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Magnificent Bastard/Other Media

< Magnificent Bastard
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Richard III - theater's quintessential bastard.

"So will I turn her virtue into pitch.
And from her own goodness make the net.

That shall enmesh them all."
—Iago, Othello

Fan Works

  • Alexandra de Velan of the fan-made expansion to Neverwinter Nights "The Bastard of Kosigan" definitely qualifies.
    • Annoyingly, despite the fact that she and the hero are lovers, there is NO WAY to ensure she lives past the French attack on Kosigan.
  • Kyrio Streika, from New Dawn. While like Aizen in many ways, he prefers to masquerade as a "normal man with some interesting ideas in his head" and manipulate people and events rather than simply hit things with brute force. He absolutely never changes his bemused expression, not when a setback happens, nor when it comes time to murder someone. It is safe to say he views everyone as a chess piece...well, except for Matthew. That would be his soft spot. He is ostensibly doing all of this to help his son...though not without some genuine enjoyment thrown in.

Music

  • Doctor Steel has loyal followers proclaiming devotion all along the globe, all simply because of catchy music. Is this real? Or is he just stringing us all along? Who knows? Who cares? Magnificent, indeed.
  • The Offspring's song You're Gonna Go Far, Kid: "Show me how to lie; you're getting better all the time, and turning all against one is an art that's hard to teach. Another clever word sets off an unsuspecting herd, and as you step back in line a mob jumps to their feet. Now dance, fucker, dance. Man, he never had a chance, and no one even knew it was really only you." If that's not this trope in lyrical form, I don't know what is.
  • Lord Donald in the Fairport Convention song "Matty Groves", upon finding his wife cheating on him, insists on allowing her lover to get dressed and even gives him a sword to fight him with. He kills the lover and his wife, but insists that she be buried on top because "she was of noble kin."

Professional Wrestling

  • Ric Flair was probably wrestling's prototypical Magnificent Bastard. "Limousine riding, jet-flying, kiss-stealing, wheeling, dealing son of a gun" that he was, he always had four aces up the sleeves of his impeccable suits and gaudy ring robes, and a couple of them in his boots too for when things got really desperate. As a Heel, he also delighted in constantly reminding the other wrestlers, and everybody watching, that they'd never, ever be like him, no matter how much they wished otherwise. Woooooooooooooo!
  • Rowdy Roddy Piper fit the bill better than any wrestler before or since. Magnificent? Despite never winning a World Title he was one of the top heels of the 80s. Charismatic? Oh yeah, just listen to one of his promos. Audacious? He hit Jimmy Snuka in the head with a coconut, you can't get more audacious than a random sneak attack with a concealed and slightly racist weapon. Bastard? Dear God yes. Trickster? To quote the man himself, "Just when you think you have the answer, I change the question!". And a Karma Houdini? Not always but frequently. Piper was a brilliant heel, but almost as good as a face, and he could shake karma by getting the fans back on his side.
  • Piper's successor might have very well been Stone Cold Steve Austin, especially between his win at King of the Ring '96 and his first title win at Wrestlemania XIV. Magnificient? Even Bret Hart was calling him the best in the business. Charismatic? Oh, hell yeah. Audacious? He was breaking into houses, randomly attacking officials, and threw the Intercontinental belt in a river just to spite The Rock. Nevertheless, people cheered especially after his famous Wrestlemania XIII match. After that, Austin could do pretty much anything he wanted and still get cheers.
  • Jake "The Snake" Roberts is a funny case. At the time, he was disqualified from being a Magnificent Bastard due to being a Complete Monster. However, the Moral Event Horizon of what keeps a heel from being cool has shifted much further back by now (compare Jake getting furious heat for slapping Elizabeth to the Dudleys getting over for powerbombing women through tables), and nowadays he comes across as a classic Magnificent Bastard.
 

"Yeah, reach out for me! I'm a snake. Never trust a snake."

