Not-So-Harmless Villain: Difference between revisions

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{{quote|'''Buffy:''' Harmony has minions?!<br />

'''Xander:''' And Ruffles have ridges. Buffy, there's actually a more serious side to this.<br />

'''Buffy:''' God, I hope so.|''[[~~Buffy the Vampire Slayer (TV)|~~Buffy the Vampire Slayer]]''}}

'''Buffy:''' God, I hope so.|''[[Buffy the Vampire Slayer]]''}}

Okay, so you have a villain, and, for whatever reason, you [[Harmless Villain|do]] [[Ineffectual Sympathetic Villain|not]] take them seriously. You might [[Unknown Rival|not even think about them]] at all. They might have a lame gimmick, or a weird name, or maybe they just do not stand out among the [[Mooks]]. They are not exactly on your radar. Even if you do remember them, you think they are either a nobody or a total joke.

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== Anime & Manga ==

* ''[[Pokémon (~~Anime~~)|Pokémon]]: Best Wishes'':

* ''[[Pokémon (anime)|Pokémon]]: Best Wishes'':

** Remember Team Rocket? The bumbling buffoons who stalked a ten-year-old for 13 years? They are [[Took a Level In Badass|taking about a thousand levels in badass]]. This is most noticeable by the fact that they now started to follow orders from [[Big Bad|Giovanni]], they now try not to go after random Pokémon, and especially they now don't even blast off anymore (they instead escape using jetpacks).

** Even prior to this, Team Rocket would balance their bumbling roles with an occasional genuinely competant plan that is foiled only due to [[Determinator|Ash's sheer determination]]. Not to mention they are [[Redemption Promotion|extremely competent as good guys]].

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** Also happened with Tailmon, who looks like a harmless cat. When the children first met her Jyou tried to shoo her away... only to have her beat the crap out of all their Digimon.

** Impmon was a pest to the [[Digimon Tamers|Tamers]] instead of a villain, throwing fire balls and scaring their Digimon away. No one saw him as anything more than a nuisance. Then he {{spoiler|became Beelzebumon and stabbed an ally to death. Eventually, he did a [[Heel Face Turn]] and [[Redemption Promotion|became even more competent]]}}.

* Commander Blue of ''[[~~Dragonball~~]]''. Goku thought he would be a weakling (because, well, have you ''heard'' that guy's voice?), but this perception was quickly turned on its head when Blue turned out to be about as powerful as he is, with the additional ability to paralyze people just by looking at them. However he stood little chance against Tao.

* Commander Blue of ''[[Dragon Ball]]''. Goku thought he would be a weakling (because, well, have you ''heard'' that guy's voice?), but this perception was quickly turned on its head when Blue turned out to be about as powerful as he is, with the additional ability to paralyze people just by looking at them. However he stood little chance against Tao.

** Majin Buu. When he first shows up, he acts like an innocent toddler, and everybody's default reaction is "WTF?" (save Supreme Kai, who knows all too well what Buu is capable of). Then he starts effortlessly pwning the strongest characters in the series, devouring thousands of people at a time by turning them into ''candy'', and [[Nigh Invulnerability|shrugging off mortal wounds as though they are nothing.]] Then his [[The End of the World As We Know It|evil side is unleashed...]]

** Majin Buu. When he first shows up, he acts like an innocent toddler, and everybody's default reaction is "WTF?" (save Supreme Kai, who knows all too well what Buu is capable of). Then he starts effortlessly pwning the strongest characters in the series, devouring thousands of people at a time by turning them into ''candy'', and [[Nigh Invulnerability|shrugging off mortal wounds as though they are nothing.]] Then his [[The End of the World as We Know It|evil side is unleashed...]]

* {{spoiler|Fuku-chan}} in ''[[Mermaid Melody Pichi Pichi Pitch]]'', also a [[Man Behind the Man]]. To add insult to injury, he's the [[Small Annoying Creature]].

* ''[[Slayers]]'':

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** And in the second season, there's an unnamed Mazoku that basically looks like a giant tribal mask with arms and legs. The only thing Lina can think of is how stupid he looks, and he seems to get quickly dispatched almost immediately after appearing. He comes back later, though, and proves to be a surprisingly tough nut to crack, mostly due to the fact that he can summon several smaller masks that do an excellent job of protecting him from Lina's magic (doesn't help when Lina decides to Dragon Slave the entire building, though).

** Joyrock, the [[Big Bad]] of [[The Movie]], is first introduced as a rather ugly and goofy frog. However, he might not count, seeing as he quickly drops the disguise for his real form (a snake-headed troll, basically) and showcases just how sadistic and malicious he is with such stunts as sucking the life out of an entire village in case Lina might pass that way, turning their corpses into zombies and setting them on Lina and Naga when they did, and then disintegrating the zombies with three words simply because he was bored with them.

* The latest arc in ''[[Kyouran Kazoku Nikki]]'' introduces Gouyokuou. In the episode he is introduced, he seems to be a hilariously [[Fish Out of Water]] alien looking for the woman he loves and so weak that Kyoka is able to punch him into the air with ease. Then it's revealed that he is so powerful, if even one of his [[Power Limiter]] rods is removed, he can level a city with no effort. If all of them are removed, it's [[Earthshattering Kaboom]] time. The end of the second episode of his arc hints at a darker side of his personality; a [[Stalker ~~With~~ a Crush]] willing to use his world destroying powers to get the woman he wants...

* The latest arc in ''[[Kyouran Kazoku Nikki]]'' introduces Gouyokuou. In the episode he is introduced, he seems to be a hilariously [[Fish Out of Water]] alien looking for the woman he loves and so weak that Kyoka is able to punch him into the air with ease. Then it's revealed that he is so powerful, if even one of his [[Power Limiter]] rods is removed, he can level a city with no effort. If all of them are removed, it's [[Earthshattering Kaboom]] time. The end of the second episode of his arc hints at a darker side of his personality; a [[Stalker with a Crush]] willing to use his world destroying powers to get the woman he wants...

* Kyuutarou Ooba from ''[[Kemonozume]]'' spends most of the show as a harmless if somewhat eccentric bureaucrat before revealing himself as the show's primary antagonist, a criminal mastermind and a hyper-wealthy, nihilistic psychopath who masturbates with a girl's dismembered arms and markets a medicine that makes people eat each other. He's also revealed to have grafted monster arms onto himself that give his round little body incredible strength, and intentionally mutates himself to the point where he's just a constantly shifting mountain of flesh by the series's final episode - one that delivers monologues on the futility of existence, natch.

* ''[[Naruto]]'':

** When Naruto and friends first come across Kabuto Yakushi, he comes off as an amiable and somewhat less-than-competent fellow (flunking the Chuunin Exams seven times, no less!). Before long, both his affiliations and his abilities prove far more sinister than his appearance would suggest.

** Tobi. While he is an Akatsuki member, he seems like comic relief until {{spoiler|he turns out to be Madara Uchiha and had presumably been doing the "good boy" act to deceive his fellow members into not realizing that he was the real leader, who is both immortal, [[Made of Air]], and [[Teleporters and Transporters|can go literally anywhere]]}}. This persona and perception of him carries over to when Team 7 and Team 8 fight him.

** ''Killer Bee''. "Hey, this rap-loving dude can't be that dangero-- ''holy shit'' did he cut {{spoiler|Sasuke}} open?!" {{spoiler|Furthermore he managed to make the kid look like a complete idiot. [[Naruto ~~(Manga)~~/Awesome|In front of the whole Akatsuki as well.]]}}

** ''Killer Bee''. "Hey, this rap-loving dude can't be that dangero-- ''holy shit'' did he cut {{spoiler|Sasuke}} open?!" {{spoiler|Furthermore he managed to make the kid look like a complete idiot. [[Naruto/Awesome|In front of the whole Akatsuki as well.]]}}

** Everyone and their grandmother weren't expecting much (at least physically) out of [[Handicapped Badass|one-armed, one-eyed]] Danzo in ''Naruto'', until he {{spoiler|revealed his Sharingan}} and then -- did he just use that guy's ''head'' as a '''sword-holster'''!? And he does it in order to have a free hand to immediately use said guy [[Human Shield|to stop numerous incoming blades thrown at him]], [[The Stoic|without a single change of facial expression]].

* ''[[One Piece]]'':

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** The workers of Water 7, including a bartender named Blueno, a stern and hot-tempered secretary named Kalifa, a happy-go lucky shipwright (as well as a possible [[Sixth Ranger|new crew mate]]), and finally the aloof Rob Lucci. {{spoiler|Too bad all of them were actually undercover agents for a powerful assassination force for the government, proceeded to beat the crap of the Straw Hats and are total [[Blood Knight]] fighters}}.

** The biggest one is Blackbeard, a plump man with missing teeth and a optimistic personality, {{spoiler|but is considered to be a candidate for the series [[Big Bad]], after killing the strongest displayed pirate so far, defeating Luffy's "brother" Ace easily, and using the government to get a strong enough crew and power in order to become the next Pirate King}}.

* Due to the semi-serious nature of its first half, followed by the seriousness of the second half, ''[[Mobile Suit Gundam ZZ ~~(Anime)~~|Gundam ZZ]]'' does this to a few people. In the case of Chara, it was mainly her playing the [[Fan Service]] card with that whip. With Mashimar Cero though, the somewhat-bumbling but honorable and idealistic Neo Zeon officer returns as a brutal and cruel officer that oversees a [[Colony Drop]].

* Due to the semi-serious nature of its first half, followed by the seriousness of the second half, ''[[Mobile Suit Gundam ZZ|Gundam ZZ]]'' does this to a few people. In the case of Chara, it was mainly her playing the [[Fan Service]] card with that whip. With Mashimar Cero though, the somewhat-bumbling but honorable and idealistic Neo Zeon officer returns as a brutal and cruel officer that oversees a [[Colony Drop]].

* ''[[Bleach]]'':

** Starrk, who despite seeming very lazy, {{spoiler|is the most powerful of the Espada.}}. This also applies to his fraccion, Lilynette.

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** Riruka Dokugamine has power over "cute things". Rukia dismisses her, saying that since Riruka is a human that she won't kill her... {{spoiler|Riruka responds by turning Rukia into a plushie.}}

*** That's not even the half of it. It works {{spoiler|in reverse.}} Once this power is activated, there is no trace of her ability. Things would have gotten very, very ugly, had she not {{spoiler|decided Ichigo and co. weren't so bad afterall.}}

* Florsheim in ''[[~~Tentai Senshi Sunred (Manga)|~~Tentai Senshi Sunred]]'' is presented as being an organization of nice guys, average joes and all around friendly people despite the fact that they're monsters. They constantly lose to Sunred and are seen as nothing more than a joke. When a new villain group steps in, Sunred directs them to [[Eviler Than Thou|fight Florsheim first]] and they get beaten immediately. There's a reason Florsheim's held their territory for so long.

* Florsheim in ''[[Tentai Senshi Sunred]]'' is presented as being an organization of nice guys, average joes and all around friendly people despite the fact that they're monsters. They constantly lose to Sunred and are seen as nothing more than a joke. When a new villain group steps in, Sunred directs them to [[Eviler Than Thou|fight Florsheim first]] and they get beaten immediately. There's a reason Florsheim's held their territory for so long.

** It should be noted that this does not make Florsheim any more ''evil'': After Armour Tiger has thoroughly curbstomped the opposition, Vamp starts [[When I Was Your Age|berating their monsters for having no manners and claiming how monsters back in his day showed more respect and didn't hang around bakeries]] looking like [[Delinquents]] and claiming the rival organisation is making his look bad because they look so shady.

* {{spoiler|Miyo Takano}} from ''[[Higurashi no Naku Koro Ni]]''. {{spoiler|Sure, she was awfully suspicious in the first season, and even in the second season but...Wow.}} However, that person has an [[Freudian Excuse|excuse]].

* {{spoiler|Miyo Takano}} from ''[[Higurashi no Naku Koro ni]]''. {{spoiler|Sure, she was awfully suspicious in the first season, and even in the second season but...Wow.}} However, that person has an [[Freudian Excuse|excuse]].

* In ''[[Yu Yu Hakusho]]'', Shorin appears somewhat unimpressive to his opponents and having power levels only barely above what he needs to pass (although the opponent he defeated in the first round was even weaker). He turns out to be the demon Rando, who killed 99 martial arts masters after [[Mega Manning|stealing their techniques]], and Yusuke only realizes this by process of elimination - he keeps up the facade until he manages to [[The Worf Effect|shrink and defeat Kuwabara]] using a technique he stole.

** Zig-zagged with Onji in the Dark Tournament. He sports some moves in Team Uratogi's quarterfinal match, but next to his teammates, he looks like a normal, friendly old man. Then he effortlessly beats Kuwabara (though to be fair, the latter's own stupidity plays a part in it), and reveals himself to be the one who gave his members their powerful Items of Darkness. {{spoiler|Then he reveals himself as [[Villainous Harlequin|"The Beautiful Demon Fighter Suzuki"]]...and [[Curb Stomp Battle|gets thrashed by Genkai.]]}}

* ''[[~~Death Note (Manga)|~~Death Note]]'':

* ''[[Death Note]]'':

** Although he's frightening to look at, it is easy to underestimate Ryuk. [[Villain Protagonist]] Light seems a lot worse, and with his addiction to apples and other humorous qualities, Ryuk tends to come across as [[Plucky Comic Relief]] and Light's [[The Kid With the Leash|"pet"]]. Then comes the ending of the series {{spoiler|where Ryuk fulfills his early promise that he will one day write Light's name in his notebook, and casually kills Light, who has just had a pathetic [[Villainous Breakdown]]}}. Truly, Light, like the audience, forgot that he was dealing with a ''death god''.

** Not to mention part of the [[Fridge Horror]] left in the ending is that Ryuk is the ultimate [[Karma Houdini]]; there's nothing stopping him from dropping a Death Note into the human world again if he ever gets bored.

* Toshiya from ''[[The World Is Mine]]'' starts out as [[Chaotic Evil|Mon's]] weak-willed bitch, even wearing a [[Villainous Crossdresser|female disguise]] and pretending to be Mon's girlfriend in public. Things begin to change after they're {{spoiler|killed by "Hakumadon"}} and Mon can't stand to kill. In addition to becoming the primary murderer of the two, he's also considerably more tech- and social-savvy than [[Wild Child]] Mon and he becomes increasingly vicious and [[Manipulative Bastard|manipulative]] as the story goes on.

