Ineffectual Sympathetic Villain: Difference between revisions
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{{quote|"[[Shoulder-Sized Dragon|Spike]], I don't know what upsets me more; that you deliberately tried to set up [[The Owl-Knowing One|Owlowiscious]], or that you actually thought this pathetic attempt would work!"|'''[[Unicorn|Twilight Sparkle]]''', from ''[[My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic
A potential villain who is consistently a failure or never gets the respect that he thinks he deserves, and may even be angry that the heroes don't take him seriously.
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== Anime and Manga ==
* Mousse from ''[[Ranma ½
** Both the ineffectual and sympathetic aspects are ironic, because Mousse is the most ruthlessly homicidal of Ranma's regular rivals. Kuno simply wants to humiliate Ranma and get both Akane and "the pig-tailed girl"; his weapon is just a bokken. Ryoga initially enters the series with an apparent intent to kill, but settles down for pretty much just wanting to steal Akane away and be able to claim that he's better than Ranma after the early [[Martial Arts and Crafts|Martial Arts Figure Skating]] story. By contrast, Mousse spends most of the series willing to do just about anything to kill Ranma, routinely using bladed and impaling weapons and attacking with ambushes. He even comments once on being willing to slip poisonous mushrooms into Ranma's food.
*** Perfect example: in "The Ryoga-Mousse Alliance", Mousse tries to kill Ranma by shackling him to a [[Hyperspace Arsenal|giant bomb]]. Even though they almost win as a result of teaming up, Ryoga swears to never stoop so low again. At the end, you can ''almost'' feel sorry for him when Shampoo comes upon the battered Mousse, misunderstands, and tells him "You know you no can win Ranma all by own self. Why you always be such stupid duck?" She pedals away while he quacks frantically, unable to explain.
* Principal Uchimiyada on ''[[
* Jessie and James of Team Rocket, especially in the [[Fourth Wall]]-breaking 4Kids version of ''[[Pokémon (
** Meowth as well.
** However, the three all got their happy ending in ''Best Wishes''. And by "happy ending", [[Took a Level In Badass|they...]]
* Martina, the anime-exclusive [[Guest Star Party Member]] and [[Princess in Rags|fallen princess]] from the second season of the ''[[
* Dorodoran in ''[[
** Later, in ''[[Yes!
* ''[[Zeta Gundam]]'' had Jerid Mesa, who ended up becoming the [[Designated Villain|Designated Rival]] for the show's protagonist, got into a vicious cycle of each killing the other's friends and/or lovers in battle, and eventually was {{spoiler|killed when the hero threw his mobile suit into an exploding battleship}}.
* Jeremiah Gottwald from ''[[
* ''[[Mobile Suit Gundam 00]]'' had Patrick Coulasour, an ace in 'simulated' combat, who quickly develops a one-sided rivalry with the Gundams after being publicly humiliated by them in the first episode, only to be dispatched in a similar fashion when he returns later. As with Jeremiah, fans latched onto him, giving him the nickname "Team Patrick". He eventually latches onto his commanding officer, Kati Mannequin, and goes on to be shot down another 5 or 6 times, even after switching sides.
* Excel in ''[[Excel Saga (
* Viral from ''[[
* Harry Champ from ''[[Zoids]]'' ''New Century'', though he's more of a rival than a villain per se. Major Polta is certainly ineffectual, but does very little to garner sympathy aside from [[Pity the Kidnapper|kidnapping Leena]].
** There's also the Zabre Fangs; though they do prove to be worthy opponents a few times in the series, they're mostly comic relief, and, in fact, lose their final battle against the Blitz Team when their Zoids do a [[Face Fault]] and malfunction from the fall.
* Doctor West from ''[[
* Kinkotsuman and Iwao from ''[[
** In fact, in ''Nisei'', Kinkotsuman's son, Bone Cold's, entire motivation as a villain is distancing himself from how lame his dad was.
*** And succeeding. Even after his father's identity is revealed, it makes him no less [[Badass]], managing to [[Killed Off for Real|kill someone who wouldn't be coming back]] in a series known for [[Death Is Cheap|at least half a dozen ways of reviving the dead.]]
* Emperor Pilaf and his assistants from ''[[
** Only once does Pilaf (almost) get what he wants...he {{spoiler|manages to successfully get a wish from Shen Long in the first episode of Dragonball GT. However, instead of wishing for what he wanted, he shouts in frustration at Goku (who showed up just as the dragon was summoned) "I wish you were a kid again!" - not as an actual intended wish, but because Goku was so much easier to defeat as a child.}}
* Japoli, Katejin, and Enge, the [[Punch Clock Villain|Punch Clock Villains]] of ''[[
* Feliciano/Italy in ''[[
* Lilynette, Stark's [[Token Mini-Moe]] fraccion from ''[[
** And then {{spoiler|she merges with Stark and they descend into full out loner [[Woobie]] territory -- turns out, Lilynette is Stark's [[Imaginary Friend]] turned real due to sheer loneliness.}}
** {{spoiler|Or Stark is her [[Imaginary Friend]]. He states for both of them that they've been together so long that he can't even remember who is the real one anymore.}}
** Ukitake even lectures the girl on how her determination is admirable, but she simply lacks the ability to 'fight' him properly (i.e take the sword back). She fires a [[Ki Attack|cero]], he deflects it with his [[Nonchalant Dodge|hand]]. No wonder she was pissed off.