 
  • Edge, in his "Ultimate Opportunist" Gimmick, has established himself as a dangerous threat to any world champion, and a cunning adversary for any respective challenger, with his ruthless exploitation of any circumstance he deems favorable. As such, even after the most embarassing of defeats, he almost always bounces back.
  • WWE Chairman Vince McMahon could qualify as this, both on-screen and in Real Life. In the early 80s, he was the only promoter to really see the potential of cable television. Through a series of risky deals, he turned his father's World Wide Wrestling Federation into the largest professional wrestling promotion in North America that has held a monopoly on the sport ever since, bar a short period in the late 90s when WCW dethroned his company. He also managed to turn real-life fan hatred of him due to the Montreal Screwjob into legitimate Heel heat, becoming the "Mr. McMahon" character, which was his own personality only more so. Mr. McMahon even became one of WWE's most enduring characters and a huge draw in his own right. As well as a Magnificent Bastard, despite, or perhaps because of, his ability to suffer extreme humiliation (remember that time Steve Austin attacked him in the hospital and hit him with a bedpan?) and in the long run stay on top of his company anyway.
    • However, Vince's repeated humiliation when trying to expand outside wrestling (see also: WBF, XFL) cuts into his magnificence, and his exploitation of his workers, and his antics after Owen Hart's death (that ended up costing him $18 million in a civil suit by Owen's widow)pushes him into extreme Jerkass territory.
  • Shawn Michaels is another great Magnificent Bastard beloved by fans whether a face or heel. Egotistical yes, but far from being a Smug Snake due to his success. His colorful relationships with the likes of Marty Jannetty, Bret Hart and Triple H over the years shows he knows how to run the gauntlet. Always willing to put his livelihood or career on the line for the chance to win a championship or etch another notch in his amazing career. Did I mention he knows how to make an entrance?
  • Triple H begun transforming into this in 1999 and completed the process in 2000. His Face Heel turn at Wrestlemania XV turned him from a fan favourite wrestler to one of the most hated on the planet, but he got his first WWF Championship win that August, though he lost, regained and relost it over the following months. He responded by beating the crap out of Vince McMahon at Armageddon `99 and marrying his daughter (kayfabe, later for real), who turned out to be Evil All Along. Fans unimpressed by him (as Edge later put it) "marrying his way to the top" were won over when, Champion again, he defeated Cactus Jack in two brutal matches at Royal Rumble and No Way Out, which each counts as a Crowning Moment of Awesome for both wrestlers. This was about the time he began to be known as "The Game" and "The Cerebral Assassin", and the rest, as they say, is history.

Religion and Mythology

  • From Norse mythology; Loki. Not even counting his cosmic Face Heel Turn after the death of Baldur, in itself a grandiose act of Bastardry, his consistent use of clever, cunning plots and charismatic trickery combined with Thor's brute strength in the stories of their journeys together make him one of the most entertaining characters of Scandanavian myth, even when he's being a total prick. One example has him turn into a female horse to distract an ice giants horse. He ends up giving birth to one of the great horses
    • Loki is a trickster and a manipulative bastard, but he's not as smooth and forethinking as the usual magnificent bastard, and he often got caught or even tricked by giants and the like, unlike a typical magnificent bastard.
    • Also, Odin, in his Trickster guise as the one-eyed Wanderer, performs some glorious Bastardry, but outside of that his defining Bastard act is encouraging humanity to continue slaughtering itself in pointless wars so that his Valkyries can gather the souls of enough valiant warriors to bolster Odin's armies in Ragnarok.
  • Satan, the Devil, in just about every portrayal since Milton (and Marlowe, and Goethe...) has shifted from the nasty but easily-duped Trickster of early medieval times to a charming, smooth-talking soul dealer and patron saint of Magnificent Bastards. The appeal of this version has led to it becoming increasingly popular to portray the Devil as tragic, misunderstood, sympathetic or even an out-and-out AntiHero. Despite this, he's rarely given Woobie traits and usually remains unrepentant literally until Doomsday, dodging Badass Decay and making him truly Magnificent. Some fans of this interpretation take it so far as believing it's God who's the real bastard, and sometimes a Magnificent one in His own right.
  • Nearly any trickster god worth his salt will be one of these. It's basically their role to be magnificent bastards, taking down gods and monsters in such ingenious ways that you can't help but admire in their sheer audacity.
  • Odysseus might be too much of Guile Hero for this. His possible father, Sisyphus, who twice talked his way back from the dead is not.