* Kurotowa in the ''[[Nausicaa of the Valley of ~~The~~ Wind]]'' manga pulls the switch from "harmless" to "one to watch out for" in record time, going from appearing to be arrogant, toadying buffoon to effortlessly deflecting an assassination attempt in the space of his first appearance. And then, in his second appearance, he took control of a corvette and piloted it like an expert, even using the smoke from downed craft to cover his approach. It's even more jarring if you watched the anime first, as there all he manages is one of the most half-assed, pathetic [[Big Bad Wannabe]] attempts ever.

* Kurotowa in the ''[[Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind]]'' manga pulls the switch from "harmless" to "one to watch out for" in record time, going from appearing to be arrogant, toadying buffoon to effortlessly deflecting an assassination attempt in the space of his first appearance. And then, in his second appearance, he took control of a corvette and piloted it like an expert, even using the smoke from downed craft to cover his approach. It's even more jarring if you watched the anime first, as there all he manages is one of the most half-assed, pathetic [[Big Bad Wannabe]] attempts ever.

* In ''[[Kero Kero Chime]]'', [[White-Haired Pretty Boy]] Oroboros initially appears to be a pathetic gag villain who, at best, is destined for a hilarious failure of a [[Big Bad Wannabe]]. Then he turns out to be the real [[Big Bad]], banishes everyone to another world, and only narrowly fails to pull off his evil scheme.

* In ''[[Mahou Sensei Negima]]!'', Kurt Godel manages to pull this off in the space of a single chapter. He's introduced as [[Manipulative Bastard]] and [[Consummate Liar]] with a lot of political power, but he has to be accompanied by a massive number of bodyguards because he's so frail. Then {{spoiler|he kicks Negi's ass with [[Implausible Fencing Powers|one attack]], even though Negi is ''made of lightning''. Turns out that he's a master swordsman, and travelled with Ala Rubra in his youth. Oops.}}

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** Eggman alternates between being highly competent and totally [[Villain Decay|not competent at all]], so much so that it comes as quite a surprise for some when he talked [[Super-Powered Evil Side|Dark Sonic]] out of a [[Roaring Rampage of Revenge]], while his even more harmless robot buddies ''held off'' a Metarex leader.

** In earlier episodes at least, Eggman was actually genuinely formidable against most human forces and even the majority of the main protagonists. It is only against [[Invincible Hero|Sonic]] that he falls in a flash (and even then he did give him a run for his money a few odd times). He also seems to [[Laser Based Karma|become incredibly more competent]] whenever he forced to [[Enemy Mine|team up with Sonic]].

* Crump, [[The Dark Chick]] of ''[[Yu-Gi-Oh]]'''s Big 5 is a joke in his first appearance. His obsession with penguins makes him rather ludicrous, and he ultimately loses a match against Tea, one of the hero's cheerleaders. He returns a few episodes later, and alongside the rest of the Big 5, engages [[The Hero|Yugi]] and [[The Lancer|Joey]] in a team duel--where he performs exceptionally well, using his Deck Master ability to power up Ganzley's WATER monsters, and maintaining control of the duel for the Big 5. It's not until the Big 5 move away from playing WATER creatures that he's forced to yield to Johnson, and in terms of overall performance he's just behind [[The Dragon|Lector]].

* Crump, [[The Dark Chick]] of ''[[Yu-Gi-Oh!]]'''s Big 5 is a joke in his first appearance. His obsession with penguins makes him rather ludicrous, and he ultimately loses a match against Tea, one of the hero's cheerleaders. He returns a few episodes later, and alongside the rest of the Big 5, engages [[The Hero|Yugi]] and [[The Lancer|Joey]] in a team duel--where he performs exceptionally well, using his Deck Master ability to power up Ganzley's WATER monsters, and maintaining control of the duel for the Big 5. It's not until the Big 5 move away from playing WATER creatures that he's forced to yield to Johnson, and in terms of overall performance he's just behind [[The Dragon|Lector]].

* Tetsuo in ''[[~~Akira (Manga)|~~Akira]]'' especially in flashback scenes from Kaneda's memories. He seems incompetent as a member of a biker gang who barely pulls his own weight and has to be saved by his best friend on several occasions. Then he gets super powers.

* Tetsuo in ''[[Akira]]'' especially in flashback scenes from Kaneda's memories. He seems incompetent as a member of a biker gang who barely pulls his own weight and has to be saved by his best friend on several occasions. Then he gets super powers.

* Happens repeatedly in ''[[~~Black Butler (Manga)|~~Black Butler]]'':

* Happens repeatedly in ''[[Black Butler]]'':

** {{spoiler|First, we discover all of Ciel's goofy, incompetent staff weren't hired for their talents as servants (Sebastian's contract requires he be able to take care of everything himself anyway) but for their talents in defending the manor; the clumsy maid Mei-rin is a devastatingly skilled sniper, the groundskeeper Finny has superhuman strength, and the cook Baldo is an ex-soldier. Much later on, it also turns out that Ciel's fiancee Elizabeth, one of the only normal people he knows and the only child in the series that acts like one, is in fact an extremely [[Badass]] swordswoman who has been acting like harmless little girl because she was afraid Ciel wouldn't like her otherwise.}}

** {{spoiler|The Undertaker also fits this trope in its usual villainous angle in the manga; after seeming to be a quirky information broker for so long, he turns out to be a renegade Shinigami who kicked off a small-scale [[Zombie Apocalypse]] [[For the Evulz]], and goes on to effortlessly wipe the floor with Grelle, Ronald, and Sebastian at the same time.}}

* When Dietrich von Lohengrin of ''[[~~Trinity Blood (Light Novel)|~~Trinity Blood]]'' first appears, he's a guy trying to take down the vampires who's helping Esther in her plans while supposedly ruining the main vampire's big plans as a double agent. And then he dies. {{spoiler|Until it turns out he survived and had played both sides against each other to try and spark war between humans and vampires. He's the Puppet Master for a terrorist organization that wants to rebirth the world with death and is also a massive sadist with the ability to control people's bodies and even body jump into them. He can even fight, able to defeat Radu's fire powers without even trying and going toe to toe with Abel towards the end of the anime.}} You think that's something? '''He's even worse in the original novels.''' {{spoiler|His sadism is taken to disturbing extremes, including being a royal who slaughtered his family so he could have the freedom to torment his people as he saw fit. When he manages to bring Esther under his power during his first appearance, he mentions he can make her feel any sensation, including the experience of being raped by dozens of men or cut apart by hundreds of swords before making her shoot Abel.}} Oh, and in both versions {{spoiler|he steals Radu's body and puts Esther and Ion into a kill or be killed situation by trapping them in a cell and causing Ion to go mad for blood with Esther being the only food source...'''and then throwing her a knife to allow herself to either kill Ion, kill herself or let Ion kill her.'''}} There's evil and then there's Dietrich von Lohengrin.

* When Dietrich von Lohengrin of ''[[Trinity Blood]]'' first appears, he's a guy trying to take down the vampires who's helping Esther in her plans while supposedly ruining the main vampire's big plans as a double agent. And then he dies. {{spoiler|Until it turns out he survived and had played both sides against each other to try and spark war between humans and vampires. He's the Puppet Master for a terrorist organization that wants to rebirth the world with death and is also a massive sadist with the ability to control people's bodies and even body jump into them. He can even fight, able to defeat Radu's fire powers without even trying and going toe to toe with Abel towards the end of the anime.}} You think that's something? '''He's even worse in the original novels.''' {{spoiler|His sadism is taken to disturbing extremes, including being a royal who slaughtered his family so he could have the freedom to torment his people as he saw fit. When he manages to bring Esther under his power during his first appearance, he mentions he can make her feel any sensation, including the experience of being raped by dozens of men or cut apart by hundreds of swords before making her shoot Abel.}} Oh, and in both versions {{spoiler|he steals Radu's body and puts Esther and Ion into a kill or be killed situation by trapping them in a cell and causing Ion to go mad for blood with Esther being the only food source...'''and then throwing her a knife to allow herself to either kill Ion, kill herself or let Ion kill her.'''}} There's evil and then there's Dietrich von Lohengrin.

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{{quote| '''Viper:''' This is too easy, Commander. Something has to go wrong.<br />

'''Cobra Commander:''' I won't stand for negativity in the ranks. ''(shoots Viper)'' You wait and see. Well, it's too late for you, but the rest of you, you just wait and see. }}

** In ''[[G.I. Joe Resolute]]'' he goes into a massive rants about how he was really faking his [[General Failure]] stick, in a hope it would make his [[Mooks]] less likely to blindly follow orders and become [[Genre Savvy]]. This is just after he killed a [[The Starscream|traitorous subordinate]], and then killed 10 million people.

** In ''[[G.I. Joe: Resolute]]'' he goes into a massive rants about how he was really faking his [[General Failure]] stick, in a hope it would make his [[Mooks]] less likely to blindly follow orders and become [[Genre Savvy]]. This is just after he killed a [[The Starscream|traitorous subordinate]], and then killed 10 million people.

* Black Hand was once a pathetic joke with a weapon that was dependent on stealing energy from [[~~Green Lantern (Comic Book)|~~Green Lantern]]'s ring and a gimmick of committing crimes based on famous folk sayings. Then he found out he's destined to be the [[The Antichrist|Antichrist]] leader of an [[Zombie Apocalypse|army of zombie supervillains]].

* Black Hand was once a pathetic joke with a weapon that was dependent on stealing energy from [[Green Lantern]]'s ring and a gimmick of committing crimes based on famous folk sayings. Then he found out he's destined to be the [[The Antichrist|Antichrist]] leader of an [[Zombie Apocalypse|army of zombie supervillains]].

* Though he wasn't completely harmless before, Doctor Destiny was always a traditional silver age villain, using dream powers to mess with gravity and create chaos while not really killing anyone. Cut to The 24 Hours story in ''[[The Sandman]]'' #6.

* ''[[Batman]]'' #251:

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* The ''Joker's Asylum II: Harley Quinn'' oneshot. Rival mobsters, cops and so on know that Harley is a fairly harmless character, whose [[Weapon of Choice]] is a big comedy mallet. But they're standing between her and Mr J on ''Valentine's Day'', which means she's not kidding around anymore.

* In the comics, Scarecrow gets his Not So Harmless upgrade in the "Absolute Terror" arc, where he terrorizes the whole of Gotham to the point it almost destroys itself in fear ''without using any fear gas''. He simply uses psychology, and a few well-placed murders, to show the city that, if he wanted to, he could ''kill any one of them, no matter where they are''.

* Scarecrow's image problem was remedied in ''The New Batman Adventures'', apparently as a cross between Herbert West, [[Who Framed Roger Rabbit|Judge Doom]], and a corpse cut down from the gallows. Yeesh. He ended up literally making Batgirl live her worst nightmare after that, though at that point he'd been recognized as a pretty significant threat.

* Scarecrow's image problem was remedied in ''The New Batman Adventures'', apparently as a cross between Herbert West, [[Who Framed Roger Rabbit?|Judge Doom]], and a corpse cut down from the gallows. Yeesh. He ended up literally making Batgirl live her worst nightmare after that, though at that point he'd been recognized as a pretty significant threat.

* The Penguin, as well. In his first venture as the Penguin, he attempts to muscle his way into a mobster's inner circle. When the boss starts laughing at him (because, seriously, he's a goofy looking guy and goes by "the Penguin") the Penguin kills him in cold blood and takes control of the group.

* ''[[~~Invincible (Comic Book)|~~Invincible]]'' villains have a tendency to do this, most notably Doc Seismic and the Lizard League.

* ''[[Invincible]]'' villains have a tendency to do this, most notably Doc Seismic and the Lizard League.

* ''[[Spawn]]'':

** The Violator looks like a harmless, morbidly obese, clown with hygiene problems, but he is super strong and capable of ripping a man in half with his bare hands. His true form is absolutely frightening.

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== Films -- Animation ==

* Zigzag, the grand vizier, in ''[[The Thief and ~~The Cobbler (Animation)|The Thief and The~~ Cobbler]]'' seemed, at first, an egotistical [[Ted Baxter]] who spun [[Rhymes On a Dime]]. Then he stole the golden balls protecting the city, giving them to [[Big Bad]] and [[Evil Overlord]] One-Eye. One-Eye is unappreciative, and has him thrown to the alligators... Zigzag ''tames'' them, going on to tell One-Eye "''One'' mistake will suffice! ''Don't treat me lightly'' '''''twice!'''''"

* Zigzag, the grand vizier, in ''[[The Thief and the Cobbler]]'' seemed, at first, an egotistical [[Ted Baxter]] who spun [[Rhymes on a Dime]]. Then he stole the golden balls protecting the city, giving them to [[Big Bad]] and [[Evil Overlord]] One-Eye. One-Eye is unappreciative, and has him thrown to the alligators... Zigzag ''tames'' them, going on to tell One-Eye "''One'' mistake will suffice! ''Don't treat me lightly'' '''''twice!'''''"

* ''[[The Lion King]]'':

** Those three hyenas. At first, they seem like a bunch of idiots who always fail every time, but at the end of the film, they all show their true dangerous selves when they {{spoiler|kill Scar.}}

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** The titular [[Villain Protagonist]], a super-intelligent [[Gadgeteer Genius]] and [[Mad Scientist]]. He seems harmless because he always gets defeated by that [[Flying Brick]], Metro Man. But then he {{spoiler|apparently}} gets Metro Man out of the way with a [[Kill Sat]]...

** There's also Hal, the bumbling reporter whom Megamind endows with Metro Man's powers so that he can have a rival. But once he gets rejected by Roxanne, he decides to become a supervillain instead, beating Megamind within an inch of his life, wreaking havoc on the city, and {{spoiler|kidnapping Roxanne and threatening to kill her.}}

* Disney's ''[[Beauty and ~~The Beast (Disney)|Beauty and The~~ Beast]]'' has the villain Gaston, who starts out as just a vain, preening buffoon, certainly malicious, but more ridiculous than anything else. Then he incites a riot and leads a lynch mob against The Beast, and very nearly kills him. Which is cut short by the staff of the castle, men, women, and children who've been transformed into anthropomorphic household objects, banding together and utterly wiping the floor with the mob's collective ass.

* Disney's ''[[Beauty and the Beast]]'' has the villain Gaston, who starts out as just a vain, preening buffoon, certainly malicious, but more ridiculous than anything else. Then he incites a riot and leads a lynch mob against The Beast, and very nearly kills him. Which is cut short by the staff of the castle, men, women, and children who've been transformed into anthropomorphic household objects, banding together and utterly wiping the floor with the mob's collective ass.

