Small Name, Big Ego: Difference between revisions

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Expect this guy to be a victim of [[Pride]].

If the character is a nerd and unaware of it, he's an [[~~Extraverted~~ Nerd]]. If he makes a big deal of how [[The Hero|heroic]] and [[Badass]] he is, but runs at the first sign of real danger, he's a [[Miles Gloriosus]]. If he claims to be a genius, but is incredibly dim or just misinformed, he's the [[Know-Nothing Know-It-All]]. If he thinks he's a brilliant artist but is actually dire, he's [[Giftedly Bad]]. If he claims to kick ass only to get his own ass constantly kicked, he's a [[Boisterous Weakling]]. Contrast [[Insufferable Genius]] (where he actually has the skill to back himself up) or [[Almighty Janitor]]. Many a [[Narcissist]] and [[Pointy-Haired Boss]] is afflicted with this condition. [[Every Year They Fizzle Out]] and [[Fake Ultimate Hero]], meanwhile, are when ''everyone else'' are the ones with a high opinion about the person in question. Often a [[Large Ham]]. In more serious works, he will often be the victim of [[Break the Haughty]]. The [[Smug Snake]] could be considered a [[Face Heel Turn|villainous variation]]. Might be a [[Paper Tiger]].

If the character is a nerd and unaware of it, he's an [[Extroverted Nerd]]. If he makes a big deal of how [[The Hero|heroic]] and [[Badass]] he is, but runs at the first sign of real danger, he's a [[Miles Gloriosus]]. If he claims to be a genius, but is incredibly dim or just misinformed, he's the [[Know-Nothing Know-It-All]]. If he thinks he's a brilliant artist but is actually dire, he's [[Giftedly Bad]]. If he claims to kick ass only to get his own ass constantly kicked, he's a [[Boisterous Weakling]]. Contrast [[Insufferable Genius]] (where he actually has the skill to back himself up) or [[Almighty Janitor]]. Many a [[Narcissist]] and [[Pointy-Haired Boss]] is afflicted with this condition. [[Every Year They Fizzle Out]] and [[Fake Ultimate Hero]], meanwhile, are when ''everyone else'' are the ones with a high opinion about the person in question. Often a [[Large Ham]]. In more serious works, he will often be the victim of [[Break the Haughty]]. The [[Smug Snake]] could be considered a [[Face Heel Turn|villainous variation]]. Might be a [[Paper Tiger]].

If (s)he is the main character on a show, we're dealing with a species of [[Unsympathetic Comedy Protagonist]]. If the ''writers'', not the character (though he can fit this trope, underscoring his [[The Scrappy|unpopularity]]) think the character is amazing, we have the [[Creator's Pet]].

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** Then there's [[Proud Warrior Race Guy]], Vegeta...

* Black☆Star from ''[[Soul Eater]]''. He ''is'' good at unarmed combat, but he'd have to be a deity before that ego would be even remotely equivalent to his personal power level. He specifically claims to be [[Blasphemous Boast|more powerful than God]].

** There's also the [[Equippable Ally]] Excalibur, who really is as powerful as he says he is. The trouble is, his ego matches his power level- he's so insufferable and downright ''annoying'' that no one can stand to be around him. Tellingly, when he shows up later on in the manga, the gang ends up trying to murder him.

*** {{spoiler|He alone is the main trial for ''both'' the wrath and pride chapters of the Book of Eibon.}}

*** ''"[[Catch Phrase|My Legend began in the 12th century!"]]''

* Keigo in ''[[Bleach]]''.

** Barragan's fraccion also fall under this. Like their master, every last one of them is incredibly arrogant and talks a big game, but they're [[Elite Mooks]] that go down quite quickly. Also, just about all of them claim to be Barragan's #1 fraccion at some point, meaning that either Barragan's favorite flip-flops or they all have a rather inflated opinion of his esteem for them.

** Barragan himself constantly boasts how he's undefeatable and claims to be king and a god, despite being inferior to Aizen. He even isn't the strongest Espada - he is #2. To drive the point home, his Zanpakuto is outright called "Arrogante".

** Xcution thought they could take on the Shinigami captain and lieutenants who spent hundreds of years training simply because they gained a piece of Ichigo's Fullbring. Obviously they are quickly defeated with little difficulty.

