is the icing on the cake.

**** As of the New 52, The Riddler qualifies. Zero Year portraits him as the mind behind Wayne Industries, serving as Philip Kane's consultant. In order to secure Philip's position after Bruce's return, he hires the Red Hood Gang to dispose of the latter, knowing well that the former is a member of the gang and has to comply. When Philip threatens to kill him, he nonchalantly reveals he is aware of the metal piece inside Philip's head and uses a giant magnet to incapacitate him. Then, he causes a massive black-out just before a hurricane hits the city counting on the GCPD to unwittingly give him complete access to every computer system in Gotham by bringing the light back. To be sure Batman doesn't interfere with his plan he also manipulates the desperate Doctor Death by funding his ethically dubious research in order to provide a distraction for the Caped Crusader. And the best part is that he succeeds, and hundreds of people drown in the hurricane as a result. What truly makes him worthy of this trope this time is the fact that, at least for now, he has never shown signs of being a [[Smug Snake]], or losing his temper even when things didn't go as he predicted.