* [[Cars|''Cars 2'']]:

** Grem and Acer, a pair of bumbling villains who appear to be based on two of the worst cars ever made. But then we see them kill Rod "Torque" Redline...

** The first film has Chick Hicks, who is constantly losing to his rival Strip "The King" Weathers, and during the climax he almost ''killed'' the King!

* ''[[The Jungle Book (Disney)|The Jungle Book]]'':

* ''[[The Jungle Book (Disney film)|The Jungle Book]]'':

** Shere Khan, the [[Big Bad]], in spite of his occasional hammy and whimsical nature, is actually an evil bloodthirsty tiger bent on killing any human that's still in his jungle, especially the mancub he sees as Mowgli. In the sequel, [[Knight of Cerebus|he drops the hammy and whimsical aspect altogether.]]

*** This is more noticable in the original novel, while no one doubts Shere Khan's wrath in the Disney films ([[Too Dumb to Live|except Lucky]]), the novel's rendition has a lame leg and is considered something of an narcisistic fool. He is of course, still a great hulking tiger and actually shows something of a manipulative streak towards the wolves. Mowgli's rather elaborate defeat of Shere Khan would not be considered full of awesome if he wasn't such a dangerous force after all.

** Even more so Kaa, he's much more of a flamboyent bumbler than Khan, but neverless there are few in the jungle immune to those hypnotic eyes. Even in the sequel, where his [[Butt Monkey]] role is upped quite a notch, he was a mere second from devouring Shanti.

* {{spoiler|Lotso}} from [[Toy Story|''Toy Story 3'']]. He is introduced as the friendly leader of the daycare center toys, but then we find out that he welcomes new toys to his daycare center only to send them all to the dreaded Caterpillar Room, where they are all either pulled apart or smashed to pieces by the students there. {{spoiler|At the end of the film, he even almost had the heroes burned alive in a garbage fire!}}

* [[Karma Houdini|The Coachman]] from ''[[Pinocchio (Disney)|Pinocchio]]''. You can tell this by his [[Nightmare Face]] in his introductory scene.

* [[Karma Houdini|The Coachman]] from ''[[Pinocchio (Disney film)|Pinocchio]]''. You can tell this by his [[Nightmare Face]] in his introductory scene.

== Films -- Live Action ==

* ''[[Men in Black (~~Film~~)|Men in Black]]'':

* ''[[Men in Black (film)|Men in Black]]'':

** Subverted then lampshaded. When Jay is being tested and they hit the firing range, {{spoiler|he ignores the military examples shooting all the alien targets and fires one shot. Once asked why Tiffany had to die, Jay completely dismantled the aliens as doing harmless activities and notes the books on advanced physics, books ''way'' too advanced for a kid her age, finishing that she's there to cause some trouble}}. Genre Savvy as that was, Jay still underestimated such issues as birthing aliens and the Noisy Cricket, but the biggest example of Not So Harmless was {{spoiler|the coroner finishing off the [[Big Bad]] Bug}}.

** Also worth noting: "I feel like I'm gonna break this thing." Well, Jay, in Soviet Russia...

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* The Beast in ''[[Kung Fu Hustle]]''. Bald, overweight, and at first dressed in a less than intimidating manner, even [[The Syndicate]] that freed him didn't believe he was really the Beast until he held a gun six inches away from his head, pulled the trigger, and [[Bullet Catch|caught the bullet]]. With [[Establishing Character Moment|two fingers.]] He [[You Kill It, You Bought It|quickly ascended]] to being the [[Big Bad]].

* ''[[The Dark Knight Saga|Batman Begins]]'':

** The Scarecrow gets this treatment. Prior to this movie, he was best known as the go-to incompetent villain on ''[[Batman: The Animated Series ~~(Animation)~~|Batman the Animated Series]]''. In the movie, he's introduced as a skinny and unintimidating psychologist with big pretty eyes. And then he sets Batman on fire.''[[This Is Sparta|He. Set.]] [[The Batman ~~(Animation)~~|BATMAN.]] [[Did You Just Punch Out Cthulhu?|ON. FIRE.]]'' And still gets defeated pretty much instantly.

** The Scarecrow gets this treatment. Prior to this movie, he was best known as the go-to incompetent villain on ''[[Batman: The Animated Series|Batman the Animated Series]]''. In the movie, he's introduced as a skinny and unintimidating psychologist with big pretty eyes. And then he sets Batman on fire.''[[This Is Sparta|He. Set.]] [[The Batman|BATMAN.]] [[Did You Just Punch Out Cthulhu?|ON. FIRE.]]'' And still gets defeated pretty much instantly.

** In ''The Dark Knight'', both Batman and the mob are shown dismissing [[The Joker]] out of hand. The mob considers Batman their more pressing problem, while Batman (somewhat hypocritically) rationalizes that he's just one man, and so can't possibly be more dangerous than the mob. He ends up destroying quite a bit of the city, driving the last nail into the mob's coffin, [[Near Villain Victory|and almost doing the same for Batman]] and [[The Corrupter|drives Harvey Dent to madness.]]

* The [[Killer Rabbit]] from ''[[Monty Python and The Holy Grail]]''.

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** If your first thoughts upon completing the book aren't "''holy crap! {{spoiler|Littlefinger}} is a psycho!''", then you should seriously consider re-reading. I mean, we always knew he was a [[Reliable Traitor|traitorous bastard]], but he had a [[Unlucky Childhood Friend|sympathetic backstory]] and was one of the most [[Affably Evil|genuinely likeable]] characters in the series. But seriously, who knew he would go [[Moral Event Horizon|that far?]]

** {{spoiler|Joffrey}} may count at the end of ''A Game of Thrones''. Presented throughout the book as a spoiled brat, it isn't until {{spoiler|King Robert dies, leaving him in power}} that he starts to show [[Complete Monster|his true colors]].

* The Auditors of Reality of ''[[Discworld]]'' might count. While they are [[Obstructive Bureaucrat]] [[Eldritch Abomination|Eldritch Abominations]], much of the time, they are presented as pretty ridiculous and played for laughs. However, when they get a plan into action to cause [[The End of the World As We Know It]], they don't seem so funny anymore.

* The Auditors of Reality of ''[[Discworld]]'' might count. While they are [[Obstructive Bureaucrat]] [[Eldritch Abomination|Eldritch Abominations]], much of the time, they are presented as pretty ridiculous and played for laughs. However, when they get a plan into action to cause [[The End of the World as We Know It]], they don't seem so funny anymore.

* {{spoiler|Pettigrew/Wormtail}} from ''[[Harry Potter (~~Literature~~)|Harry Potter]]''. All accounts of his past portray him as a simpering incompetent little coward who hid in the shadow of more powerful friends. While this is mostly true, he's far from harmless. {{spoiler|When he's revealed to be the one who really betrayed the Potters it's also shown that he killed about a dozen people with a single spell to cover his escape}}. He also managed to overpower a Ministry official (admittedly a somewhat scatterbrained one) that happened to know information that Voldemort could use. Then he {{spoiler|killed Cedric on Voldemort's orders}}. He may be the least competent of Voldemort's Death Eaters, but he's still a Death Eater to the core. And EVERYONE seems to forget he became an Animagus at 15; sure he had a ton of help, but isn't that a slight hint he might be more powerful than expected?

* {{spoiler|Pettigrew/Wormtail}} from ''[[Harry Potter (novel)|Harry Potter]]''. All accounts of his past portray him as a simpering incompetent little coward who hid in the shadow of more powerful friends. While this is mostly true, he's far from harmless. {{spoiler|When he's revealed to be the one who really betrayed the Potters it's also shown that he killed about a dozen people with a single spell to cover his escape}}. He also managed to overpower a Ministry official (admittedly a somewhat scatterbrained one) that happened to know information that Voldemort could use. Then he {{spoiler|killed Cedric on Voldemort's orders}}. He may be the least competent of Voldemort's Death Eaters, but he's still a Death Eater to the core. And EVERYONE seems to forget he became an Animagus at 15; sure he had a ton of help, but isn't that a slight hint he might be more powerful than expected?

** To be fair, his portrayl is pretty inconsistent. His backstory involves a lot of advanced feats of magic, but we never actually see him do anything particularly impressive in the current timeline. And what happens to him at the end of the series is PARTICULARLY pathetic. I suppose you could handwave it with {{spoiler|his skills deteriorating from living as a mouse for 13 years.}}

* The clown "Magnifico Giganticus" in [[Isaac Asimov]]'s ''[[Foundation]] and Empire'' is a pathetic, misshapen sad sack who is rescued by the main characters and travels with them, until we find out {{spoiler|he is the [[Big Bad]] of the novel, the mutant conqueror known as "The Mule."}}

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== Live Action TV ==

* ''[[~~Buffy the Vampire Slayer (TV)|~~Buffy the Vampire Slayer]]'':

* ''[[Buffy the Vampire Slayer]]'':

** Warren and the other Nerds of Doom. At first, they're kind of silly with their arguments over ''[[~~Star Trek (Franchise)|~~Star Trek]]'' and the best actor to play [[James Bond]], and their kinda weird attempts to challenge Buffy in ways that, really, were nothing compared to five seasons of big bads and various monsters of the week. Warren stops being funny when he tries to rape his ex via mind control and kills her when she tries to escape, and near the end of the season {{spoiler|he shoots Buffy and murders Tara Maclay}}.

** Warren and the other Nerds of Doom. At first, they're kind of silly with their arguments over ''[[Star Trek]]'' and the best actor to play [[James Bond]], and their kinda weird attempts to challenge Buffy in ways that, really, were nothing compared to five seasons of big bads and various monsters of the week. Warren stops being funny when he tries to rape his ex via mind control and kills her when she tries to escape, and near the end of the season {{spoiler|he shoots Buffy and murders Tara Maclay}}.

** The Mayor. At first he seems like a self-serving politician tapping into supernatural powers for personal gain. Then it turns out he commands a small army of vampires and plans to become a pureblood demon. Oh, and he's also invulnerable; not just [[Nigh Invulnerable]], ''invulnerable''.

** When Harmony shows up in Season 5 with her own pack of vampires, the heroes can't take her seriously. Unfortunately, in the midst of taunting her, Dawn invites her into her house, and we are reminded that while Harmony may be incompetent, she is still a vampire. Then in season 8 she kills a Slayer with her own stake on national television ''and'' convinces the public that vampires are the good guys and Slayers are the bad guys, sending the US Military after them.

** The characters, fans, and writers in seasons 4 through 6, kept forgetting that Spike was a soulless demon, and had to be reminded about it every once in a while.

* Mirror Hoshi on ''[[Star Trek Enterprise ~~(TV)~~|Enterprise]]''. At the start of the two-part episode, she is the captain's sex-bunny and background character in all the plotting and conspiring; as it ends she has just {{spoiler|made herself Empress.}}

* Mirror Hoshi on ''[[Star Trek: Enterprise|Enterprise]]''. At the start of the two-part episode, she is the captain's sex-bunny and background character in all the plotting and conspiring; as it ends she has just {{spoiler|made herself Empress.}}

* In ''[[Star Trek Deep Space Nine ~~(TV)~~|Star Trek Deep Space Nine]]'', in "Changing Face of Evil", the Dominion allies with the Breens, a race that can only live in the cold, and was previously known only as pirates and slavers, so the first reaction was "WTF? Next time Dominion makes alliance with cavem...". Then the Breen {{spoiler|attack Earth}} and ''then'' they {{spoiler|whip out the energy draining gun, pwning 300 ships at once and endangering all others}}.

* In ''[[Star Trek: Deep Space Nine|Star Trek Deep Space Nine]]'', in "Changing Face of Evil", the Dominion allies with the Breens, a race that can only live in the cold, and was previously known only as pirates and slavers, so the first reaction was "WTF? Next time Dominion makes alliance with cavem...". Then the Breen {{spoiler|attack Earth}} and ''then'' they {{spoiler|whip out the energy draining gun, pwning 300 ships at once and endangering all others}}.

* Trakeena of ''[[Power Rangers Lost Galaxy]]''. Becoming Not So Harmless was what her whole character is about. At first, she's Big Bad Scorpius' spoiled daughter, and spends most of the time whining or backstabbing the villains who do know what they're doing in order to rise in the ranks. Eventually, she leaves, eventually meets up with an old ally of her dad's, and gets some combat training. The real fun begins when [[The Starscream]], Deviot, arranges Scorpius' death (oh, a lot of backstabbing going on in ''Lost Galaxy'') and succeeds. Trakeena returns to take his place... and the new, badder Trakeena is worse than her dad ever was. She starts out as a competent and more proactive Big Bad, and gets more and more driven (and insane) until finally reaching unimaginable heights of evil. The final arc is something that wouldn't fly in a kids show (or any show short of ''[[~~Twenty Four~~]]'', for that matter) this side of 9/11.

* Trakeena of ''[[Power Rangers Lost Galaxy]]''. Becoming Not So Harmless was what her whole character is about. At first, she's Big Bad Scorpius' spoiled daughter, and spends most of the time whining or backstabbing the villains who do know what they're doing in order to rise in the ranks. Eventually, she leaves, eventually meets up with an old ally of her dad's, and gets some combat training. The real fun begins when [[The Starscream]], Deviot, arranges Scorpius' death (oh, a lot of backstabbing going on in ''Lost Galaxy'') and succeeds. Trakeena returns to take his place... and the new, badder Trakeena is worse than her dad ever was. She starts out as a competent and more proactive Big Bad, and gets more and more driven (and insane) until finally reaching unimaginable heights of evil. The final arc is something that wouldn't fly in a kids show (or any show short of ''[[24]]'', for that matter) this side of 9/11.

* ''[[Doctor Who]]'':

** The Daleks are a meta-example. While the characters rarely reacted with anything but terror, their numerous appearances over the original series' [[Long Runner|twenty-six year run]] heavily diluted any fear to be had from the motorised pepper pots. Thus the new series episode "Dalek" was written with the sole intention of showing a new generation that the Daleks were Not So Harmless, with a single imprisoned, crippled, powerless Dalek killing hundreds of people effortlessly.

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** Since then they may have been defeated several times by the Doctor, but in each case only after they caused massive damage. In their second appearance alone they annihilated the surface of Earth with such prejudice that it ''deformed the continents''.

** In the classic series, there was [[The Master]]'s appearance in ''[[Department of Redundancy Department|The Deadly Assassin]]''. While never exactly ''harmless'', his appearance here (after a lengthy hiatus) portrayed him less of a [[Friendly Enemy]] and more a ruthless [[Omnicidal Maniac]], happy to tear the universe apart to save his own skin.