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** Late manga spoilers: {{spoiler|This takes an interesting turn later on, when Kanchomé finally unlocks his true potential during a training arc. He gains several new spells and becomes one of the most powerful demons remaining in the battle, even surpassing Gash in one of their mock fights. This later leads him to a very near [[Face Heel Turn]] however, and soon afterward he's sniped down by the current [[Big Bad]] before he can become a real threat.}}

* Kanaria from ''[[Rozen Maiden]]'' touts herself as the smartest of all of the Maidens. Too bad all her plans seem to fail miserably.

** She can be Sun Tzu mixed with Einstein and it wouldn't help if she's still the second (barely) least ''mature'' of the maidens.

* Patrick Colasour from ''[[Mobile Suit Gundam 00]]'', who will proudly boast that he's the champion of mock battles - even as the Gundams take him apart limb by limb. The fact that he still manages to be [[The Determinator]] in spite of this, and that he's comic relief that '''isn't''' annoying as all get-out, has made him an [[Ensemble Darkhorse]].

** By the end of the series he is actually a fairly skilled pilot, though still hopelessly outclassed by the Gundams. He also seems to have gained some humility in the meantime: he no longer boasts about being an awesome pilot, though he does jokingly call himself "invincible" due to his mocking nickname.

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* Nora from ''[[Witchblade (anime)|Witchblade]]'' is quite uppity, and stays that way until her demise at the hands of Reina. And she was actually winning that fight too, until she couldn't contain her gloating and trashtalking, then SAT DOWN upon a wounded Reina, completely forgetting that all blade users can make any part of their body a weapon.

* Ishizawa in [[Bakuman｡]] constantly criticizes manga professionals and thinks that he's a great manga artist, when in fact, he can only draw cutesy sketches of girls. When One Hundred Millionth fails to get a prize from the four chosen for finalists for the Tezuka award, Ishizawa claims that he's better than Mashiro and that Mashiro is dragging Takagi down, despite never having tried anything as ambitious as what Mashiro did, prompting Takagi to punch him. He later gets a series in Chara Kira Magazine, but it's clear that he's nowhere near the main characters' skill.

* Naoe Kanetsugu from ''[[Sengoku Basara]]'' loves to announce his arrival on the battlefield, with a loud declaration of his invincibility, and amazing battle prowess...and always gets swatted away like a common [[Mook]].

* The Cut Man Brothers of [[Mega Man NT Warrior]].

== Comics ==

* Cacofonix, the suggestively named bard from ''[[Asterix]]''. His bravado makes him the perfect unwitting weapon against the Romans, but usually he's just made to shut up with varying degrees of force.

** His moment to shine came when Vitalstatistix's nephew Justforkix was being held by Normans who wanted to learn the meaning of fear. Cacofonix's singing was so bad they became scared for the first times in their lives.

* Jack from ''[[Fables|Jack of Fables]]'' is a rare example of a ''main character'' being a Small Name Big Ego. He frequently embellishes himself while narrating; for example, in the beginning, when he recapped the events of ''[[Fables]]'', he made it look as though he was the [[Big Damn Heroes|Big Damn Hero]] of the Battle of Fabletown when he really just played a minor role, and failed at it, to boot.

** Turned on its side, the [[Popularity Power|more popular one is with the Mundanes]], the easier it is to survive. Jack scams his way into making movies about his past adventures and literally makes his own ego come true. He loses all his cash and friends eventually, of course, but now is nearly (nearly) immortal.

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* [[He-Man and the Masters of the Universe|Skeletor]] of the 1986 [[Live Action Adaptation|film]] ''[[Masters of the Universe (film)|Masters of the Universe]].'' When Skeletor (played brilliantly by Frank Langella in one of the best examples of the "[[Ham and Cheese]]" trope) finally gains all the "forces of Grayskull, all the powers of the universe" and dons a rather impressive-looking gold armor, he actually doesn't gain any more "power" nor is he able to vanquish his nemesis, He-Man. He often berates his underlings for their incompetence even though he is guilty of it himself.

* Oscar the [[Idiot Hero]] from [[Shark Tale]]

* [[Inspector Gadget (film)|Inspector Gadget]]

* [[Man Child|Dr.]] [[The Ditz|Glickenstein]] from [[Igor]].