Theatre

  • Iago from Shakespeare's Othello is a super Magnificent Bastard and a Complete Monster at the same time. He's been described as a "motiveless malignity". Indeed, the reasons he gives for manipulating everybody just aren't big enough for justification - in the end, it probably has to do with the fact that he finds it fun to control everyone and have them believe his every lie. Nevertheless, despite his despicable nature, Iago is such a witty evil genius that like Heath Ledger's Joker, he ultimately upstages the eponymous good-guy. Othello has no chance against his sneaky intellect. Just to complete his magnificence, he goes through almost the entire play with the nickname "honest Iago."
  • A more restrained Shakespearean example of a Magnificent Bastard (and, in fact, a real-life example) is Octavius Caesar in Antony and Cleopatra. He pulls a string of Xanatos Gambits, such as marrying his own sister to Antony to force him either to shame Caesar (and thus provide him with an excuse for war) or bend the knee, manipulates nearly everyone he meets (bar Cleopatra), defeats the more militarily adept Antony through a Batman Gambit, has truly grandiose plans, and, unlike most of the other examples here, ends up as the most powerful man in all the world and Emperor of the Roman Empire.
  • Shakespeare's Magnificent Bastard par excellence is Richard III. Born with a slew of Red Right Hands and a truly twisted intellect, he takes to villainy, manipulation, and {{plan}s like a fish to water. He also possesses an unparalleled wit and charisma despite being derformed, managing to seduce the wife of a man he murdered over the man's corpse. He talks to the audience more than almost any other Shakespeare character, letting them in on his plans, and sharing his triumphs in wonderfully gloating asides. He's a vile and utterly self-centered man, but it's just about impossible not to admire how damn good he is at it. How much the real Richard III lived up to the "bastard" half of the equation is a matter of much controversy in historical circles.
  • The three witches in Macbeth persuade a great hero to murder his king and become a bloody tyrant, all without even explicitly encouraging murder until he's steeped in it already.
    • Lady Macbeth is practically the whole driving force of the first half of the story, being the one who sets up the whole plot to kill King Duncan but in Act II she suffers Villainous Breakdown and is revealed to be more of a Smug Snake.
  • Petruchio from The Taming of the Shrew fits the bill. He manages to not only tame Katarina, but get two dowries. He tames Kate and successfully manipulates Baptista, Hortensio and Luciento, and a tailor.
  • Aaron The Moor from Titus Andronicus really needs a mention as well. Rarely can you look up a mention of him on this site without having the words Magnificent Bastard trail closely behind.
 

Chiron: Villain, thou has undone our mother.
Aaron: Villain, I have done thy mother.