* The Ferengi on ''[[~~Star Trek (Franchise)|~~Star Trek]]'' are an interesting example, since they were originally created to be a serious threat. When this fizzled, they were retooled into a sort of [[Comic Relief]]... but every so often, an episode will be released that reminds the viewer that the Ferengi are Not So Harmless after all.

* The Ferengi on ''[[Star Trek]]'' are an interesting example, since they were originally created to be a serious threat. When this fizzled, they were retooled into a sort of [[Comic Relief]]... but every so often, an episode will be released that reminds the viewer that the Ferengi are Not So Harmless after all.

* Tom Zarek and Gaeta in the new ''[[Battlestar Galactica]]''. Tom spends most of the series as a placeholder for vice president or opposition, and Gaeta watching the radar. They eventually lead a coup against Adama and Roslin.

* One episode of ''[[Numb3rs]]'' has a pair of polite bank robbers. They walk in, request the money, say thank you, and walk out. They are even polite enough to hold doors open for people. Really harmless robbers with a cutesy nickname, or so people think until Charlie predicted their target and Don and a team tries to arrest them. That is when they demonstrated that not having needed to call for backup is not the same as not having backup or not having needed to use violence is not the same as being unwilling to use violence. Turns out they are ex-special forces working to a deeper plan and perfectly happy to use assault rifles, car bombs, and expertly knife a janitor that gets in the way -- just hadn't needed to before.

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** Niska even tells them that he doesn't really trust his "reputation" to carry much weight. He trusts visuals much more. Hence the demonstration.

* Marlo Stanfield's first appearance in ''[[The Wire]]'' is very unassuming (blink and you'll miss it). Furthermore the Barksdales and everyone else initially dismisses him as just a small time dealer of no consequence. Fast forward a year and many row houses later...

* The Trickster's third appearance in ''[[Supernatural (TV)|Supernatural]]''

* The Trickster's third appearance in ''[[Supernatural (TV series)|Supernatural]]''

* ''[[Stargate SG-1]]'''s Lucian Alliance gained a reputation as being a bumbling band of smugglers whose M.O. roughly came down to spreading evil space corn throughout the galaxy. When they make their reappearance in ''[[~~Stargate Universe (TV)|~~Stargate Universe]]'', they do so replacing the goofball routine with a new "ruthless band of badasses" one.

* ''[[Stargate SG-1]]'''s Lucian Alliance gained a reputation as being a bumbling band of smugglers whose M.O. roughly came down to spreading evil space corn throughout the galaxy. When they make their reappearance in ''[[Stargate Universe]]'', they do so replacing the goofball routine with a new "ruthless band of badasses" one.

** In the ''Universe'' pilot, they actually have several Ha'taks give trouble to the ''General Hammond'', a ''Daedalus''-class battlecruiser upgraded with Asgard technology (including those plasma beams that can slice through Ori shields). The Ha'taks themselves were for a number of seasons considered nothing more than a joke. And why not? The Lucian Alliance are not the Goa'uld, they're human (most of them) and have as much ingenuity as Earth-bound humans.

* Percy, the [[Big Bad]] of ''[[Nikita (TV)|Nikita]]'', started out seemingly ineffectual, always being [[Out-Gambitted]] by Nikita at every turn. However, as the series goes on, he becomes more and more of a [[Complete Monster]], and as the penultimate episode of the first season shows, he is also one hell of a [[Magnificent Bastard]]. Check out his description on that page for details.

* Percy, the [[Big Bad]] of ''[[Nikita (TV series)|Nikita]]'', started out seemingly ineffectual, always being [[Out-Gambitted]] by Nikita at every turn. However, as the series goes on, he becomes more and more of a [[Complete Monster]], and as the penultimate episode of the first season shows, he is also one hell of a [[Magnificent Bastard]]. Check out his description on that page for details.

* [[Smug Snake|Vern]], [[Psycho Loner]] and [[Big Bad Wannabe]] of ''[[Dark Oracle]]'' spent a season-and-a-half being treated as a joke by the main characters, who had far bigger problems to deal with in the form of their [[Evil Twin|Evil Twins]] Blaze and Violet. Then in rapid succession Vern, finds and reads the comic book that shows Blaze and Violet's world, steals an amulet from [[The Mentor|Doyle]] and attempts to kill Doyle, Lance and Cally with it, absorbs some of the amulet's magic so that even after losing it he remains a threat, and frees previous [[Big Bad]] [[Evil Sorcerer|Omen]] from the comic, eventually helping him trap Lance in the comic, and loosing [[The Dragon|Blaze]] in the process. Unfortunately for him, Blaze being on the loose means that Vern is again overshadowed, and ultimately {{spoiler|has to pull a [[Heel Face Turn]] when he realises Blaze is going to turn on him}}.

* Dr. Maki from ''[[Kamen Rider OOO]]'' started out as a creepy [[Mad Scientist]] that was actually rather evil (though he was ''working'' for a good guy). And, while he did make a [[Deal ~~With~~ the Devil]] with the [[Big Bad]] Kazari, he gradually turned into a joke...until {{spoiler|he remembered ''he'' killed his sister and decides it was the right thing to do.}} Not only does he regain all his previous level of evil, ''[[It Got Worse|he]] [[Moral Event Horizon|gets]] [[Complete Monster|worse]]!'' He {{spoiler|goes [[One-Winged Angel]] and becomes the Dinosaur Greeed, unites the Greeed, and tells Kazari [[You Have Outlived Your Usefulness]], [[Eviler Than Thou|killing him by ripping out his intact Core Medals]], leaving him to die a slow and painful death (though he had it coming...). He goes from an absolute joke to the ''[[Big Bad]]!''}}

* Dr. Maki from ''[[Kamen Rider OOO]]'' started out as a creepy [[Mad Scientist]] that was actually rather evil (though he was ''working'' for a good guy). And, while he did make a [[Deal with the Devil]] with the [[Big Bad]] Kazari, he gradually turned into a joke...until {{spoiler|he remembered ''he'' killed his sister and decides it was the right thing to do.}} Not only does he regain all his previous level of evil, ''[[It Got Worse|he]] [[Moral Event Horizon|gets]] [[Complete Monster|worse]]!'' He {{spoiler|goes [[One-Winged Angel]] and becomes the Dinosaur Greeed, unites the Greeed, and tells Kazari [[You Have Outlived Your Usefulness]], [[Eviler Than Thou|killing him by ripping out his intact Core Medals]], leaving him to die a slow and painful death (though he had it coming...). He goes from an absolute joke to the ''[[Big Bad]]!''}}

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* Loki of [[Norse Mythology]]. Most of the tales starring Loki cast him as a harmless trickster. He gets into amusing antics with Thor, cheats Dwarves with a [[Pound of Flesh Twist]], helps the Norse gods swindle a giant by seducing his horse (giving birth to Sleipnir in the process), and cuts off Sif's (Thor's wife) hair as a prank. Oh, and he also fathers three of the most dangerous beings in the mythos; one becomes the ruler of (and namesake) of the underworld, one becomes a sea serpent big enough to encircle the world, and the third becomes the [[Big Badass Wolf|Biggest Badass Wolf]] ever. But Loki only ''really'' gets nasty when he finds out that he's destined to suffer a horrific fate at the hands of the other gods, and decides that he might as well ''earn'' it. He does so by killing Baldur and ensuring that he ''stayed'' dead. Then when Ragnarok arrives, he breaks free of his imprisonment, leads an army of the damned, and kills the bridge guardian of the gods Heimdall (though he dies as well), doing his part to seal the Norse gods' defeat.

* Loki's description could actually describe all trickster gods in mythology. Most of the time they just perform harmless and amusing pranks. Then they commit deeds of mayhem and murder that only they find funny. The worst of them are essentially [[The Joker]] armed with divine powers.

* [[Satan]]. In the Old Testament, he was basically [[Go-Karting ~~With~~ Bowser|God's poker buddy]], and a minor character. In Revelation? He assembles an army and ''triggers the apocalypse'', making Earth even more of a [[Crapsack World]].

* [[Satan]]. In the Old Testament, he was basically [[Go-Karting with Bowser|God's poker buddy]], and a minor character. In Revelation? He assembles an army and ''triggers the apocalypse'', making Earth even more of a [[Crapsack World]].

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** In the ''[[Forgotten Realms]]'', Cyric, while undeniably an evil [[Complete Monster]], was always considered a minor threat at best due to the fact that he's so freaking [[Axe Crazy|insane]] that most of his plans fall through. Then, in 4th edition, he orchestrates the death of Helm, ''personally'' murders Mystra (possibly for [[Killed Off for Real|good]] this time), ''and'' unleashes the devastating Spell Plague, all without breaking a sweat. ''Wow''.

** In the first ''[[Pathfinder]]'' adventure, ''Burnt Offerings'', the players fend off an attack from goblins that act like pyromaniac 5th-graders who injure themselves as often as their opponents. But weeks after the raid, they discover a goblin who ran and hid under a house, where he slowly went mad from hunger and isolation and ''killed and ate a child''. A definite case of [[Mood Whiplash]].

* ''[[~~New World of Darkness (Tabletop Game)|~~New World of Darkness]]'' games:

* ''[[New World of Darkness]]'' games:

** In general: Humans are slow, feeble, ignorant, nearly powerless, and only an actual danger to supernaturals in significant numbers. Until the supernaturals find themselves facing [[Hunter: The Vigil ~~(Tabletop Game)~~|the exceptions]], who are ''very'' capable of fighting the supernaturals on their own turf and winning, by means as diverse as Task Force: VALKYRIE's plasma cannons and bullets that phase into the spirit realm and harm incorporeal entities, to the Malleus Maleficarum's habit of calling down the literal wrath of God, to an insanely brave and fiendishly clever group of everyday men and women who have gotten fed up with the things that go bump in the night and broken out whatever weapons or tools that are handy.

** In general: Humans are slow, feeble, ignorant, nearly powerless, and only an actual danger to supernaturals in significant numbers. Until the supernaturals find themselves facing [[Hunter: The Vigil|the exceptions]], who are ''very'' capable of fighting the supernaturals on their own turf and winning, by means as diverse as Task Force: VALKYRIE's plasma cannons and bullets that phase into the spirit realm and harm incorporeal entities, to the Malleus Maleficarum's habit of calling down the literal wrath of God, to an insanely brave and fiendishly clever group of everyday men and women who have gotten fed up with the things that go bump in the night and broken out whatever weapons or tools that are handy.

** ''[[~~Hunter: The Vigil (Tabletop Game)|~~Hunter: The Vigil]]'' also has an example within its own bounds. The Keepers of the Source are a group of feel-good [[New Age Retro Hippy|New Ager neo-hippie]] types based out of San Francisco. They also believe that mages and other practitioners draw upon the life energy of Gaia in order to power their magic, and really, ''really'', '''''really''''' aren't happy with this arrangement.

** ''[[Hunter: The Vigil]]'' also has an example within its own bounds. The Keepers of the Source are a group of feel-good [[New Age Retro Hippy|New Ager neo-hippie]] types based out of San Francisco. They also believe that mages and other practitioners draw upon the life energy of Gaia in order to power their magic, and really, ''really'', '''''really''''' aren't happy with this arrangement.

* In [[Warhammer 40000]] the Imperial guard are generally portrayed as the Imperium's trillions strong [[Redshirt Army]]. A popular joke in the fandom goes "what do you call a lasgun (the Imperial guard's main weapon) with a laser sight? Double-barreled." Then again, it is possible to have so many in even small games - the saying goes: "One lasgun is a joke. 150 lasguns is not."

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== Video Games ==

* ''[[~~Final Fantasy VI (Video Game)|~~Final Fantasy VI]]'':

* ''[[Final Fantasy VI]]'':

** Speaking of ''[[Final Fantasy]]'', what about the recurring monster Tonberry? Little green guy in a coat, carrying a lantern and a kitchen knife, he should be easy to kill, right? Wrong... it doesn't help that he's creepy as hell too.

** What's more, in the ''[[~~Final Fantasy Tactics (Video Game)|~~Final Fantasy Tactics]]'' series, Tonberries are among the most powerful enemies, capable of doing up to ''999'' damage with ''100%'' accuracy. And for the people who don't know, that is ''all'' of the damage. At least, that can be done in any one attack.

** What's more, in the ''[[Final Fantasy Tactics]]'' series, Tonberries are among the most powerful enemies, capable of doing up to ''999'' damage with ''100%'' accuracy. And for the people who don't know, that is ''all'' of the damage. At least, that can be done in any one attack.

** The Cactuar deserves a spot on this page. The first time you ever see one, it looks and even sounds unbearably cute and harmless. It's just a little walking cactus. In nearly all of the games though, not only do they possess insane evasion and magic defense making it extremely difficult to damage them, they also possess their infamous 1000 Needles [[Fixed Damage Attack]], which ignores all defenses and can kill a character in one hit depending on HP caps. That's not even mentioning the stronger varieties that have the 10,000 needle and 100,000 needle variants. Basically, no matter how powerful your characters are, there's bound to be a cactus that can murder the hell out of them with [[One-Hit Kill|one blow]].

