Magnificent Bastard/Live-Action TV: Difference between revisions

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** {{spoiler|Seska}} from ''[[Star Trek: Voyager|Voyager]]'' was [[The Mole|a Cardassian spy surgically altered to look Bajoran]]. After she was busted, {{spoiler|she wormed her way into power in a rabidly misogynist society and got them to steal ''Voyager''. Some time after the ship was retaken and she was killed, it was discovered that she had edited a tactical training scenario to trap the author -- Tuvok -- in it and hunt him down and kill him -- after toying with him for a while.}}

** Lets be honest Cardassians pretty much have [[Magnificent Bastard]] as their [[Planet of Hats|Hat]].

* Lionel Luthor from ''[[Smallville]]'', played to cold, suave, diabolical perfection by John Glover, is the [[Trope Codifier]]. If you are on ''Smallville'' you have, at some point, been used by Lionel. ~~His~~ ~~son,~~ [[Lex Luthor]], ~~qualifies~~ as ~~well~~, ~~though~~ he ~~always~~ ~~stands~~ in the ~~shadow~~ of his ~~father~~.

* Lionel Luthor from ''[[Smallville]]'', played to cold, suave, diabolical perfection by John Glover, is the [[Trope Codifier]]. If you are on ''Smallville'' you have, at some point, been used by Lionel. Originally created to explain how [[Lex Luthor]] grew up to be such a bastard and intended to be a one season character, Lionel became a power unto himself in the show, and for the first three seasons was a virtually untouchable threat who easily undercut any efforts by Lex or Clark to act against him. Jailed in Season 4, Lionel proved he was still capable of reaching out to touch anyone, anywhere, whenever he wanted, and after his release from prison and subsequent Heel–Face Turn, remained the show’s most potent manipulator, undermining Lex’s attempts at becoming a threat in his own right, and getting the last laugh on his son when it was he, and not Lex, who was resurrected to serve as the show’s final villain in Season 10. In a show filled with mutants, aliens, and meteor freaks, Lionel Luthor was still the most dangerous man around, and no matter who he was sharing space with, always managed to feel like the most powerful person in the room.

** His [[Evil Twin|counterpart]] from [[Alternate Universe|Earth-2]] seems to be having a good run at himself, naturally enough. "Cutting out your daughter's heart to save your son because you're a Magnificent Bastard" should be a ~~facebook~~ group.

** His [[Evil Twin|counterpart]] from [[Alternate Universe|Earth-2]] seems to be having a good run at himself, naturally enough. "Cutting out your daughter's heart to save your son because you're a Magnificent Bastard" should be a Facebook group.

** His son, being [[Lex Luthor]], qualifies as well, though he always stands in the shadow of his father.

** Major Zod, Season 9's [[Big Bad]] is a non-Luthor example, in sharp contrast to his [[General Ripper]] [[Cloning Blues|genetic source material]]. He manages to use pretty much everyone in-show, including [[Manipulative Bastard|Tess]], and [[The Chessmaster|Amanda Waller]] and [[Government Conspiracy|Checkmate]] to fullfill his own ends, and does it all while more or less flying by the seat of his pants. He's less of a [[Chessmaster]] than Lionel was, but even more of a [[Trickster]].

* ''[[Supergirl]]'' Season 2's "Alex" gives us Rick Malverne, a former classmate of the Danvers sisters who bored witness to Kara surviving a horrific accident and using her powers to save people. Remembering this, Rick pieces together her past identity once Kara publicly reveals herself as "Supergirl" to National City. Taking the opportunity to free his criminal father from prison, Rick kidnaps Alex and places her in a glass cage, located in a building laced with lead to deter Kara, while slowly filling it with water. Giving Kara and her friends 36 hours to either free his father or watch Alex drown. After being apprehended, Rick remains calm and sees through J'onn's attempt to shape-shift into his father, failing to trick Rick. Even when his plan is foiled when his father reveals the location of his trap, Rick graciously congratulates Alex for surviving his trap and accepts his imprisonment without malice.