Magnificent Bastard/Western Animation: Difference between revisions

** Granted immortality as a caveman, Vandal Savage spent millennia educating and bettering himself in countless aspects of human culture 'til making his move for global domination by using a time machine to grant a version of himself during World War II knowledge of future events and weapons. Taking over the Nazi regime, dubbing Hitler a "raving lunatic" as he overthrows him, Savage slowly but surely turns the tide of the war in his favor, reformatting the Nazis into his own army before being stopped solely by the arrival of a time-travelling Justice League. In the present, Savage maneuvers himself into marrying into Kaznian royalty, posioning the current king to grant himself the throne before trying to use a rail gun to wipe out Paris and cow the world into submission. In his final appearance in a future timeline where Superman was seemingly killed, Savage easily murdered the entire Justice League and conquered the planet, only for his technology to go out of control and wipe out humankind except himself. Spending tens of thousands of years in isolation, Savage rebuilds cities, amasses libraries, and builds massive gardens to try to make amends for his crimes, and sacrifices himself to bring Superman back to his own time and stop his younger self from killing the League, thus saving humanity, with his final words thanking Superman for fulfilling his wish.

* In ''[[Justice League Doom]]'', Vandal Savage, the [[Big Bad]], steals all of Batman's plans aimed at incapacitating the [[Justice League]] should they ever turn to darkness or prove too dangerous, taking them and making them far more lethal and dangerous. Recruiting his very own [[Legion of Doom]], Vandal has them lure the League into traps before putting the countermeasures into placing, nearly killing every single member of the League in a single night. Vandal reveals his true plans to cause a solar flare to strike earth so he may cause the conflict that he feels is necessary for human advancement and cause the world to submit to his rule, offering to share the rulership with his new Legion. A charming, sophisticated villain, Vandal shows he has surpassed the savagery he has born into, nearly completely erasing the League in one fell stroke with the world falling perilously close to Vandal's utter victory.

* Surprisingly enough, The Riddler of the ''[[Batman: The Animated Series]]'' universe tiptoes around this trope. Especially in his [[Start of Darkness]] episode, he shows several traits of magnificent bastardry: he delivers an ominous riddle to his former boss knowing he'll come after him, and forcing Batman to choose between Robin's life and said boss', knows the hero will choose the former; he has the dynamic duo leave their utility belts behind; and finally, even though his plan is thwarted, manages to avoid capture and emotionally scar his target forever. And in his third and last episode, he almost kills Batman! Two times out of three, the Caped Crusader is able to overcome his adversary thanks to some convenient object at his disposal (namely a micro-computer and an explosion-resistant safe). To top it off, he's voiced by Lionel Luthor himself, John Glover!

** The urbane, sophisticated Ra's Al-Ghul is acknowledged by Batman as his greatest and most deadly adversary. Forming the worldwide, powerful League of Shadows, Ra's secretly tests Batman with a series of clever plots to determine if he is worthy to be his heir in the League and inherit Ra's own wish to save the planet. When Batman refuses, Ra's decides to enact a plan to wipe out most of humanity for the betterment of the world, and each time returns to drive Batman to his limits. Even after his seeming death, Ra's survives by ordering his daughter Talia, Bruce's onetime lover, to allow him to possess her body, so he may rejuvenate and possess Bruce himself in the future. Time and again, Ra's shows exactly why Batman himself calls him his greatest enemy.

** Finally, he had Ed and Rummy set up a bomb in one of his buildings, and then calmly reveals when Huey and super agent Jack Flowers foil this plot that it was designed to inspire patriotism, sell merchandise, and make a movie about an obnoxious security guard who would have died in the explosion. And to top it off, when Flowers counts down 3 seconds before he shoots him, Wuncler calls PRESIDENT FUCKING OBAMA to stops him, then calmly tells them to let themselves out. And does all of this just by being crafty, evil and obscenely wealthy. [[Magnificent Bastard]] indeed.

** Rollo Goodlove, the self-serving black liberal activist, also qualifies. In his first appearance, he manages to come out on top in his first appearance, when he is revealed to be partners with Ann Coulter, who plays the part of a conservative nemesis to get "redneck money". In his second appearance, he hijacks Huey's anti-BET campaign to promote himself, and then received a job from the network. While the his beliefs in his causes might not be genuine, his charisma and master planning are, making Rollo Goodlove the most likable mastermind on the show.

* ''Carmen Sandiego''. In the mid-90's cartoon version, ''[[Where on Earth Is Carmen Sandiego?]]'', she was as slick and suave as a female James Bond, but would steal priceless artifacts either just for the thrill or for a huge not-so-evil plan (in one episode, she stole several rare statues to make the worlds largest chess game) and would constantly bait and taunt the two detectives trying to catch her, all for the sport of the hunt (even though she was the prey.) And said detectives actually greatly ''respect'' her for this!

** Her eviler counterpart, Maelstrom, also qualifies. To put it clearly, he was for Carmen in her ACME detective past what Carmen herself is to ACME detectives now.