** And then we have to go full circle and bring up Kefka again. More specifically, his [[~~Dissidia Final Fantasy (Video Game)|~~Dissidia Final Fantasy]] incarnation. Due to the way that universe is built up, when a character dies, s/he will simply be resurrected again, though of at expense of the memories of his/her previous life. All through the 13th resurrection circle, Kefka is trying, with the help of [[Final Fantasy III ~~(Video Game)~~|the Cloud of Darkness]], to get Terra Branford to join their side. Again. See, she actually WAS on their side in the 12th circle, but due to Kefka being neglectful she pulled a [[High Heel Face Turn]]... So, why does the Cloud of Darkness not call Kefka out on it being his fault? And why does she act like she had never seen Terra before? Well, because she tipped the heroes off on how to stop the invasion of [[Mook|Manikins]], beings that can nullify the resurrection process, and Kefka did not like that... So he killed her... Let me repeat that, and then you can sit there and let it sink in: The gibbering [[Psychopathic Manchild]], Kefka, pulled a [[You Have Failed Me]] on the [[Anthropomorphic Personification]] [[Humanoid Abomination|of the realm of nothingness]]. <ref> To put that into further perspective; not even the Onion Knight, the Cloud of Darkness' fated nemesis, could kill her in his main storyline.</ref>

** And then we have to go full circle and bring up Kefka again. More specifically, his [[Dissidia Final Fantasy]] incarnation. Due to the way that universe is built up, when a character dies, s/he will simply be resurrected again, though of at expense of the memories of his/her previous life. All through the 13th resurrection circle, Kefka is trying, with the help of [[Final Fantasy III|the Cloud of Darkness]], to get Terra Branford to join their side. Again. See, she actually WAS on their side in the 12th circle, but due to Kefka being neglectful she pulled a [[High Heel Face Turn]]... So, why does the Cloud of Darkness not call Kefka out on it being his fault? And why does she act like she had never seen Terra before? Well, because she tipped the heroes off on how to stop the invasion of [[Mook|Manikins]], beings that can nullify the resurrection process, and Kefka did not like that... So he killed her... Let me repeat that, and then you can sit there and let it sink in: The gibbering [[Psychopathic Manchild]], Kefka, pulled a [[You Have Failed Me]] on the [[Anthropomorphic Personification]] [[Humanoid Abomination|of the realm of nothingness]]. <ref> To put that into further perspective; not even the Onion Knight, the Cloud of Darkness' fated nemesis, could kill her in his main storyline.</ref>

* ''[[Devil May Cry]] 3'' gives us Jester, goofy [[Monster Clown|clown demon]] who shows up randomly to annoy Dante and give him advice on how to proceed. Then you have to fight him as a boss and even that ends up being funny due to Jester's [[Affably Evil|personality]], but during [[The Reveal]] {{spoiler|you find out he's Arkham's Devil Trigger and has been manipulating Dante, Vergil, and Lady in a [[Evil Plan]] to open the portal to the demon world, give him the sealed power of Sparda, and generally bring [[Hell On Earth]]}}.

* ''[[Devil May Cry]] 3'' gives us Jester, goofy [[Monster Clown|clown demon]] who shows up randomly to annoy Dante and give him advice on how to proceed. Then you have to fight him as a boss and even that ends up being funny due to Jester's [[Affably Evil|personality]], but during [[The Reveal]] {{spoiler|you find out he's Arkham's Devil Trigger and has been manipulating Dante, Vergil, and Lady in a [[Evil Plan]] to open the portal to the demon world, give him the sealed power of Sparda, and generally bring [[Hell on Earth]]}}.

* [[Making a Splash|Alex]] of ''[[~~Golden Sun (Video Game)|~~Golden Sun]]'' fame is little more of a [[Smug Snake]] in the first game, whereas his companions always throw themselves into the thick of combat and are more than willing to risk their lives to achieve their dream of restoring Alchemy to the world. Then the sequel rolls around and in the first five minutes he ''[[Curb Stomp Battle|curb stomps]]'' the same elite soldiers that Saturos and Menardi did a game ago before nonchalantly responding to their threat of backup by asking if they thought even ''a hundred'' of their soldiers would be enough to stop him. He then reveals true colours as a [[Magnificent Bastard]], employing tactics such as hiring {{spoiler|replacements for his old companions}} in order to intimidate [[Anti-Hero|Felix]] into lighting the remaining beacons. He then ([[Epileptic Trees|presumably]]) steals [[The Hero|Isaac]]'s ship so he can {{spoiler|be there when the Golden Sun forms over Mt. Aleph after all four Elemental Lighthouse beacons are lit so that [[A God Am I|he can obtain absolute power and]] [[Immortality]].}}

* [[Making a Splash|Alex]] of ''[[Golden Sun]]'' fame is little more of a [[Smug Snake]] in the first game, whereas his companions always throw themselves into the thick of combat and are more than willing to risk their lives to achieve their dream of restoring Alchemy to the world. Then the sequel rolls around and in the first five minutes he ''[[Curb Stomp Battle|curb stomps]]'' the same elite soldiers that Saturos and Menardi did a game ago before nonchalantly responding to their threat of backup by asking if they thought even ''a hundred'' of their soldiers would be enough to stop him. He then reveals true colours as a [[Magnificent Bastard]], employing tactics such as hiring {{spoiler|replacements for his old companions}} in order to intimidate [[Anti-Hero|Felix]] into lighting the remaining beacons. He then ([[Epileptic Trees|presumably]]) steals [[The Hero|Isaac]]'s ship so he can {{spoiler|be there when the Golden Sun forms over Mt. Aleph after all four Elemental Lighthouse beacons are lit so that [[A God Am I|he can obtain absolute power and]] [[Immortality]].}}

* ''[[The King of Fighters]] '97'' has the New Faces Team. At first they appear to be just some punk kids (or whatever kind of band they had) with upbeat attitudes and realistic fighting styles. Supplemental materials suggest that they hate Iori and may have punked the '94 Sports Team, but otherwise they're pretty normal. Then it is revealed that all three of them are villains from the Orochi bloodline, and they display highly powerful elemental abilities in their new forms. And then one of them becomes Orochi himself, and you're suddenly fighting a world-destroying god. A world destroying god who was originally ''Chris'', the Team's [[Cute Shotaro Boy]] and [[Fragile Speedster]].

* Garland, of the original ''[[~~Final Fantasy I (Video Game)|~~Final Fantasy I]]''. Wussy first boss of a knight that you'd probably forget about once you reach the final dungeon, where he turns out to be the [[Big Bad]].

* Garland, of the original ''[[Final Fantasy I]]''. Wussy first boss of a knight that you'd probably forget about once you reach the final dungeon, where he turns out to be the [[Big Bad]].

* ''[[Paper Mario (~~Video Game~~)|Paper Mario]]'':

* ''[[Paper Mario (franchise)|Paper Mario]]'':

** Jr. Troopa is a baby koopa fresh from the nest (with most of his egg's shell still on him) and a comic relief [[Recurring Boss]] who can actually be a real hassle to beat at many stages of the game.

** The Koopa Bros., as well, are treated as complete losers but prove formidable in the actual fight with them. That's teamwork for you.

** Don't forget Bowser in ''Paper Mario''. Although he's extremely dumb (he'll believe Peach if she tells him Mario hates healing items), he possesses the Star Rod which basically makes him a god, and he actually manages to defeat Mario at the start of the game.

* Dimentio in ''[[~~Super Paper Mario (Video Game)|~~Super Paper Mario]]'' seems to be at first a jester-like character, light-hearted and playful. Later, as his [[The Chessmaster|true]] [[Take Over the World|intentions unfold]], his true menace becomes apparent.

* Dimentio in ''[[Super Paper Mario]]'' seems to be at first a jester-like character, light-hearted and playful. Later, as his [[The Chessmaster|true]] [[Take Over the World|intentions unfold]], his true menace becomes apparent.

* Gruntilda from ''[[Banjo-Kazooie]]'' and its sequels tends to come across as [[Harmless Villain|rather goofy with her constant rhyming and her funny lines.]] Even when battling her, she still makes weird, rhyming comments. She also reveals some mean magic skills and a surprisingly good aim. Every battle with Gruntilda is a multi-phase marathon where she will pull out all the stops to defeat you. And, just in case you had any doubts, she kicks off her return in ''Banjo-Tooie'' by destroying the grey Jinjos' house, zombifying the king of the Jinjos, destroying ''Banjo's'' house, and ''killing Bottles''.

* Porky from ''[[~~Earthbound (Video Game)|~~Earthbound]].'' He starts out as Ness's friend, and even after he [[Face Heel Turn|turns]], he's still just a harmless nuisance. By the end of the game, though, he's [[Big Bad]] Giygas's right hand-man. There's a reason his theme song for your final battle against him is called "Porky Means Business!" (although the name is unofficial, the Japanese track is cease to exist, referring to what Porky wants Ness and his friends to do.)And if you believe in alternate character interptation he is the true big bad of the game with giygas as his dragon. {{spoiler|In ''[[~~Mother 3 (Video Game)|~~Mother 3]]'', he's a full-on [[Big Bad]] himself. Who manages to take over the world.}}

* Porky from ''[[Earthbound]].'' He starts out as Ness's friend, and even after he [[Face Heel Turn|turns]], he's still just a harmless nuisance. By the end of the game, though, he's [[Big Bad]] Giygas's right hand-man. There's a reason his theme song for your final battle against him is called "Porky Means Business!" (although the name is unofficial, the Japanese track is cease to exist, referring to what Porky wants Ness and his friends to do.)And if you believe in alternate character interptation he is the true big bad of the game with giygas as his dragon. {{spoiler|In ''[[Mother 3]]'', he's a full-on [[Big Bad]] himself. Who manages to take over the world.}}

* ''[[~~Kingdom Hearts II (Video Game)|~~Kingdom Hearts II]]'':

* ''[[Kingdom Hearts II]]'':

** Demyx. When he's first seen, he acts like a clumsy coward, running away and stumbling everywhere. His in-game profile even calls him a joke. However, when accused of being a truly emotionless being, he ditches the act. Suddenly he's leaping around all over the battlefield and using his sitar to unleash a huge barrel of watery whoopass on Sora and company. Many players were unpleasantly surprised, to say the least.

** Marluxia. "A pink scythe? Flowers? You can't be--oh shit!"

* ''[[~~Dragon Fable (Video Game)|~~Dragon Fable]]'':

* ''[[Dragon Fable]]'':

** Nythera. Starts off as a somewhat bratty and powerless apprentice to Warlic, the greatest mage in the world. She's pretty blatant about wanting Warlic to give her her powers back, and insinuates that she'll take his powers if he doesn't. This is all played for laughs at first. Then she kills Warlic and steals his powers and issues a challenge to all of the Elemental Lords at once, which drives them to attack your town. To add insult to injury, she even thanks you, since she used the potions YOU helped her to make to finish off Warlic. [[Nice Job Breaking It, Hero]].

** Later in the quest line, {{spoiler|when she faces the Elemental Avatars, the player gets the chance to control her. ''Her basic attack'' consists of several hits that do hundreds of damage ''each''. Due to the way the battles work, it's still a [[Hopeless Boss Fight]], but ''damn''}}.

* Deathroy from ''[[Blue Dragon]]''. What appears to be an annoying sidekick turns out to {{spoiler|have been the [[Big Bad]] all along. In fact, he's the [[Big Bad]] that killed all of the Not-Really-The-Big-Bad's people.}}

* Dalton from ''[[~~Chrono Trigger (Video Game)|~~Chrono Trigger]]'' is best known for [[Breaking the Fourth Wall]] when inappropriate music is playing, getting sucked into a portal when the [[Trick Boss]] he tried to summon fails to appear, and generally being an [[Smug Snake|incompetent]] [[Large Ham|ham]]. Then you meet him in a bonus dungeon in the DS version, where he mentions his plan to {{spoiler|build an army in Porre and try to take over Guardia}}. Nothing to worry about, right? According to the backstory of ''[[~~Chrono Cross (Video Game)|~~Chrono Cross]]'', {{spoiler|Porre's rebellion succeeds, and Crono himself dies [[Killed Off for Real|for good]] in the battle.}} The debate over {{spoiler|whether Crono and Marle live or die}} rages among the fans, and the game gives enough evidence for either.

* Dalton from ''[[Chrono Trigger]]'' is best known for [[Breaking the Fourth Wall]] when inappropriate music is playing, getting sucked into a portal when the [[Trick Boss]] he tried to summon fails to appear, and generally being an [[Smug Snake|incompetent]] [[Large Ham|ham]]. Then you meet him in a bonus dungeon in the DS version, where he mentions his plan to {{spoiler|build an army in Porre and try to take over Guardia}}. Nothing to worry about, right? According to the backstory of ''[[Chrono Cross]]'', {{spoiler|Porre's rebellion succeeds, and Crono himself dies [[Killed Off for Real|for good]] in the battle.}} The debate over {{spoiler|whether Crono and Marle live or die}} rages among the fans, and the game gives enough evidence for either.

* ''[[Halo]]'':

** Guilty Spark. Sure, he originally seemed like [[The Scrappy|annoying sidekick]] (basically C-3PO's floating head), until you realize ''he was leading you into destroying all life in the galaxy''. When Master Chief and takes Cortana and refuses to activate Halo, Spark's tells the Setinels "Save his head... dispose of the rest.". His sociopathy almost makes up for him being annoying as hell... almost.

** And at the end of ''[[Halo 3]]'', after seeing him do little more than float, blabber on, and occasionally send Setinels to kill MC, he kills Johnson and actually kicks Master Chief and Arbiter's asses in a case of [[Cutscene Power to ~~The~~ Max]]. Sure, he becomes an [[Anticlimax Boss]] as soon as you realize Johnson's [[BFG|Spartan Laser's]], the right tool to finally end his whining, but until then, he was putting down some serious hurt.

** And at the end of ''[[Halo 3]]'', after seeing him do little more than float, blabber on, and occasionally send Setinels to kill MC, he kills Johnson and actually kicks Master Chief and Arbiter's asses in a case of [[Cutscene Power to the Max]]. Sure, he becomes an [[Anticlimax Boss]] as soon as you realize Johnson's [[BFG|Spartan Laser's]], the right tool to finally end his whining, but until then, he was putting down some serious hurt.

* The [[Ensemble Darkhorse]] of ''[[Mario and Luigi Superstar Saga ~~(Video Game)~~|Mario & Luigi: Superstar Saga]]'', Fawful, poses very little threat when he fights the heroes at the end of the game, and even refers to himself as "Fawful, who is just a toady!" Then, after spending the next game in the series plotting his revenge in the sewers beneath Peach's castle, he returns as the [[Big Bad]] of ''[[Mario and Luigi Bowsers Inside Story ~~(Video Game)~~|Mario & Luigi: Bowser's Inside Story]].''

* The [[Ensemble Darkhorse]] of ''[[Mario and Luigi Superstar Saga|Mario & Luigi: Superstar Saga]]'', Fawful, poses very little threat when he fights the heroes at the end of the game, and even refers to himself as "Fawful, who is just a toady!" Then, after spending the next game in the series plotting his revenge in the sewers beneath Peach's castle, he returns as the [[Big Bad]] of ''[[Mario and Luigi Bowsers Inside Story|Mario & Luigi: Bowser's Inside Story]].''

* At the beginning of [[Gaia Online]] MMO ''zOMG!'', we are introduced to [http://s.cdn.gaiaonline.com/images/publishing/manga/984135245/79fbabdba68a795400a895424d9f3aaf.jpg Frank.] Who's a cute little nerdy boy? You's a cute little nerdy boy, oh yes you are! {{spoiler|He's the second-in-command of a group of [[Mad Scientist|mad scientists]] who are ''destroying the world'' [[For Science!]].}}

** Likewise, the [[Killer Rabbit|Fluff enemies]]. You get used to crushing these guys with minimal effort in the first two areas... and then the Zen Gardens introduces suicidal Cherry Fluffs that gang up on you and then ''explode'' [[For Massive Damage]]. Later areas include Fluffs that sink you in quicksand as well.