* [[Nightmare Fuel Station Attendant|Weebo]] from [[Flubber]].

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* [[Adrian Mole]] believes he is a gifted author and celebrity chef. In reality his unpublished work is terrible, his only published book was written in his name by his mother, and he was once the presenter of a low-budget cable show about how to cook offal. All of this goes right over his head as he tries to use his "celebrity" status to his advantage; and frequently writes to people who are ''actually'' famous to ask for favours (such as to speak for free at the Christmas dinner for his book club), ask for his own show on radio, or to offer insulting suggestions about their lifestyles.

* ''[[The Magic School Bus]] In The Ocean'' features a character named Lenny the Lifeguard, a good-natured but somewhat arrogant lifeguard at the beach, who is first seen showing other beach goers pictures from his 'daring rescues' (Which, judging from the pics, weren't that daring). He ends up [[The Drag Along]] when he sees Ms. Frizzle drive her bus into the ocean, getting swept up in the class' latest field trip. Throughout the story, he tries to maintain an air of authority, despite being pretty much redundant. Once the madness ends, he is elated to have 'saved a whole class'.

* [[The Phantom of the Opera]]: [[Stupid Boss|Opera's administrators]] Richard and Moncharmin and [[The Prima Donna]] Carlotta. Madam Giry is lampshaded like this (see [[It's All About Me]]), a humble usher who thinks of herself as an equal to the Opera’s administrators… just moments before they fire her. But [[Fridge Brilliance]] show us is subverted: In Parisian society, [[Screw the Rules, I Have Connections|it’s not what you do, it’s who you know]]. Madam Giry ''knows the Phantom and he is happy with her work''. Therefore, ''she is more important that Richard and Moncharmin''. She gets his job back.

* Lorenzo Smythe, the main character of the [[Robert A. Heinlein]] novel ''[[Double Star]]''. While he is a very good actor (enough that the Emperor says that he's Smythe's biggest fan), he considers himself to be an artist ''par excellence'', and the standard by which all other actors should be judged. He prefers to refer to himself as "The Great Lorenzo." When he goes missing, not even his agent notices for a long time. His obituary only mentions that he hadn't had a job in months, and that he was likely [[Driven to Suicide]] by depression.

* Tigerstar from [[Warrior Cats]] claims he's greater then Starclan after changing the number of clans from 4 to 2.

** All the other clans seem to believe Firestar is this because of his tendencies to try and talk things out on their territory and all the other leaders believe this makes him arrogant.

*** In Bluestar's prophecy Thistleclaw and Oakheart are both said to be arrogant pricks.

== Live Action TV ==

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** He was also a pretty good attorney, and would generally behave with at least ''some'' amount of dignity and aplomb when presenting his side of the case. He was likely relegated to the night court because of his personality, not his skill.

* Kirk, ''[[Dear John]]''

* [http://en.memory-alpha.org/wiki/Harcourt_Mudd Harcourt Fenton "Harry" Mudd], a recurring comic foil to Captain Kirk of the original ''[[Star Trek]]''. Primarily a [[Con Man]] -- who dabbled in human trafficking, pimping, drug dealing, grand theft starship, smuggling and petty thievery -- who used his bravado and [[Talking Your Way Out|gift for gab]] to further his various "[[Incredibly Lame Pun|enterprises]]".

* Quark, ''[[Star Trek: Deep Space Nine]]''. Quark, however, wasn't an egotist, he was simply an incredibly canny con-artist. Quark is, however, notably successful and an important aspect of the Small Name Big Ego is that they are disliked and don't believe the negative criticism they get. Quark [[Insult Backfire|takes being told that he is a conniving backstabber]] as a ''compliment'', since in Ferengi society, being called a "conniving backstabber" ''is'' a compliment. He also developed a good relationship with the Grand Nagus. While he may not be as good as he likes to think he is, he's still pretty good.

** Whenever Quark gets his [[A Day in the Limelight|own episode]], he routinely pulls off [[Zany Scheme|quite impressive cons]]. These often involved his own acknowledgment that he lacked traditional heroic traits. One of his most memorable was [[Crowning Moment of Awesome|winning a fight]] [[Batman Gambit|by throwing away his weapon]]. He has even gone into long boasts about his more successful (and generally shady) business negotiations.