 
    • Titus Andronicus kills his own daughter to get revenge on the mother of the guys who raped her, who he has conveniently ground into a gigantic meat pie that she, and THE EMPEROR OF ROME, have been eating the entire time, while he soliloquoys on what he's going to do to them. Fittingly enough, in the Julie Taymor adaptation, Titus is played by Anthony Hopkins!
      • This play was basically Shakespeare's idea of putting an ENTIRE CAST of Magnificent Bastards on one stage and watching them (literally) eat each other.
  • King Lear's Edmund of Gloucester. A bastard in every sense of the word, Edmund is an evil manipulator of the Iago variety, but he's also way cooler than his legitimate half brother Edgar, who, while not (particularly) stupid, is a total stiff. Edmund lies, forges, betrays, and seduces his way to the top, but part of you still can't help liking him. Especially since he actually says in a speech, "Stand up for bastards!" No apologies. A ruthless but deeply charismatic schemer who plays everyone for his own benefit, Edmund frames his brother for treason and convinces him to flee into exile while manipulating his father into granting him Edgar's legitimate birthright, before exposing Gloucester's sympathy for King Lear and handing him off to the Duke of Cornwall. As the Duke of Gloucester, Edmund schemes for the throne of Britain itself and seduces Lear's own ambitious daughters to further his own power. Even on his deathbed, Edmund finally finds the grace to defy his own bastardly nature and rescinds the order he had previously given to execute Lear and Cordelia—a sentiment which, tragically, is too late.
  • The Black Knight in Middleton's A Game At Chess. When told "Your plot's discovered!" he smirks "Which of the twenty thousand, nine hundred/fourscore and five, canst tell?"
  • Harry Roat from Wait Until Dark, right from the very first scene when he traps Talman and Carlino into his plot.
  • Caldwell B. Cladwell, Corrupt Corporate Executive and Big Bad of Urinetown, definitely qualifies. His bastardry is even more delicious when in the end it is revealed that as cruel as his methods were, they actually caused less harm to the people than when the heroes take over and make water consumption unlimited, resulting in an apocalyptic drought.
  • Roy Cohn, the Real Life Amoral Attorney and McCarthyist zealot portrayed in Angels in America, manages to be both this and a Complete Monster--no easy feat.
  • Few can compare with the Phantom from Webber's musical adaption of The Phantom of the Opera. He is a decidedly dark "Angel of Music" affected with a hint or two of madness, a hearty dollop of romantic obsession and a flair for dramatic trickery and murder. He's also a suave, half-masked genius who excels at seduction, manipulation, (possibly real) magic and arrogant bravado. And he manages to achieve most of this with some of the most potent male theatrical scores ever written. Sing for me, indeed.
  • In How to Succeed In Business Without Really Trying, J. Pierrepont Finch is a window-washer who gets a mailroom job at a company by pretending he knows the CEO; gets promoted to head of the mailroom that same day by shmoozing the former head; turns down that promotion knowing that he would be stuck there for years and screws over another employee; gets a job as a junior executive by being so "humble", tricking the CEO into thinking he had been working all night long on a Saturday and that he is an alumnus of the CEO's college; gets his own office and secretary as a result of this; tricks that secretary into seducing his boss whose job he steals; gets appointed Vice President in charge of Advertising by outing the actual VP candidate as a student of the rival of the CEO's alma mater; steals an idea from a fellow employee about a treasure hunt and pitches it; and finally, when the treasure hunt idea fails and he is facing being fired for the disaster it caused, he forces everyone else at the company to help him by suggesting to the Chairman of the Board to fire them all, but reminding them that they are all in a "Brotherhood of Man", and then when The Chairman retires he names Finch his replacement.
  • Abigail Williams in The Crucible is the teenage sociopath who started the Salem Witch Trials by getting her friends to pretend that they were being affected by witchcraft as a cover up for why they were practicing a voodoo ritual on an old slave of Abigail's family. With charisma and influence (and a touch of intimidation), she has the girls accuse many innocent people of being witches or servants of The Devil. She capitalizes off of both the town's distrust and paranoia of one another and their religious beliefs in order to gain attention and adoration (and amusement) from others, something she felt she was lacking, especially as a female in that time period. Thanks to her lies and deception, many innocent people are hanged or shamed for life, and the entire religious community of Salem is turned over on it's head due to mass paranoia and hysteria, all as she just stands back and watches, laughing her butt off over what she's created. Abigail manages to use her charisma, her intelligence, her sexual attractiveness and even her sense of humour to manipulate everyone around her, even managing a Karma Houdini by fleeing Salem with a handful of stolen money after essentially achieving mass murder. Dayum, girl!
  • Henrik Ibsen: Engstrand the carpenter from Ghosts. He is The Man Behind the Man, and the driving force behind the reverend Manders. He is instrumental in making Manders believe he himself was the one who set fire to the planned orphanage, and manipulates the reverend to put all the money from the Alving estate into a brothel he himself has planned, all without making the reverend suspicious. He only fails in securing his adopted daughter Regine for a "job" in his establishment.
    • Also Daniel Heire from The League Of Youth. He twirls the young hero of the play around his finger like nothing, makes him believe whatever he wants him to believe, and comes out of the play scott free, while the main character Stensgaard is put to shame.

Toys

  • Makuta Teridax from Bionicle. According to his fellow Makuta, he was so over-prepared that he had back-up plans for his breakfast.
 

Makuta: There are a thousand ways I could destroy you right now. And 941 of them hurt.

 

Misc

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