* Rider in ''[[Fate ~~Stay Night~~]]'' spent the first route having even Shirou calling her weak and in the second route she got killed offscreen by a normal, non magus human. Fierce. But then she shows up in HF and ''starts turning people into stone by looking at them.'' (Surprise! She's Medusa!) Oh and then she makes a [[Heel Face Turn]] (sort of...) so this overlaps with [[Let's Get Dangerous]].

* Rider in ''[[Fate/stay night]]'' spent the first route having even Shirou calling her weak and in the second route she got killed offscreen by a normal, non magus human. Fierce. But then she shows up in HF and ''starts turning people into stone by looking at them.'' (Surprise! She's Medusa!) Oh and then she makes a [[Heel Face Turn]] (sort of...) so this overlaps with [[Let's Get Dangerous]].

** Furthermore, her physical capabilities were significantly impaired in the first two routes {{spoiler|due to temporarily being in the service of Shinji, who has no magic power of his own and can't reinforce her with mana. When her true master, Sakura, takes her back, her skills SKYROCKET.}}

* ''[[Punch Out]]'':

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* Combine Advisors from ''[[Half-Life]]''. Oh look, it's a giant maggot thing on life support and is barely capable of moving on its own. Sure, it's a member of the ruling caste of a vast interdimensional empire, but it can't possibly -- is that thing levitating? HOLY SHIT, DID THAT THING JUST LIFT ME UP WITH PSYCHIC POWERS?! OH SHIT, IT'S GONNA SUCK MY BRAINS OUT AND EAT THEM!!!!

* ''[[Ghostbusters the Video Game]]'' subverts this. [[Obstructive Bureaucrat]] Walter Peck is back... {{spoiler|but hints start getting dropped partway through that he's actually the [[Big Bad]], and his obnoxious bumbling obstruction is a cover for his nefarious motives. In the end, it turns out he ''is'' just an obnoxious Obstructive Bureaucrat, and the real [[Big Bad]] is the ghost of Ivo Shandor -- and Peck's not even the one who was possessed by him, it was the mayor.}}

* ''[[~~Xenogears (Video Game)|~~Xenogears]]'':

* ''[[Xenogears]]'':

** Miang is introduced as the unassuming girlfriend of the [[White-Haired Pretty Boy]] Ramsus. Much later, it is revealed that {{spoiler|she is the [[Big Bad]], the human form of the creator "god," and has existed for 10000 years via [[Body Surf|body surfing]]. It also doesn't hurt that the battle against her gear is one of the hardest in the game.}}

** From the same game: Krelian. He's presented as an antagonist from the beginning, so he's never exactly "harmless," but at first he seems pretty insignificant compared to Grahf, the Gazel Ministry, and Id. {{spoiler|Turns out he's a [[Chessmaster]] [[Magnificent Bastard]] who's been manipulating everyone of consequence for the last five centuries. In the end HE WINS.}}

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* Near the end of ''[[Dragon Age]]'' while storming the fortress the Archdemon is you see massive dogpiles of Darkspawn all over {{spoiler|Sandal killed them all, Enchantment!}}

** He does the same thing in ''Dragon Age II''.

* In ''[[Dark Cloud ~~(Video Game)~~|Dark Chronicle]]'', {{spoiler|Emperor Griffen}} has a... rather underwhelming true form... one that will kick your ass if you're not careful.

* In ''[[Dark Cloud|Dark Chronicle]]'', {{spoiler|Emperor Griffen}} has a... rather underwhelming true form... one that will kick your ass if you're not careful.

* ''[[~~Mega Man X (Video Game)|~~Mega Man X]] 4'':

* ''[[Mega Man X]] 4'':

** [[Meaningful Name|Double]], a [[The Hunter|rookie Hunter]] that was assigned to be the title character's [[Mission Control]]. Obese, clumsy, incompetent, and not-too-bright, so what's so meaningful about his name? {{spoiler|He's [[Big Bad|Sigma's]] [[The Mole|mole]], assigned to throw X off Sigma's tracks, [[Ax Crazy]], and is capable of annihilating a dozen Hunters on his own.}}

** X himself gets this in ''Maverick Hunter X.'' Sigma is the most powerful Reploid in service, Vile is as deadly as he is reckless, and his unit is the best the Hunters had before they rebelled. X is scoffed at for being a low-rank [[Technical Pacifist]]. Then the "weak little B-Class Hunter" blows through Sigma's lieutenants, fortress guardians, and even his dog before his showdown with Sigma. Oh, and his creator? Dr. Light, the guy who created the original ''[[Mega Man (~~Video~~ ~~Game~~)|Mega Man]],'' himself an example of Not So Harmless.

** X himself gets this in ''Maverick Hunter X.'' Sigma is the most powerful Reploid in service, Vile is as deadly as he is reckless, and his unit is the best the Hunters had before they rebelled. X is scoffed at for being a low-rank [[Technical Pacifist]]. Then the "weak little B-Class Hunter" blows through Sigma's lieutenants, fortress guardians, and even his dog before his showdown with Sigma. Oh, and his creator? Dr. Light, the guy who created the original ''[[Mega Man (video game)|Mega Man]],'' himself an example of Not So Harmless.

* ''[[Batman Arkham Asylum]]'':

* ''[[Batman: Arkham Asylum]]'':

** It gives this treatment to ''The Riddler'', of all villains. Although you never encounter him directly, he manages to be a legitimately scary villain once you think about how some of the riddles were set up, especially the ones involving dead bodies. There is no way he could have predicted when and where those people would be killed by Joker's thugs, so the only explanation is that he murdered them and posed them there himself. He also gives a rather disturbing answer to the classic riddle: "What walks on four legs, then two legs, then three?" Dr. Young says it's a human being (crawls as an infant, walks on two legs as an adult, uses a cane in old age), but the actual answer is {{spoiler|a baby with its legs cut off who has been given a crutch.}} It's clear why he belongs at Arkham.

** Scarecrow also manages to be threatening due to the level of [[Mind Screw]] he pulls on Batman (and ''the player''). The encounters with him are some of the most memorable in the entire game.

* ''[[Batman Arkham City]]'' gives Calendar Man a treatment similar to that of ''[[The Long Halloween]]'': He never leaves his cell but if you visit him in certain holidays (or mess with the system clock) he will tell you a story about a gruesome crime he committed that day (including {{spoiler|horribly murdering [[Self-Made Orphan|his parents]] in Mother and Father's Day}}). If you get all 12 of his stories and visit him again {{spoiler|he's gone, with a Two-Face thug hanging from the ceiling.}}

* ''[[Batman: Arkham City]]'' gives Calendar Man a treatment similar to that of ''[[The Long Halloween]]'': He never leaves his cell but if you visit him in certain holidays (or mess with the system clock) he will tell you a story about a gruesome crime he committed that day (including {{spoiler|horribly murdering [[Self-Made Orphan|his parents]] in Mother and Father's Day}}). If you get all 12 of his stories and visit him again {{spoiler|he's gone, with a Two-Face thug hanging from the ceiling.}}

* Speaking of, Dr. Wily falls under this. In ''[[~~Mega Man and Bass (Video Game)|~~Mega Man and Bass]]'', one of his creations, King, ''chopped Proto Man in half''. In ''[[~~Mega Man 9 (Video Game)|~~Mega Man 9]]'', he managed to con the world into thinking Dr. Light was after world domination, getting the good doctor arrested. And in ''[[~~Mega Man 10 (Video Game)|~~Mega Man 10]]'', {{spoiler|if not for Roll, he would've won}}. And this is just in the Classic series. In the ''X'' series, he is responsible for [[The Virus]] that causes much of the conflict. Plus, it's hinted that [[Back From the Dead|he may still be alive]]...

* Speaking of, Dr. Wily falls under this. In ''[[Mega Man and Bass]]'', one of his creations, King, ''chopped Proto Man in half''. In ''[[Mega Man 9]]'', he managed to con the world into thinking Dr. Light was after world domination, getting the good doctor arrested. And in ''[[Mega Man 10]]'', {{spoiler|if not for Roll, he would've won}}. And this is just in the Classic series. In the ''X'' series, he is responsible for [[The Virus]] that causes much of the conflict. Plus, it's hinted that [[Back From the Dead|he may still be alive]]...

* ''[[Touhou]] Seirensen ~ Undefined Fantastic Object'':

** Nazrin. She's a pathetic Stage 1 mid-boss and boss, with easy to dodge horizontal patterns, and she shows up later as the Stage 5 mid-boss and absolutely murders you with curvy and splitting lasers.

** In the same game, Kogasa Tatara: She shows up as a Stage 2 mid-boss and boss, and proclaims that her main goal is to scare and/or surprise people. Her patterns were also fairly easy to dodge, and people made fun of her when the demo was released; she returns in the full version as the Extra Stage midboss, and with difficult spellcards that make it hard for many to reach the relatively easy (compared to, say, Yukari Yakumo of ''Perfect Cherry Blossom'') Extra Boss with decent resources. Surprise!

** Cirno seems to be on her way to this trope. Originally she was just a Stage 2 boss, and later a far from notable minor playable character amongst other minor playable characters. Then she got her own story route in ''Hisoutensoku'', pitting her against a [[Physical God]] and a [[Person of Mass Destruction]]. ''Then'' she got her own game in which she manages to put up a decent fight against '''Marisa''', one of the most feared beings in Gensoukyou. [[Ted Baxter|The strongest fairy]] is still not a severe threat compared to others, but she has accomplished much.

* Dino Piranha, the first boss of ''[[~~Super Mario Galaxy (Video Game)|~~Super Mario Galaxy]]'', is definitely one of the easiest bosses in the game, but when you run into him in the second-to-last level before fighting [[Big Bad|Bowser,]] he's now [[Incendiary Exponent|on fire]] and therefore much difficult to kill.

* Dino Piranha, the first boss of ''[[Super Mario Galaxy]]'', is definitely one of the easiest bosses in the game, but when you run into him in the second-to-last level before fighting [[Big Bad|Bowser,]] he's now [[Incendiary Exponent|on fire]] and therefore much difficult to kill.

* ''[[Twilight Princess]]'' gives us Midna, a cute three foot tall [[The Imp|imp]], what can she do? Well, [[Power Floats|float around]], pass through solid objects, break chains, change shape, project a paralyzing dark energy field, teleport people and objects over large distances, and levitate objects weighing several metric tons. And that's before she gets the [[Plot Coupon|Fused Shadows]]. After that she can slay a major villain with one blow, turn into a tentacled, spear-wielding [[Eldritch Abomination]], and toss the [[Final Boss]] around the room with her [[Prehensile Hair]]. Just be thankful that in her case [[Dark Is Not Evil]] and she is on your side, if grudgingly at first.

* [[The Dishwasher]] has the Invalid, a wheelchair bound hospital patient with most of his head wrapped in bandages. However, his [[Boss Subtitles]] call him the Vegative Neuromancer, and most people know [[Mind Screw|what neuromancers do.]]

* Joshua in ''[[~~The World Ends With You (Video Game)|~~The World Ends With You]]'' is incredibly hard to fight with, until you get him floating, then he can shoot very powerful [[Jesus Beams]] {{spoiler|not to mention he's actually [[The Chessmaster]] for the entire game}}

* Joshua in ''[[The World Ends With You]]'' is incredibly hard to fight with, until you get him floating, then he can shoot very powerful [[Jesus Beams]] {{spoiler|not to mention he's actually [[The Chessmaster]] for the entire game}}

* Shrowdy von Kiefer, villain of ''[[A Vampyre Story]]'', is basically black magic incarnate. This means he has every negative trait you can think of--[[Psychopathic Manchild|childishness, selfishness, a complete lack of dignity]], [[Oedipus Complex|an obsession with his mother]], [[Torture Technician|a fondness for torture]], [[If I Can't Have You|the capacity to coldly kill someone he claims to be in love with]] . . .

* ''[[Chocobos Dungeon]] 2'' has several examples. One is that enemies can actually kill each other to level up and become much stronger. Another is the cute vampire mage kid who dies in one hit from most attacks but can cast a spell that takes you down a whole level. The biggest example, though, is when {{spoiler|the weakest enemy in the game gets access to a wish-granting crystal and wishes to become powerful enough to be the bully instead of the bullied, thus becoming the [[Big Bad]]}}.

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* Dr "Eggman" Robotnik has started playing into this manner in the recent ''[[Sonic the Hedgehog]]'' games. He's even more clownish and bumbling as ever, however his plans are more stable, and manage to take Sonic by surprise a few times. Even his ''super form'' recently got neutralized by one of the doctor's machines after taking him too lightly.

* In ''[[World of Warcraft]]'', Deathwing's attack on Stormwind was probably ''intended'' to be this -A way to showcase him as a major threat who could do serious damage to the Alliance and the Horde after the previous expansion's antagonist, the Lich King, was called a Saturday morning cartoon villain by the fanbase one to many times. [[Your Mileage May Vary]] on how well it actually worked, though, since the attack happens almost entirely offscreen, is barely mentioned after the fact, didn't kill anyone important, and has never been given any (canon) reasoning as to why he chose Stormwind and only took out the park when he apparently could have leveled the entire city.

* ''[[~~Suikoden V (Video Game)|~~Suikoden V]]'''s Lord Barrows is an over the top [[Smug Snake]] and [[Fat Idiot]]. Initially, the only threat he seems to pose is that allying with him makes other potential allies reluctant to join you. It later turns out that he's far more devious than he lets on. {{spoiler|He masterminded the uprising at Lordlake as part of a power grab, which means that a large part of the game's conflict is his fault. Finally, he comes close to forcing the Prince to ally with a foreign army as part of a plan to betray Falena to that army's country.}}

* ''[[Suikoden V]]'''s Lord Barrows is an over the top [[Smug Snake]] and [[Fat Idiot]]. Initially, the only threat he seems to pose is that allying with him makes other potential allies reluctant to join you. It later turns out that he's far more devious than he lets on. {{spoiler|He masterminded the uprising at Lordlake as part of a power grab, which means that a large part of the game's conflict is his fault. Finally, he comes close to forcing the Prince to ally with a foreign army as part of a plan to betray Falena to that army's country.}}

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* ''[[Order of the Stick]]'':

** The lich sorcerer Xykon is an extreme example. His humorous dialogue and status as a [[Card-Carrying Villain]] along with the fact that he rarely fights directly (in anything but an instant win) lead many people to believe he was much less serious or at least genuinely malevolent than he really is. Then he's pushed into exerting himself... As Redcloak puts it: "I know he seems funny and charming, but believe me, when you see for yourself the depths to which he'll sink, you will never sleep well again."

