Magnificent Bastard/Live-Action TV: Difference between revisions

== ''[[Babylon 5]]'' ==

* Alfred Bester epitomizes this trope. He combines ruthless scheming with an infuriating charisma that drives the heroes crazy even as they are forced to respect his skill.

** ''[[Babylon 5]]'s'' characters tend to evolve with such complexity that nobody knows just who is going to be the bastard at any given time. Londo careened between comic relief, [[Magnificent Bastard]], and [[Tragic Villain]] countless times throughout the series.

*** Londo was always a Magnificent Bastard at his core. Case in point: A meeting between himself and one of his allies of the moment, Lord Refa. Londo invites him out to Babylon 5 to discuss recent Centauri military activities (re: starting twelve wars and depending on the Shadows for assistance). Londo does not approve. He offers Refa a drink, and runs down why this plan is a disaster waiting to happen. When Refa asks why he should do anything Londo says, Londo replies "Because I have asked you. Because your sense of duty to our people should override any personal ambition. ''And because I have poisoned your drink.''" He goes on to describe how the poison comes in two parts, one of which was in Refa's drink. If he does not comply, one of Londo's agents in the Royal Court will introduce him to the second half of the poison. Finally, Londo lifts his own glass while Refa is sitting there ashen-faced and [[Crowning Moment of Awesome|jovially proposes a toast to Refa's health.]]

** In the Ainley era, he {{spoiler|created a city for the sole purpose of trapping the Doctor, managed to foment a civil war among people who were convalescing, and nearly derailed the signing of the Magna Carta, among other schemes.}} Not to mention the time he {{spoiler|held the ''entire universe'' for ransom}}.

** In the Simm era, he {{spoiler|ran for and was elected Prime Minister. He took over the Earth, decimated the population with six billion robot beachballs [[Of Doom]], tormented the main protagonists while dancing around his [[Cool Ship]] to "Voodoo Child" (by the Rogue Traders), and was generally bastardly. And magnificent. This was [[Reset Button|undone]] in the end, but still...}}

* Davros in the serial ''Revelation of the Daleks''. After escaping from a maximum security prison, he adopts an alias and becomes a hero to the galaxy by alleviating famine. How does he do it? {{spoiler|He uses the bodies sent to a planet-sized cemetery complex as the main ingredient for an "artificial" foodstuff.}} When the Doctor asks if he's actually told the general public about this {{spoiler|Davros says no, because "That would have created what I believe is termed 'consumer resistance'."}} Oh, and while he's doing all this, {{spoiler|he's using other bodies from the complex to create (yet another) new race of Daleks.}}

** Come to that, he was pretty bastardly in ''Genesis of the Daleks'' as well. {{spoiler|When the Doctor convinced the Kaled government to investigate his research programs, he simply gave the Thals, his own people's arch-enemies, the information they needed to annihilate the Kaleds. Then he sent the Daleks to wipe out the Thals. Meanwhile, he carries out a purge of any surviving Kaleds whose conscience might hinder the Daleks' development}}. If you actually pay attention, you'll notice Davros isn't even so much as momentarily inconvenienced for the whole Six episodes, despite the numerous twists and turns, up until the last few moments {{spoiler|where the Daleks turn on him and (almost) kill him. Whoops}}.

* ''Invasion of the Dinosaurs'' gives us [[Well Intentioned Extremist|Well Intentioned Extremists]] {{spoiler|Sir Charles Grover and Professor Whitaker}}. Their plan {{spoiler|was to turn back time to land their chosen few in the Mesozoic, undoing everything that had happened since.}} They also arranged that {{spoiler|the head of the British Army's operations in London would be [[The Mole|in on it, too]].}}

* The Dream Lord, the villain of "Amy's Choice". As befits his status as {{spoiler|the manifestation of all the Doctor's self-loathing and malice}}, he is a magnificent one-episode wonder, complete with a classic [[The Plan]], who really [[Evilly Affable|enjoys his work]]. The [[The End or Is It|end of the episode]] implies we may see him again.

** Capable?? The Doctor is the ultimate MB of the Whoniverse by default, considering the fact that, for the most part, he outgambits all the other Magnificent Bastards.

* [[Evil Counterpart|Captain]] John Hart from ''[[Torchwood]]''. A slick, charming, handsome, stylish, pathological liar who enjoys using [[The Plan]] to get what he wants (which includes attention from Captain Jack). He poisoned Gwen, shot Tosh, beat up Owen, and threatened Ianto at gunpoint, and enjoyed every minute of it. When he {{spoiler|blew up a good chunk of Cardiff}}, he said, "Let the fun begin! Do I mean fun or carnage? I always get those two mixed up." True, he ''was'' {{spoiler|acting on orders from Grey, who'd strapped a bomb to his arm}}, but he was still clearly enjoying watching the city and the Torchwood Team panic.

** Nikita herself, in her dealings with Division, Oversight and Gogol. Her former handler/teacher and lover, Michael, shows some signs of this as well. Her adversaries - Percy, Amanda and, to a lesser extent, Ari Tasarov - are this as well.

* Torrence, the [[The Charmer|charismatic]] [[The Sociopath|sociopath]] played by Eddie Izzard in 2009s [[The Day of the Triffids]] starts of as a pretty Magnificent Bastard but suffers [[Villainous Breakdown]] when his plans start to go awry, revealing himself to be more of a [[Smug Snake]], albeit a very high-functioning one.

* Alex Russo from ''[[Wizards of Waverly Place]]'' often has her moments as this due to how sly and manipulative (and good at it) she can be.

* Morgan Pendragon from the Starz television series [[Camelot]] is the [[Self Made Orphan|daughter]] of [[Complete Monster|the former king]] and the [[Succession Crisis|legitimate heir]] to the throne of England. [[Ambition Is Evil|Ambitious]], [[Insufferable Genius|intelligent]], ruthless and a [[Manipulative Bitch|great manipulator]] with a talent for the [[The Plan]], she'll stop at nothing to become queen and gets most of the English people on her side, given the fact that in this show, [[The Scrappy|King Arthur]] is apparently useless. Morgan is seemingly intended to be a villain but her incredible [[The Charmer|charisma]], the fact that she's actually more relatable than the supposed protagonists and being played by [[Eva Green]] mean that most of the fans are cheering her on. In fact, most of the people on the show are even cheering her on.