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** Tracy Jordan kind of fits this trope as well.

** And Tracy's wife Angie. The [[Reality TV]] parody episode "Queen Of Jordan" was [[Big Ego, Hidden Depths]] dedicated to her.

* Jackie Burkhart on ''[[That 70s Show]]''.

* Jackie Burkhart on ''[[That '70s Show]]''.

* ''[[Reaper]]'' gives us [[Meaningful Name|Ted]], the former manager of the Work Bench.

* Barney Stinson in ''[[How I Met Your Mother]]'' thinks his exploits are legen--wait for it--dary! However, this [[Handsome Lech|womanizing ladies' man]] has been repeatedly been shown as lame during several episodes in the series.

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** Super Hans also counts though he is far more self-confident than Jez. He is equally untalented and pathetic but is often able to get Jeremy to follow Him out of sheer confidence though Jeremy is also able to outthink him quite easily.

* Rimmer on ''[[Red Dwarf]]'' continually insists throughout the series to be far more capable and popular than we know him to be.

** The sad thing is, considering Ace Rimmer (What a guy!), a dimension jumping [[The Ace|Ace]] and [[Alternate Universe]] version of Rimmer, we know he could become as [[The Cape|popular, capable and friendly hero]], if he just got rid of his bad qualities. {{spoiler|And possibly does so, as he eventually becomes [[Legacy Character|the new Ace Rimmer]]}}.

** The sad thing is, considering Ace Rimmer (What a guy!), a dimension jumping [[The Ace|Ace]] and [[Alternate Universe]] version of Rimmer, we know he could become as [[The Cape (trope)|popular, capable and friendly hero]], if he just got rid of his bad qualities. {{spoiler|And possibly does so, as he eventually becomes [[Legacy Character|the new Ace Rimmer]]}}.

* Joe Jonas in ''[[Jonas]]''.

* James in ''[[Big Time Rush]]''.

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* Deconstructed in ''[[Screenwipe]]'' by Charlie Brooker, in which he explores how the 'Talent' usually become this in some form. He starts out as an ordinary person who reacts to having someone around to wait on him hand and foot with embarrassment and sheepishness, particularly when his assistant does things he doesn't want or need. Unfortunately, he becomes so used to being treated like this that he takes it too far and ends up becoming an egocentric bully.

* Nathan from ''[[Misfits]]'' is a young offender on community service who remains cheerfully obnoxious and arrogant despite being financially destitute, unemployed, homeless, and loathed by everyone he meets. His friends can't stand him and his parents don't want him around, his sexual conquests almost always end in abject humiliation, and once his power is revealed to be {{spoiler|immortality - or rather "resurrection" - he starts dying in increasingly ghastly ways at least once an episode, but always bounces back with a smile on his face}}. He is utterly ''convinced'' that everyone loves and admires him and that women find him irresistible, despite overwhelming evidence to the contrary.

* In later seasons the producers of ''[[Survivor]]'' have edited Ben "Coach" Wade and "Special Agent?" Philip Sheppard season-long arcs as a Small Name Big Ego. Part of the strategy is a sarcastic edition of the [[Fake Ultimate Hero]], complete with heroic music, but we are ultimately lead to sympathize with the eye-rolling contestants as he goes on more than one [[Character Filibuster]] believing himself to be a sage and [[Warrior Poet]], but really proving to be an irritating version of [[The Philosopher]].

* Just about any contestant on any competitive reality show which requires the contestants to do something, such as ''[[The Apprentice]]'', ''[[Project Runway]]'', ''[[American Idol]]'', etc. ''[[American Idol]]'' in particular, which has entire episodes full of auditions by bad singers who will not be swayed from their belief that they are the greatest singers in history.

* C.C. Babcock on ''[[The Nanny]]''.

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* Sylvia Noble from ''[[Doctor Who]]'' is an inversion. She really doesn't seem to have an over-inflated opinion of herself; she just has a really low one of everyone else. Sylvia has no understanding of the concept of tact, often insulting and belittling Donna and Wilf, her own daughter and father, respectively. She dismisses her daughter's [[Doctor Who/2006 CS the Runaway Bride/Recap|disappearance in a flash of light while walking up the wedding aisle]] as Donna tricking everyone to demand attention. She has absolutely no respect or faith in her daughter, and isn't afraid to tell her so. She refuses to acknowledge her daughter's choices and actions, ignores the Doctor when he tells her there's danger. Fortunately, after {{spoiler|Donna's actions in [[Doctor Who/NS/Recap/S4 E12 The Stolen Earth|the]] [[Doctor Who/NS/Recap/S4 E13 Journeys End|finale]],}} she seems to have realized her mistakes, and by ''[[Doctor Who/NS/Recap/S4 E17 E18 The End of Time|End of Time]]'', she's almost pleasant to be around.

* Many customers on ''[[Pawn Stars]]'', particularly guys trying to sell cars, often think they did a great job restoring it, but really destroyed the item. One guy removed the air filter so he could fit a large engine than the car could fit, thinking the Pawn Star's were real "real car guys". Rick and the Old Man were horrified at the result.

* All the characters on ''[[It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia|Its Always Sunny in Philadelphia]]'' with the possible exception of Charlie, fit this description but Dennis really stands out. He believes himself to be an immensely charming, likeable person who is skilled at everything and liked by everyone. In reality, he is sociopathic, vulgar, rude, idiotic, runs a failing business and has really only gotten as far as He did due to his family's wealth. Most episodes have Him attempt a new venture and become completely confused and aggressively annoyed when others don't view Him as being talented.

* Blanche Devereaux on [[Golden Girls]]. She considers herself devastatingly beautiful and a "mankiller," but the rest of the women dismiss it as a bunch of fluff, rarely taking her stories seriously.

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Or maybe let you watch too much TV }}

* There's a song called "I'm Awesome" by Spose. It's completely counterpoint to the title because the guy is describing how much of a loser he is and yet still thinks he's the greatest human being alive.

* "Pretty Fly (For A White Guy)" by [[The Offspring]] describes a classic example of this phenomenon.

* The lyrics to "O.M.G." by Jenna Rose give off this feel (the fact that she dons an "All About Me!" shirt around the 52-second mark in the music video does not help). Sample lyrics:

{{quote|''Just take a picture, baby''

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* Mr. Kennedy (Kennedy!) appeared to embody this trope when he exploded onto the scene in the late spring of 2006, claiming to be WWE's newest sensation and harboring such a high opinion of himself that he performed his own ring entrances in authentic ring-announcer style. He would often say that he was "the man who is single-handedly changing Friday nights!" The twist was that Kennedy actually ''could'' back up his braggadocio, defeating the likes of [[Batista]] and [[The Undertaker]] (albeit by cheating, getting his opponent counted out, or by goading the other guy into dishing out [[Disproportionate Retribution]] to him and gaining a disqualification victory). In fact, the only occasions when Kennedy seemed to come up short were when actual titles were on the line.

* A meta-example: [[WWE/Characters/Brand Extension|Drew McIntyre]] was pumped up by [[Vince McMahon]] as a future World Champion upon his debut and proceeded to let it go to his head. Since then, Drew hasn't caught on with the fans (in real life) but still thinks he deserves A-list treatment (in kayfabe), becoming this trope.

* [[Alberto Del Rio]], an arrogant, [[Smug Snake|smug]], [[Dirty Coward|cowardly]], [[Politically-Incorrect Villain|racist]] "thousandaire" who thinks it's his "destiny" to be the WWE Champion. He will repeatedly say he is the greatest undisputed WWE Champion ever, and he takes full credit for inspiring the walkout on Raw despite the fact that he had little to do with it other than complaining a few times about how unfair it was to him to have to be put in Hell in a Cell against [[John Cena]] and [[CM Punk]], and much of the credit for the walkout actually belongs to his cohort, [[Christian]], who himself is something of a [[Small Name, Big Ego]]. In fact, this could easily describe most of Del Rio's lackeys, what with their constant complaining about how they're not getting the treatment they "deserve".

* Announcer [[Michael Cole]], since his [[Face Heel Turn]] in late 2010. He frequently declares himself the "Voice of the WWE", takes pride in his past as a broadcast journalist, and likes to brag about his [[Wrestlemania]] "victory" over fellow announcer [[Jerry Lawler]].<ref>Though in reality, it wasn't really an "earned" victory, per se, the Anonymous Raw GM overturned Lawler's victory in favour of Cole.</ref>, as well as his "superior" wrestling skills due to the aforementioned fact.

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* Throckmorton P. Gildersleeve on ''[[Fibber McGee and Molly]]'' was a pompous gasbag, although once the character moved to his own spinoff show these tendencies were downplayed.

** Then there was Mrs. Uppington, a rich society matron who Fibber frequently traded barbs with.

* Denis King on ''[[Hello Cheeky]]'', although subverted in that he was genuinely competent as a pianist. However, he gets the fewest acting parts and is the worst actor, yet keeps insisting that he's the real star of the show.

** In one episode, he complains about the others picking on him, and goes to see a psychiatrist. His philosophy is more or less summed up in their dialogue:

{{quote|'''Denis:''' Doctor, I'm worried! I can't sing, I can't dance, I can't play the piano...

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** Rufus of ''[[Street Fighter IV]]'' is fairly similar to Dan. He's very full of himself and believes he is the best fighter in America. The other characters constantly remind him of how he's too fat or his fighting style is too flashy for him to be a serious fighter. Gameplay-wise though, he's an above-average character.

** In ''Pocket Fighter'', Dan is made to look even ''more'' weak. His introduction begins with, "Upon deciding he was the strongest fighter in the world...", and in his ending, he gets ''harshly criticised'' by his own student. To quote, "All of your moves look retarded in addition to being ''completely useless'' in battle!"

* Waluigi from the ''Super Mario Bros'' series, certainly qualifies. He thinks he´s the greatest sports player ever, that "everybody cheats but him", and constantly cheers on him, but barely anyone notices him, both in and out of universe, having it even worse as a butt monkey than Luigi, and that´s saying something.

* Edgar from ''[[Final Fantasy VI]]''. OK, he created several powerful tools on his own, and engineered Figaro Castle's defense mechanism, and he's also the ''king'' of said castle, but he thinks he's an amazingly suave ladies' man... something with which any lady will disagree. Poor Edgar has the misfortune of living in a reality where ''no'' women are attracted to his money, power, looks or intelligence.

** At least, no women over the age of twelve. There's at least one child NPC out there with a schoolgirl crush on him. Along with a bar floozy, but then she had already hit on Cyan.

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* Barry Dejay of the ''[[Backyard Sports]]'' series. He claims he can be the best at sports even with a broken ankle and a [[Desk Jockey|promotion]] to announcer.

** Also, the fictional Barry Bonds. But he admits that he has a huge ego.

** Don't forget [[Large Ham|Tony.]] He goes to town with this trope.

* While there's several examples in ''[[Pokémon Mystery Dungeon]]: Explorers of Time/Darkness/Sky'', Chatot boasts the most grossly overinflated ego of the lot. Not only does he act as the Guild's head of intelligence despite being a [[Horrible Judge of Character]], he spends most of his time being [[Know-Nothing Know-It-All|staggeringly inept]], [[Poor Communication Kills|refusing to listen to anyone else]] and basking in praise directed at others. His rare [[Crouching Moron, Hidden Badass|shining moments]] are ''very'' few and far between.

* In ''[[Mass Effect]]'', Conrad Verner seems to think that he's just as badass as ''[[One-Man Army|Commander]] [[Badass|Shepard]].'' In the first game, he tries to convince Shepard to make him a Spectre. One of Shepard's responses? "Conrad, I haven't been shot in the head ''nearly'' enough times to make that seem like a good idea." In the second, he appears (wearing a replica of Shepard's N7 armor) at a bar, trying to shut it down because a corrupt weapons merchant convinced him the bartender was selling red sand...which, even if she ''had'', it wouldn't matter, because red sand ''[[What an Idiot!|is completely legal on that planet.]]'' Two of Shepard's possible three responses involve causing bodily harm to him. (And if Shepard is female, he comes across as a sort of [[Stalker with a Crush]].)

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'''[[Oracular Head|Murray:]]''' ...All right then, 'roll'! ''Roll'' through the gates of Hell!... Must you take the fun out of ''everything''? }}

* Lurbuk, an Orc bard from [[The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim]], is so convinced of his own greatness that he doesn't realize you're there to kill him, even as you draw your blade and tell him he's about to die. And as testament to just how bad he is, a lottery was held to determine who could hire you to kill him.