** Qarr the imp is a definite case of playing with a trope. The first we saw of Qarr was an ominous red and black speech bubble speaking from just off panel during a [[Cliff Hanger]]. Fans went into a flurry of speculation about this mysterious new being, but nobody expected it to be [[The Imp|a tiny imp]] with virtually no power of its own and who wasn't even all that bright. However, Qarr's attempts to convince Vaarsuvius into a [[Deal ~~With~~ the Devil]] drew the attention of the IFCC, a trio of powerful evil beings bent on creating enough chaos, confusion and disorder so that they can move ahead with their own attempt to seize [[Eldritch Abomination|The Snarl's]] Gate. Qarr is now working with them, and as a result after starting out as something of an inversion, Qarr is now much more dangerous than he ever was in his previous position.

** Qarr the imp is a definite case of playing with a trope. The first we saw of Qarr was an ominous red and black speech bubble speaking from just off panel during a [[Cliff Hanger]]. Fans went into a flurry of speculation about this mysterious new being, but nobody expected it to be [[The Imp|a tiny imp]] with virtually no power of its own and who wasn't even all that bright. However, Qarr's attempts to convince Vaarsuvius into a [[Deal with the Devil]] drew the attention of the IFCC, a trio of powerful evil beings bent on creating enough chaos, confusion and disorder so that they can move ahead with their own attempt to seize [[Eldritch Abomination|The Snarl's]] Gate. Qarr is now working with them, and as a result after starting out as something of an inversion, Qarr is now much more dangerous than he ever was in his previous position.

** And then there's the Monster In The Darkness, an unknown medium-sized creature who behaves like a young child, yet is practically invulnerable to all attacks. He once accidentally knocked a paladin through a stone wall, out of a tower, and several miles away in a game of "Who Can Hit the Lightest". He can also basically create an earthquake by stomping. {{spoiler|And he teleported Vaarsivus and O-chul a couple kingdoms away, without the knowledge of anybody in the room (namely, The Monster itself and the aforementioned Xykon), ''just by saying "escape"''.}}

** General Tarquin {{spoiler|Elan's father}} initially comes across as an [[Affably Evil]] [[Noble Demon]] type of villain. While he can be funny and charming, not unlike Xykon, he is ''not'' someone you want to piss off.

* The [[Walkyverse]] is full of these:

** Including the nigh-omnipotent but unfortunately-textured [[Knight of Cerebus]] we refer to as The Cheese and the surprisingly cunning Monkey Master, a robot ape whose cannons shoot actual monkeys. The grand tamale of them all, however, has to be the Head Alien, a tiny purple guy with a flair for the over-dramatic whose preferred method of torture involves ''[[The Sound of Music]]''. And then you find out it's his [[Evil Plan]] that's driving the entire strip, and that he's a lot more competent than he seems at first. Remember all those [[Brainwashed and Crazy]] friends you had to kill? Yeah, he set that up years in advance.

** And then there's Galasso, and ''especially'' Faz in ''[[~~Shortpacked (Webcomic)|~~Shortpacked]]!'', and possibly the Head Alien ''again''.

** And then there's Galasso, and ''especially'' Faz in ''[[Shortpacked]]!'', and possibly the Head Alien ''again''.

* ''[[Sluggy Freelance]]'':

** For most, Dr. Schlock was more or less a good guy, though he would sometimes betray the good guys on account of being a coward. It never mattered much, though, since his one skill (creating inflatable technology) can be neutralized quite easily (by anything with a sharp edge). Then he actually manages a hostile takeover of Hereti Corp, one of the series' main [[Big Bad|Big Bads]], orders the assassination of several FBI agents to cover his tracks, and states, "If we're going to 'take over the world' we're going to do it ''right''."

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* ''[[Dead of Summer]]'':

** Alan Stone falls under this. While not physically imposing {{spoiler|at first}}, he beats the tar out of a sympathetic character, and is revealed to have [[Sinister Surveillance]] almost everywhere, which lets him know a great deal of secrets. A crossing of the [[Moral Event Horizon]] later and it's hard to remember that he seemed wimpy at first.

** {{spoiler|[[The Protomen ~~(Music)~~|Doug Fetterman]]}} and his lackeys fall under this too. His two henchmen don't even get names, all three are portrayed as [[Large Ham|Large Hams]], and you figure they're no match for the good guys... {{spoiler|Then they assault Commander with a swarm of insects, fry KILROY'S brain and reformat him into a time bomb, and reveal that Panther is apparently [[Heel Face Turn|working for them]]. As Panther kills Dr. Light, [[Eye Scream|ripping out his eyes]]. And then you realize the extent of Fetterman's [[Plan]]}}.

** {{spoiler|[[The Protomen|Doug Fetterman]]}} and his lackeys fall under this too. His two henchmen don't even get names, all three are portrayed as [[Large Ham|Large Hams]], and you figure they're no match for the good guys... {{spoiler|Then they assault Commander with a swarm of insects, fry KILROY'S brain and reformat him into a time bomb, and reveal that Panther is apparently [[Heel Face Turn|working for them]]. As Panther kills Dr. Light, [[Eye Scream|ripping out his eyes]]. And then you realize the extent of Fetterman's [[Plan]]}}.

* ''[[Something Positive]]'': {{spoiler|That Crazy Blue Thing. Second comic on [http://www.somethingpositive.net/sp01192010.shtml this page.]}}

* ''[[Girl Genius]]'':

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** Not to mention the time she was attacked by the [[Ultra Violent]] Bloodwolf. She used railway spikes to nail him to a tree, and used silver to burn "I attack little girls" into his chest.

** Hekate also gets credit, along with Don Sebastaino. {{spoiler|Hekate came perilously close to making Fey into her mind-slave, and actually killed Jade, who got better. Both she and Don were revealed to be rapists, and at a much higher level of villainy. While both ended up defeated, Hekate is now working for a A- List Supervillain, the Necromancer. He's not a proper A List or A+ List only by comparison to other Supervillains who kill a whole lot more people.}}

* /tg/'s Drew the Lich, an incompetent, [[Card-Carrying Villain~~|card-carrying villain~~]] [[Minion ~~With~~ an F In Evil|who can't even get the "villain" part right]] (his phylactery is a Skeletor figurine). Never forget about the ''lich'' part, or [http://suptg.thisisnotatrueending.com/archive/3144112/ this may happen]. [http://suptg.thisisnotatrueending.com/archive/4750158/ And don't let him plot against you] [[Trying to Catch Me Fighting Dirty|"Whoever said I would act Lawfully?"]] after all!

* /tg/'s Drew the Lich, an incompetent, [[Card-Carrying Villain]] [[Minion with an F In Evil|who can't even get the "villain" part right]] (his phylactery is a Skeletor figurine). Never forget about the ''lich'' part, or [http://suptg.thisisnotatrueending.com/archive/3144112/ this may happen]. [http://suptg.thisisnotatrueending.com/archive/4750158/ And don't let him plot against you] [[Trying to Catch Me Fighting Dirty|"Whoever said I would act Lawfully?"]] after all!

* In the [[Machinima]] ''[[Deus Ex Machina]]'', {{spoiler|Patrick}} is obviously going to be a villain from the moment you see him, but from his nerdy voice and attitude, he doesn't seem very threatening. {{spoiler|Then he gets mindraped by the covenant and dons his supersuit before weakening the earth's defenses to the point that the covenant can easily break through and kill us all WHILE killing off Michael, John's only friend, and making every single attempt to save the world meaningless before throwing him into a pit with two berserkers.}} Even PLAGUE didn't cross the horizon this much.

* ''[[Survival of the Fittest]]'' has Jimmy Brennan, who started out as a [[Miles Gloriosus]] type who ran around the forest screaming and [[Bring My Brown Pants|pissing his pants]] in the first thread he appeared in, and bragging about being a [[Badass]] in the next. For the most part, his antics are fun in a [[Crosses the Line Twice]] sort of way, up until he {{spoiler|beats resident [[Jerk Jock]] Philip Ward to death with a branch}}.

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* [[Coyle Command|Dr. Vorn]] really doesn't look like much of a [[Mad Scientist]] when he first arrives, yelping and jumping at least three times in his meeting with Coyle Commander. And yet, his creation successfully infiltrates their [[New Villain Order|rivals]], takes over their head quarters and prepares to bring their plans to [[Take Over the World]] to life! ...And when that doesn't quite work, the Commander kills Vorn and hires his creation instead.

* The [[Big Bad]] mastermind of ''[[Gaia Online]]''s deicide storyline? {{spoiler|Don Kuro, the [[Really Seven Hundred Years Old|perpetually]] [[Cute Shotaro Boy|five-years-old]] dark elf mob boss, about whom all we'd known previously was that he [[One of Us|likes going to anime conventions]] ([[No Fourth Wall|Gaia conventions, even]]), has an [[Cool Big Sis|awesome big sister]], is a huge [[Momma's Boy]], and owes Devin favors ([[Ship Sinking|not that kind]]).}}

* [[~~The Nostalgia Critic (Web Video)|~~The Nostalgia Critic]] is a pathetic, miserable, useless waste of space... but he rigged ''[[Kickassia]]'' with dynamite just in case anyone wanted to take his finally-gained power away.

* [[The Nostalgia Critic]] is a pathetic, miserable, useless waste of space... but he rigged ''[[Kickassia]]'' with dynamite just in case anyone wanted to take his finally-gained power away.

== Western Animation ==

* Xin Fu and Master Yu from ''[[Avatar: The Last Airbender]]'', the two goons hired to bring Toph back for her parents, seem harmless and not very intelligent at first, but are shown to be relatively competent earthbenders if given their chance to shine, and did in fact even manage to briefly capture their quarry at one point... {{spoiler|until she learns Metalbending just in the nick of time to kick their asses ''[[Crowning Moment of Awesome|all by herself.]]''}}

* Cobra Commander may seem like a complete idiot, but remember that he is a notorious international terrorist with an army at his side. If not for the [[Big Damn Heroes|GI Joe team]], he likely would have won in the first episode. This is [[Lampshade Hanging|lampshaded]] in the [[Darker and Edgier]] ''[[G.I. Joe Resolute]]'' in which he explains that he only acted stupidly and cowardly so that his troops will know how not to behave.

* Cobra Commander may seem like a complete idiot, but remember that he is a notorious international terrorist with an army at his side. If not for the [[Big Damn Heroes|GI Joe team]], he likely would have won in the first episode. This is [[Lampshade Hanging|lampshaded]] in the [[Darker and Edgier]] ''[[G.I. Joe: Resolute]]'' in which he explains that he only acted stupidly and cowardly so that his troops will know how not to behave.

* ''[[The Venture Brothers]]'':

** The Monarch

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** ''[[The Venture Brothers]]'' in general applies this to all villains. The justification is that the villains we see are sanctioned by the Guild of Calamitous Intent, which places strict regulations on arching. OSI, the world police force, tolerates the Guild simply because they have restrictions for their members and the alternative is letting a bunch of pissed-off madmen with exotic weapons, powers, and costumes run around aimlessly.

* ''[[Justice League]]'':

** John Dee/Dr. Destiny went from sadsack prison inmate to dream-invading psychopath very quickly, though the clear impression is given that he was always that person. After he escaped from prison, Green Lantern wasn't at all concerned because Dee was "a nobody". [[Genre Savvy|Batman]] then reminds him [[~~The~~ Odyssey ~~(Literature)~~|the Cyclops considered Ulysses "a nobody" and lost its eye.]]

** John Dee/Dr. Destiny went from sadsack prison inmate to dream-invading psychopath very quickly, though the clear impression is given that he was always that person. After he escaped from prison, Green Lantern wasn't at all concerned because Dee was "a nobody". [[Genre Savvy|Batman]] then reminds him [[Odyssey|the Cyclops considered Ulysses "a nobody" and lost its eye.]]

** The second version of Dee was probably inspired by his really, really creepy, almost squicky depiction in the first run of [[Neil Gaiman]]'s ''[[The Sandman]]''. He also shows elements in this incarnation, where he starts out an atrophied, behind the times insomniac whose carjacking attempt only succeeded because the victim was being nice. Then he killed the driver (after patiently listening to her life story), recovered his [[Artifact of Doom]], and drove the entire world mad.

* While [[Darkwing Duck]]'s no-nonsense, death-penalty toting [[Knight Templar]] future self of [[Future Me Scares Me|Darkwarrior Duck]] will ''never'' be mistaken for harmless, there is a brief point where this is invoked. In a scene cut from the broadcast version, Gosalyn [[I Know You Are in There Somewhere Fight|attempts to appeal to Darkwarrior]] when he pulls his signature, and decidedly non-lethal, gas gun on her. She calls his bluff, when he reveals that he hasn't used a gas gun in years, and that the weapon he's aiming ''point-blank, at her face'' is a freaking '''missile launcher'''.

* Stan, Xander Crews' aging, overweight, and constantly exasperated assistant on ''[[Frisky Dingo]]''. After Xander went missing, he had him declared dead (calmly explaining such when Crews called him before hanging up and [[Who's Laughing Now?|laughing]]), took over the Crews corporation and, with it, the Crews fortune and Xander's identity as the superhero Awesome X, and his command over the [[Powered Armor]] wearing X-Tacles.

* Zet from ''[[Magi Nation]]''. Seeming at first to be a [[Harmless Villain]] as one of a [[Terrible Trio]]-style set of [[Those Two Bad Guys]] (and the eternal [[Butt Monkey]] of his [[Dumb Muscle]] superior Korg), Zet turned out to be not only a peerless mastermind once he was finally rid of Korg, but is universally considered the hardest boss in the game, having more health than the final boss himself and the ability to act twice in one turn.

* ''[[~~Sonic Sat AM (Animation)|~~Sonic Sat AM]]'':

* ''[[Sonic Sat AM]]'':

** Ixis Naugus was on his way to becoming this (along with Snively), but [[Cancellation]] and the [[Power Rangers]] [[Screwed By the Network|got in the way]]. He had only appeared in one episode, and was such a dark horse that viewers had initially speculated that his glowing red eyes at the end of the last episode were Knuckles'.

