No-Nonsense Nemesis

Everything About Fiction You Never Wanted to Know.

Sinestro: I will have [the ring] after your death!
Kyle: Wait! Don't you want to talk first? Banter back and forth to show me your innate superiority?
Sinestro: No.

Superman: The Animated Series, "In Brightest Day"

Basically, the character refuses to carry the Hero or Villain Ball. They may be Genre Savvy or simply very practical, and won't delay or take unnecessary chances when their objective is at hand. For example, the villain really does think that Murder Is the Best Solution, and no, they aren't going to do any Evil Gloating or exposit on their plan before shooting, thank you very much. A Wrong Genre Savvy opponent is probably going to be confused to the point they outright ask "You're really going to just shoot me?" They might try to stall their No-Nonsense Nemesis by offering suggestions like "Wouldn't it be more fun to suspend me above a vat of acid and slowly lower me?"

See also Killed Mid-Sentence. Compare Shut Up, Kirk, Pragmatic Villainy, and Aren't You Going to Ravish Me? Contrast Evil Is Stylish.


Examples of No-Nonsense Nemesis include:

Anime and Manga

  • Matt's death in Death Note is this. He is chased and cornered by Mooks, and explains that they aren't going to shoot him because they'll need to interrogate him. They shoot him to death immediately, with one remarking that Matt was obviously stalling.
  • Cell from Dragonball Z is this while imperfect - as he knows he is too weak to win against his stronger foes without gaining power, he instead deliberately and mercilessly kills to gain power. When fighting those he knows he can defeat, he methodically goes after anyone who makes themselves a threat - once he is struck by anyone entering the fight he immediately makes sure they can't return later to screw up his plans before continuing his main goal. After he becomes Perfect, however, he starts holding the Villain Ball more often.
  • Crocodile in One Piece doesn't usually mess around, unless he's absolutely sure he can do so and has the time for a minor distraction. When he first fought Luffy, Crocodile gave him a few minutes to attack pointlessly, then promptly kicked his ass. Subsequent fights are similar.
    • Even more so Magellan. He rarely speaks while fighting, and when he comes across Blackbeard and his crew invading Impel Down, he attacks them instantly instead of questioning their motives.

Comic Books

Punisher: I've got all the therapy you'll ever need right here, comedian.
Joker: ... you're really going to shoot?

  • Played with in Punisher comics quite a lot, especially the MAX series. In the "In the Beginning" arc, villain Nicky Cavella puts a gun to the Punisher's head when the Punisher is tied up and pulls the trigger. The Punisher dodges the shot and bites off several of Cavella's fingers. Later lampshaded in the "Widowmaker" arc, where several villains comment how every time the Punisher is captured, the villain doesn't just shoot him.

Film

  • Kind of an odd example from Serenity, since you don't know if River is a bad guy or not at this point:

[River is pointing a gun at Mal]
Mal: I've staked my crew's life on the theory that you're a person, actual and whole, and if I'm wrong, you'd best shoot me now...
[River cocks the gun she is pointing at Mal]
Mal: Or, we could talk more.

Gambol: You think you can steal from us and just walk away?
Joker: Uh... yeah.

Literature

  • Dragon And Thief: "Don't I get a last meal? A blindfold? Anything?" Jack says this just before the baddies attempt to herd him into an airlock. He fortunately managed to stall long enough anyway.
  • Fidelias in The Codex Alera. He tends to solve everything with as little fuss and drama as possible, and generally follows Pragmatic Villainy to the end.
  • Nicodemus in The Dresden Files. Harry lampshades it when Nicky captures him in Death Masks, noting that Nicodemus is the kind of person who, when he says "join me or die", will do the "or die" part quickly, cleanly, with no gloating and a minimum of fuss.

Live Action TV

Dalek: Records indicate you will show mercy. You are an associate of the Doctor.
River Song: I'm River Song. Check your records again.
[beat]
Dalek: ...mercy.
River Song: Say that again.
Dalek: Mercy!
River Song: One more time.
Dalek: MERCYYYYYY!

    • The return of The Master in "Utopia" initially suggests he'll be like this; he lampshades and refuses to "have a nice little chat where I tell you all my plans and you think of a way to stop me", refuses to be moved by the Doctor's abject pleas, (even after the Doctor obeys his command to "use my name",) and instead of hanging around for ages to gloat or invoke The Only One Allowed to Defeat You, he simply abandons the Doctor in a situation that is likely to be fatal, but fully expects him to escape and plans accordingly. Even though this No Nonsenseness doesn't last (this version of the Master being one of the largest hams in television history), his brief appearance at the end of the relevant episode is very memorable for the sudden appearance of such a Dangerously Genre Savvy antagonist.

Video Games

  • While Dr. Eggman is a master of the Villain Exit Stage Left trope, at the end of the first game it was optional to attempt to kill him by completely destroying his Eggmobile. Sonic the Hedgehog's disregard for the doctor's well being became a recurring trope in the series; even Modern Sonic has had his moments.
  • Bitores "Big Cheese" Mendez is this among the Los Illuminados leadership in Resident Evil 4. While Salazar is a Psychopathic Manchild and Saddler is an arrogant sadist, Bitores would rather nip the threat Leon poses right in the bud and is openly baffled by Saddler's orders to let him live. Even then, he eventually has enough and tries to kill him, orders be damned.
  • Jet Stingray from Mega Man X4 is a rarity among villains in the sidescrolling Mega Man games in that he actively tries to kill you while you're traversing his stage. Not only that, but he's one of the only Repliforce members that accomplishes his goal (destroying a city), further cementing his status as a competent soldier willing to show some initiative in his battle against the Maverick Hunters.
  • Raymond Sullivan, one half of Dead Rising 2's Big Bad Duumvirate, is this when compared to TK, his fellow conspirator. While TK helped cause the Fortune City zombie outbreak in order to rob the local casinos, Sullivan's doing his duty as a Phenotrans agent by making sure his company has a surplus of wasp queens it can harvest for making Zombrex. His villainy is straight and to the point, and when people pose a threat to his operation, he'd rather kill them outright than try to torment and exploit them like TK. This even carries over into his boss fight, where he lacks the flashy, gimmicky fighting styles of other Psychopaths and sticks with simple, deadly martial arts (while occasionally calling in an airstrike, or shooting you if you try to fight him from a distance).

Webcomics

  • U.F.O:

Ingrid: I mean, don't you want the satisfaction of knowing you beat me in a fair fight?
Roberta: What? No. That's stupid. I just want you to scream a lot and die. breaks her arm

  • Gort from Darken makes a habit of just killing enemies before they start a journey of lifelong revenge and repeated skirmishes. Friends and Repentants make no difference
  • Jack Noir from Homestuck. When faced with a fight against John and Rose he simply teleports and sucker-stabs John in the back.

There's a narrow line to walk between obeying the orders of a clear superior and blindly facilitating a perfectly useless genocide. It takes a very savvy breed of psychopath to pull it off.

  • In The Order of the Stick, Vaarsuvius disintegrates a captive without knowing who it is simply because dim nice guy Elan has captured him, which means the captive must be a villain who will escape to bedevil the team.
    • Though it should be noted that V was suffering from a combination of PTSD and (the elven equivalent of) sleep deprivation at the time, and it's probable he/she would not have done so in a proper state of mind.

Web Original

When I've captured my adversary and he says, "Look, before you kill me, will you at least tell me what this is all about?" I'll say, "No." and shoot him. No, on second thought I'll shoot him then say "No."

Western Animation

  • In the Kim Possible movie "A Sitch in Time, Drakken is disappointed Shego wants to just kill Kim and co without first expositing her rise to power.
  • The Simpsons: Sideshow Bob's brother Cecil is about to kill Bart.

Cecil: At last I'm going to do what Bob never could. Kill Bart Simpson!
Bart: Throwing me off a dam? Isn't that a little crude for a genius like you?
Cecil: Ooh, I suppose it is. Eh, if anyone asks, I'll lie. throws him off

    • A Deleted Scene from "$pringfield" (The One With... Mr. Burns opening a casino in Springfield and Homer becoming a blackjack dealer), seen in the "138th Episode Spectacular."

Blofeld: 20. Your move, Mr. Bond.
Bond: I'll take a hit, dealer. Homer gives him a card Joker! You were supposed to take those out of the deck.
Homer: Oh, sorry. Here's another one.
Bond: What's this card? "Rules for Draw and Stud Poker"?
Blofeld: What a pity, Mr. Bond. Odd Job and Jaws grab Bond and drag him out
Bond: But... but it's Homer's fault! I didn't lose. I never lose! Well, at least tell me the details of your plot for world domination.
Blofeld: Ho ho ho, I'm not going to fall for that one again.

    • A scene from "Sideshow Bob's Last Gleaming," when Bob's demands aren't met after taking control of an expired nuclear warhead:

Bart: Bob, no!
Lisa: Don't you see? That would be taking the easy way out!
Bob: I agree. *pushes the detonator*

  • In My Little Pony Friendship Is Magic, Nightmare Moon is this. Her attempts to stop the main cast from reaching the Elements of Harmony are terribly half-assed, and she does take the time to gloat about having stolen them later on. However, she knew where they were the entire time, and shatters them as soon as Twilight comes anywhere near them - she was just having a little fun. If it weren't for the other way to trigger them, Equestria would be screwed.
    • Her older sister shows a heroic version of this when Discord escapes from his prison. Her response is to drop her calm, Trickster Mentor mentality and order the Mane Cast to take the Elements Of Harmony to take him down ASAP. Sure, he managed to beat her to the Elements, but you've got to give her props for effort. Justified as she was the one who put him in his can in the first place and knows just how dangerous he really is.