* Despite the [[Hot-Blooded|Fire]], [[Evil Weapon|Giant Nail]], and [[Crowning Music of Awesome|Theme Song]], Bang Shishigami is said to be the weakest fighter in the entire [[Blaz Blue]] line up story-wise. Every time he wins a fight the opponent remarks how lucky he was or how they were stupid for losing to him. You could tell him this to his face all while taking him apart and he will honestly have [[~~Extraverted~~ Nerd|no clue.]]

* Despite the [[Hot-Blooded|Fire]], [[Evil Weapon|Giant Nail]], and [[Crowning Music of Awesome|Theme Song]], Bang Shishigami is said to be the weakest fighter in the entire [[Blaz Blue]] line up story-wise. Every time he wins a fight the opponent remarks how lucky he was or how they were stupid for losing to him. You could tell him this to his face all while taking him apart and he will honestly have [[Extroverted Nerd|no clue.]]

* Bang's ''[[Guilty Gear]]'' prototype, Chipp Zanuff, the [[Eagle Land|American]] Ninja also fits this trope.

* ''[[Portal (series)|Portal]]'''s Aperture Science, judging from a slideshow of theirs. The far better-known [[Half-Life (series)|Black Mesa]] proposes modest budgets for its projects and is usually given as much. Aperture requests ridiculously large sums of money and usually gets the exact opposite.

** This may be more a case of [[Reed Richards Is Useless]] or [[Cut Lex Luthor a Check]]. Aperture's inventions - all of them - pretty much snap the laws of physics in half and would be unbelievably useful anywhere besides in a pointlessly massive underground deathtrap. The company and Cave Johnson have every right to be insanely proud of their inventions, and Aperture's fiscal problems are most likely excused by [[Rule of Funny]].

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== Web Original ==

* Draco Malfoy in ''[[A Very Potter Musical]]'' is this trope through [[Alternate Character Interpretation]] (although this particular trait is mainly through Flanderization of his original character and he's surprisingly more canon than [[Draco in Leather Pants]]). He's a bullying coward who believes the only thing keeping him from being the coolest kid in school is Harry and is constantly trying pose and failing ''spectacularly''. He does shape up and join the good guys later on in the show but he's still a Ted.

* According to sports blog Kissing Suzy Kolber, Rex [[Fan Nickname|"Sex Cannon"]] Grossman [http://kissingsuzykolber.uproxx.com/2006/11/f-k-it-im-throwing-it-downfield.html is one of these] (although [http://kissingsuzykolber.uproxx.com/2006/12/rexstacy-wants-to-fulfill-your.html he CAN throw] [[Memetic Badass|lasers to Saturn.]])

* [[Atop the Fourth Wall|Linkara]] the character is this, berating his fans for asking his opinions on comics. Of course, out-of-character, an "I love you guys" is very quickly added.

* [[The Nostalgia Critic]] also has shades of this (again, the character is an ass but his actor is lovely), and his is of the "big ego but easily - [[Break the Haughty|and often]] - shattered self-esteem" variety.

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* The late 80s series ''[[Captain N: The Game Master]]'' featured several characters from Nintendo games, like Kid Icarus and Megaman. Simon Belmont from ''[[Castlevania]]'' was depicted as a vain and arrogant "Ted Baxter"-like vampire hunter and rival to the main hero, Captain N.

** Hilariously, he even had the look down, [[You Don't Look Like You|looking NOTHING AT ALL like the two canon versions of Simon.]] He dresses and prepares more like a jet-setting hiker than a vampire hunter.

* Cody from ''[[Total Drama Island]]'' is this on his flirting abilities, as well as Owen on his [[Animals Hate Him|wilderness skills]], and Courtney as part of her second-season [[Jerk Sue]] persona.

** Not to mention Chris and Justin on their own attractiveness.

*** Though with Justin [[Even the Guys Want Him|it seems to be justified]].

** Ezekiel in ''World Tour'' is also one of these, thinking he's going all the way even when Gwen reminds him that he was voted out first last time.

** Possibly Tyler, who thinks he is the greatest athlete around, but constantly proves to be possibly the worst.

** Blaineley has a very high opinion about her TV host abilities that seems unwarranted considering the TDWT Aftermath's reveal she was fired from her old show.