** Ixis Naugus was on his way to becoming this (along with Snively), but [[Cancellation]] and the [[Power Rangers]] [[Screwed by the Network|got in the way]]. He had only appeared in one episode, and was such a dark horse that viewers had initially speculated that his glowing red eyes at the end of the last episode were Knuckles'.

** Well, considering he had [[Big Bad|ROBOTNIK]] scared shitless of him, we kinda knew right from the start that he was nowhere near harmless.

** Also, the writers stated that if the series continued, Ixis Nagus would have replaced Robotnik as the [[Big Bad]].

** The Archie comic version of Sonic the Hedgehog shows just about why Naugus scared the living shits of Robotnik. He's one mean SOB you simply don't want to mess with.

** The show's third season plans would also have played with this for Snively, Robotnik's downtrodden lackey, who would take over briefly as [[Big Bad]]. Though supposedly leaving his mark for a brief while, the Freedom Fighters would eventually begin to overpower him, pressuring him to release Naugus who would begin his aforementioned domination. It should be noted even in what of the series was made, Snively showed odd occasions of competence and even came ''this'' close to conquering Knothole.

* In the ''[[He-Man and ~~The~~ Masters of ~~The Universe (Animation)|He-Man and The Masters of The~~ Universe]]'' universe, Hordak managed to share the same fate as Ixis: In the 2002 series, he was used relatively minorly in the series, but would have been more important in the unmade S3.

* In the ''[[He-Man and the Masters of the Universe]]'' universe, Hordak managed to share the same fate as Ixis: In the 2002 series, he was used relatively minorly in the series, but would have been more important in the unmade S3.

* ''[[Batman: The Animated Series ~~(Animation)~~|Batman the Animated Series]]'':

* ''[[Batman: The Animated Series|Batman the Animated Series]]'':

** This version of the Scarecrow is rather unthreatening in appearance, but gets his usual thing on, spreading fear and such. He isn't considered especially threatening until he starts sadistically removing people's fears, causing citywide chaos and panic.

** Even by the standards of Batman's rogues gallery, the Clock King looks like he should be a pushover. He's just some two-bit pencil-pusher with a bowler hat and clock-themed glasses, right? I mean, the only skill he has is punctuality. What are his chances against Batman? Pretty good, it turns out; his timing is impeccable, and he's studied the way Batman moves, so the Dark Knight can't even land a punch.

** Not to mention that his skills at timing and planning allowed the Suicide Squad (er, Task Force X) to break in the Justice League Watchtower and steal a god-made all-powerful armor.

* ''[[Batman: The Animated Series ~~(Animation)~~|Batman]]'' and ''[[Superman ~~the~~ Animated Series|Superman]]'':

* ''[[Batman: The Animated Series|Batman]]'' and ''[[Superman: The Animated Series|Superman]]'':

** When the first cross-overs between the animated series started, Batman fought Lex and won quite effortlessly when Superman thought he couldn't handle him. And then Superman, who had absolutely dismissed The Joker as goofy-looking nobody, is then nearly defeated by the psycho (not to mention he nearly kills [[Lois Lane]] and a few hundred other people while pinning Super down).

** From an evil point of view, Lex has dismissed Joker himself because he can't handle his 'mere mortal' in Gotham. [[Eviler Than Thou|By the end the Joker completely outdoes him, nearly destroying everything he loves and nearly killing him.]]

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** Also Dr. Rockso (the Rock 'n Roll Clown; he does cocaine). No, really. The overweight, coked-up clown dressed in about a yard of fabric with a brightly colored wig and facepaint is a dangerous, dangerous man willing to do whatever it takes to get just a little more of that sweet blow.

* Blokk in ''[[Shadow Raiders]]'', a brute-force driven dimwit who extremely quickly suffers [[Villain Decay]] and hardly seems a big deal. But then Planet Rock redeploys its main weapons somewhere else, and Blokk leads a ''hideously'' destructive attack and kills the planet's ruler in one-on-one combat. And when the small kids of the show defeat him ''again'', he finally snaps and spends the last episode on a vicious killspree that nearly ''wipes out the planet''.

* ''[[~~Xiaolin Showdown (Animation)|~~Xiaolin Showdown]]'':

* ''[[Xiaolin Showdown]]'':

** Teenage wanna-be villain Jack Spicer, who underwent [[Villain Decay]] almost the moment he was introduced in the pilot, and quickly became a one-man [[Goldfish Poop Gang]]. At least, until the penultimate episode, when a [[Bad Future]] shows that, in a timeline where the heroes weren't around to constantly thwart him, he'd actually defeated all the major villains who were taken more seriously than him, conquered the world, and rechristened himself the Emperor of Darkness.

** [[Big Bad|Hannibal Roy Bean]] even lampshades it in his first appearance by telling Jack that he would have no problems becoming the worst villain ever, if he ever learned to conquer his fears.

* ''[[~~Gargoyles (Animation)|~~Gargoyles]]''' Owen Burnett at first merely seems like an uptight man Friday for David Xanatos-- but not only does he quickly prove to be an extremely competent badass in his own right, he is in fact {{spoiler|Puck, an immortal [[Trickster]] with vast magical powers}}.

* ''[[Gargoyles]]''' Owen Burnett at first merely seems like an uptight man Friday for David Xanatos-- but not only does he quickly prove to be an extremely competent badass in his own right, he is in fact {{spoiler|Puck, an immortal [[Trickster]] with vast magical powers}}.

* ''[[Transformers Animated]]'':

** It [[Adaptational Badass|appears to be doing this cross-shows]] with Wasp(inator). The ''[[~~Beast Wars (Animation)|~~Beast Wars]]'' character he was based on was the [[Chew Toy]] and the definition of a [[Harmless Villain]] with a weird speech pattern, but this version is dangerously deranged and the way he talks is a result of {{spoiler|insanity brought on by years of imprisonment for something he didn't do.}}

** It [[Adaptational Badass|appears to be doing this cross-shows]] with Wasp(inator). The ''[[Beast Wars]]'' character he was based on was the [[Chew Toy]] and the definition of a [[Harmless Villain]] with a weird speech pattern, but this version is dangerously deranged and the way he talks is a result of {{spoiler|insanity brought on by years of imprisonment for something he didn't do.}}

** {{spoiler|And after he became Waspinator he's now twice as big as Prime. Not to mention he's hopped up on unstable Transwarp energy. Oh, and like his ''[[~~Beast Wars (Animation)|~~Beast Wars]]'' counterpart, getting blown to pieces isn't exactly life threatening to him.}}

** {{spoiler|And after he became Waspinator he's now twice as big as Prime. Not to mention he's hopped up on unstable Transwarp energy. Oh, and like his ''[[Beast Wars]]'' counterpart, getting blown to pieces isn't exactly life threatening to him.}}

** The Decepticons Starscream, Blitzwing, and Lugnut also fall under this category. They aren't too bright (although Starscream has some moments), are very comical, and are each capable of single handedly defeating all 5 main Autobots without too much trouble in a straight fight.

*** Not to mention Swindle, an arms dealer based on [[But Wait! There's More!|Ron Popeil]] with hidden weaponry up the [[Unusual Euphemism|exhaust port]] and surprisingly sneaky and clever.

*** When Starscream made a bunch of clones, they all set to bickering, and their personalities really affected how they fought (Skywarp was too much of a [[Dirty Coward]], and [[Bad Liar|Ramjet]] and [[Small Name, Big Ego|Thundercracker]] spent too much time talking). [[Deadpan Snarker|Slipstream]] and [[Professional Butt-Kisser|Sunstorm]], however were more effective, taking Bulkhead and Prowl down respectively.

** Hell, even some of the ''human'' villains get this...Most notably the Headmaster, who's basically an [[Internet Tough Guy]] with a [[Mini-Mecha]] that he can take over other robots with. Robots includeing [[The Big Guy|Bulkhead]] and, later on, the aforementioned Starscream. It's fair to say ''Animated'' has a lot of this going around.

* The Decepticons from [[Transformers Generation ~~One~~|the original ''Transformers'' cartoon]] were originally portrayed as goofy, incompetent villains who constantly lost to the Autobots every single time throughout the first two seasons, but from ''[[Transformers ~~the~~ Movie]]'' onwards, they actually began killing almost half the original Autobot cast! (out-of-universe, this was actually done by the writers [[Merchandise-Driven|just so they can make room for new characters, both 'Bot and 'Con alike)]] The third and final season, as with the Japanese sequels, actually portrayed all of the 'Cons as true villains.

* The Decepticons from [[Transformers Generation 1|the original ''Transformers'' cartoon]] were originally portrayed as goofy, incompetent villains who constantly lost to the Autobots every single time throughout the first two seasons, but from ''[[Transformers: The Movie]]'' onwards, they actually began killing almost half the original Autobot cast! (out-of-universe, this was actually done by the writers [[Merchandise-Driven|just so they can make room for new characters, both 'Bot and 'Con alike)]] The third and final season, as with the Japanese sequels, actually portrayed all of the 'Cons as true villains.

* ''[[Danny Phantom]]'':

** The Box Ghost was a minor incompetent villain, only posing a serious threat to Danny when he was first starting out. But then he stole Pandora's Box and started releasing [[Sealed Evil in A Can]] all over the place...

** The Box Ghost was a minor incompetent villain, only posing a serious threat to Danny when he was first starting out. But then he stole Pandora's Box and started releasing [[Sealed Evil in a Can]] all over the place...

** Not to mention his effectiveness [[Future Badass|in the future...]] [[Catch Phrase|Beware]] ''indeed''.

* ''[[Kim Possible]]'':

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** Subverted with [[Ineffectual Sympathetic Villain|the Amoeba Boys]]. One episode has them unleash a potentially life-threatening virus that quickly spreads throughout the whole city. This would normally make them qualify, except for the facts that A. it was a complete accident on their part, B. they literally had no idea that they were the ones responsible for the outbreak until the Girls convinced them to hope create a vaccine, and C. ''They themselves were infected by the virus''.

** In another episode, the girls believe they were [[Obfuscating Stupidity]] after being caught in a trap. Of course the trap was really the plan of Mojo Jojo and the girls were the ones who set it up.

* Inverted with Valmont from ''[[~~Jackie Chan Adventures (Animation)|~~Jackie Chan Adventures]]''. Involves a [[Timey-Wimey Ball]] and complications.

* Inverted with Valmont from ''[[Jackie Chan Adventures]]''. Involves a [[Timey-Wimey Ball]] and complications.

* Lucius on ''[[Jimmy Two-Shoes]]'' is usually the posterboy for [[The Devil Is a Loser]]. However, according to [[Word of God]], he has powers that can allow him to ''remake the planet to his will!'' The sole reason he doesn't is because he wants to prove to everyone he doesn't need to.

* Though not shown often from the present day one, [[Dora the Explorer|Swiper the Fox]], of all people, sometimes has shades of this. His [[Bad Future]] self reveals the only reason Dora can stop him is he's just polite enough to listen to her "Swiper no swiping" trick. When he ended up on the Naughty List on Christmas, he stops listening at all. The result is he becomes so successful and steals so much stuff the future Dora angrily tells the present Swiper there's nothing left to swipe and he's single handedly ruined everyone's Christmas since that day. Then when the past Swiper tries the "Swiper no swiping" trick on his future self, future Swiper simply laughs at him and says it doesn't work anymore before stealing said item anyway. Good thing Swiper is polite, huh?

* ''[[Phineas and Ferb The Movie Across ~~The~~ 2nd Dimension]]'' has an [[Alternate Universe]] version of Dr. Doofenschmirtz who is way more evil and dangerous than the one we're accustomed to.

* ''[[Phineas and Ferb The Movie: Across the 2nd Dimension]]'' has an [[Alternate Universe]] version of Dr. Doofenschmirtz who is way more evil and dangerous than the one we're accustomed to.

* The Urpneys of ''[[The Dreamstone]]'' are blundering idiots who even the heroes described as being "tiresome". However despite their haplessness, they did on several occasions manage to outsmart or capture the heroes and actually succeeded in bringing the Dreamstone to Zordrak multiple times over. It was merely stopping the heroes from stealing it back they had problems with. In some cases it was a [[The Fool|mere number of conveniences]] that gave the heroes a victory.

* Abizz Mal of ''[[Aladdin (Disney)|Aladdin]]'' is mostly by far the least threatening of Aladdin's [[Rogues Gallery]], but there are times when he's managed to not only get the upper hand, but come dangerously close to winning, such as when {{spoiler|he took advantage of Jasmine's amnesia in order to brainwash her into a fanatically loyal, nigh-unstoppable [[One-Man Army|One Woman Army.]].}}

* Abizz Mal of ''[[Aladdin (Disney film)|Aladdin]]'' is mostly by far the least threatening of Aladdin's [[Rogues Gallery]], but there are times when he's managed to not only get the upper hand, but come dangerously close to winning, such as when {{spoiler|he took advantage of Jasmine's amnesia in order to brainwash her into a fanatically loyal, nigh-unstoppable [[One-Man Army|One Woman Army.]].}}

** There's also Mechanikles. {{spoiler|Like Abizz Mal, his one episode where he's a major threat involves brainwashing. Unlike Abizz Mal, however, he doesn't brainwash just Jasmine, but ''everyone in Agrabah except Aladdin and Genie''}}.

* Dr Robotnik of ''[[Adventures of Sonic the Hedgehog]]'' is largely considered far more incompetant than most other incarnations of the doctor, however he has been shown to be [[Dangerously Genre Savvy]] several times over and many of his inventions, as goofy as they are, are very elaborate or at least work as he intended.

* Shredder of the 1987 ''[[Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles 1987 ~~(Animation)~~|Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles]]'' cartoon is similarly considered a heavy downgrade from his fearsome alternate counterparts, but he still possesses combat skills that usually only Master Splinter can rival, and his schemes, though cartoony, range anywhere from pitiful to [[Beware the Silly Ones|potentially deadly]]. Following the [[Darker and Edgier]] reboot in later seasons, he has [[Demoted to Extra|a minor]], but more fearsome role.

* Shredder of the 1987 ''[[Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles 1987|Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles]]'' cartoon is similarly considered a heavy downgrade from his fearsome alternate counterparts, but he still possesses combat skills that usually only Master Splinter can rival, and his schemes, though cartoony, range anywhere from pitiful to [[Beware the Silly Ones|potentially deadly]]. Following the [[Darker and Edgier]] reboot in later seasons, he has [[Demoted to Extra|a minor]], but more fearsome role.

{{quote| '''Shredder:''' [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v{{=}}JcDea8n66So I never bluff...]}}

* [[Ben 10]] has several cases like this: