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Psychopathic Manchild: Difference between revisions
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{{quote|''"I know you, you're the mad kid everyone's scared of."''
|'''Susan Sto Helit''', ''[[
The '''Psychopathic Manchild''' is a dangerous villain, either a teenager or an adult, [[Man Child|with a childlike nature]], which creates a dissonance between innocence and savagery. Such characters can become repositories for [[Nightmare Fuel]], especially if their childishness is never explained. Contrary to the term, many examples are not necessarily psychopaths in the clinical sense. [[Misaimed Fandom]] may not be out of the question, either; sometimes the character's more "[[Moe]]" attributes will be picked up on and subjected to [[Flanderization]].
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The exact extent of the character's childishness will vary, and in general Psychopathic Manchildren can come in several varieties, with possible overlap. Such a character may:
:A: Be big [[Dumb Muscle]], frequently mentally-challenged, that operates under someone else's direction. This type may be the most famous, and also the most likely to [[Jerkass Woobie|play to the audience's sympathy]]. Expect him/her to try to [[Pet the Dog]], often with [[And Call Him George|disastrous results]]. Could be a subversion of [[Dumb Is Good]].
:B: Seem superficially powerful and cruel, but have very childish or simplistic goals or motivations. May overlap with [[Man Child]].▼
:C: Actually possess a lot of power, intelligence, and/or prestige, but also have some childish qualities or behaviors, to fit in with a certain aspect of the story being told, or else advertise that there is something seriously wrong with him/her, to make him/her [[Nightmare Fuel|creepier]]. These are most likely to be a story's [[Big Bad]].▼
▲B: Seem superficially powerful and cruel, but have very childish or simplistic goals or motivations. May overlap with [[Man Child]].
:D: Appear [[Moe Moe|cute and harmless]] on the surface, but actually [[Cute and Psycho|be this trope]]. Especially common with female examples, because of [[The Ingenue|the stereotype]].▼
:E: Be subject to a personal variation of [[Values Dissonance]] where violent, savage actions are viewed by the character in question in the same light as regular play is viewed by most real children. This variant is often an especially strong source of [[Nightmare Fuel]] due to the uncanny dissonance between his/her childish demeanor and the viciousness of his/her actions.▼
▲C: Actually possess a lot of power, intelligence, and/or prestige, but also have some childish qualities or behaviors, to fit in with a certain aspect of the story being told, or else advertise that there is something seriously wrong with him/her, to make him/her [[Nightmare Fuel|creepier]]. These are most likely to be a story's [[Big Bad]].
▲D: Appear [[Moe Moe|cute and harmless]] on the surface, but actually [[Cute and Psycho|be this trope]]. Especially common with female examples, because of [[The Ingenue|the stereotype]].
▲E: Be subject to a personal variation of [[Values Dissonance]] where violent, savage actions are viewed by the character in question in the same light as regular play is viewed by most real children. This variant is often an especially strong source of [[Nightmare Fuel]] due to the uncanny dissonance between his/her childish demeanor and the viciousness of his/her actions.
Whichever version these types of characters qualify as, often they are not fully aware of how nasty their actions actually are. In some cases (though not all), a [[Heel Realization]] may cause the character to [[Character Development|develop into a better person.]] A more innocent or well-intentioned Psychopathic Manchild may be a [[Noble Demon]].
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** While all that is true he's not really the best example and may tend to subvert the trope on some levels, since unlike most of the examples on this page he ''never'' tries to do anything bad at all (most of the others do bad things on purpose and may or may not know that what they're doing is wrong).
* Merricat in ''[[We Have Always Lived in The Castle]]''. She started out as a psychopathic child and is still very childlike though over 20.
* Mr. Teatime of [[Terry Pratchett]]'s ''[[
** From the other extreme of the spectrum, the same book features Banjo, an even more child-like thug, who is clearly mentally handicapped, and comes across as [[Dumb Is Good|much more innocent]]. And he and Teatime are friends, of course. Or at least, he does what Teatime tells him to while Teatime treats him with dismissive contempt.
*** [[Evil Cannot Comprehend Good|It's implied that Teatime thinks this kind of devout servitude,]] in exchange for [[You Have Outlived Your Usefulness|however long he decides to let you keep living,]] [[What Is This Thing You Call Love?|is what friendship is.]] It's kind of sad.
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== [[Real Life]] ==
* [[Adolph Hitler]] had childish tastes according to most western views of maturity. He liked tons and tons of sugar in his tea, played with toys, loved [[Disney]] cartoons, and frequently threw temper tantrums.
** ... Since when did he play with toys?
* [[Michael Jackson]], who convinced himself that he was Peter Pan, named his home "Neverland Ranch" as a result, and was ''very'' close to children.
** [[Your Mileage May Vary]]. There is no conclusive proof that he has ever molested children. He might, but it's just as possible that he was [[Not Evil, Just Misunderstood]] -- a [[Man Child]] (but in no way psychopathic), making up for a childhood he never had in the only way he knew how.
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