* Hannyabal from ''[[
** Also from ''[[
* Buaku from ''[[
* ''[[
* In ''[[
* Many a member from a [[Quirky Miniboss Squad]] in the ''[[Sailor Moon]]'' anime falls into this trope. The noteworthy examples are Jadeite from the Shittenou, Ail and En from the Maikaju filler arc, Eudial and Mimette from the Witches 5, the Amazon Trio, and both Sailor Iron Mouse and Sailor Aluminum Siren from the Sailor Animamates.
* Kurumi, Kurumi, ''[[Kimi
* Keroro from ''[[
* [[Shinryaku! Ika Musume
* King Dedede in ''[[
== Eastern Animation ==
* The [[Those Two Bad Guys|South Korean mice]] in the propaganda-tastic North Korean series ''A Squirrel and a Hedgehog.'' The pair, consisting of domineering [[Jerkass]] [[Four Eyes, Zero Soul|Mulmangcho]] and his meeker, one-eared companion Yelipalip, migrate from faction to faction amongst the villains, and are consistently mistreated and abused. All of their efforts to prove their worth, do something evil, and make it higher up in the ranks of whichever group they're currently attached to inevitably fail, miserably and pitifully, usually thanks to the heroes. More than once, the two are actually arrested and imprisoned by their own bosses and almost executed because they got the blame for what the [[Dressing
** It should also be noted that this was originally an evil ''trio'' of Ineffectual Sympathetic Villains, but the third guy, Mulsajo, whose distinguishing characteristic was that he wore a pink shirt, was even more ineffectual than his comrades and was blown up with a grenade midway through one of the earlier story arcs, leaving just his two buddies to carry the mantle of constantly failing.
== Comic Books ==
* Some [[Batman]] villains can fit this trope, [[Depending
** The Riddler is often treated as slightly less of a threat than most of Batman's gallery because his particular lunacy isn't inherently violent, and he has a compulsion to ''tell'' Batman and the police what his plans are (he's ''tried'' not to, but he just can't). It's tough to write a Riddler plot that can believably challenge Batman...so many writers don't, essentially writing him as a joke. The difficulty of writing good Riddler stories may also be a factor in the character's recent [[Heel Face Turn]], wherein he decided to use his genius for puzzles to ''solve'' crimes as a (well paid) private detective...[[Status Quo Is God|at least for NOW...]]
*** One issue of ''Batman Adventures'' takes this and runs with it for all it's worth. The Riddler decides to try one last time to beat Batman, vowing that if Batman solves the riddle and defeats him, he'll give up crime forever. The riddle he comes up with really ''is'' good, but Batman's busy with multiple other villains and essentially decides to not spend time on the Riddler, and catch him after the fact if necessary. He catches him anyway, completely by chance, and admits as much to the Riddler when asked how he solved the puzzle. Satisfied that he outwitted Batman, even though he got caught, Riddler sings all the way back to Arkham.
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** Condiment King, an absurd parody of gimmick villains, is this trope [[Lampshade Hanging|with a lampshade]]. Just dangerous enough to be worthy of Batman and Robin's attention, he has at least the ''potential'' to be a real threat (think "mustard gas", for just one example). However, in practice, he repeatedly gets defeated in a single page. Because he's an Ineffectual Sympathetic Villain, he keeps getting parole.
** Jenna Duffy, aka The Carpenter (see trope image), was a member of Tweedledee and Tweedledum's "Wonderland Gang", [[Cut Lex Luthor a Check|but had the sense to get out of supervillainy and to work exclusively as...an actual carpenter.]] Her specialty (who do you think ''builds'' all those [[Death Trap|deathtraps]] in Gotham?) can still get her into trouble, however.
* The [[Marvel Universe]]'s Toad is a classic example of this. He has [[What Kind of Lame Power Is Heart, Anyway?|second-rate powers]], a stupid nickname, and an even stupider real name (Mortimer Toynbee). Understandably, he hated himself. However, the first ''[[X-Men (
* The Shocker from ''[[Spider-Man (Comic Book)|Spider-Man]]'':
** He almost revels in his second-rate status, remarking on one occasion that at least it keeps him off the radar of guys like [[The Punisher]].
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** A trilogy of junior novel sequels even have them as two of the chosen ''heroes''. Well, more like [[Token Evil Teammate|Token Evil Teammates]], really.
* [[Marvel Universe|Marvel's]] Porcupine was a rare example of a [[Heel Face Turn]] from this type, although it went wrong. The villain initially created his battlesuit to sell to the military, but for some reason, they weren't interested ([[Rule of Cool|perhaps it was because it looked goofy]]). He became a particularly pathetic supervillain, to the point that when he tried to sell the battlesuit to other villains, they also turned him down. He then turned to the Avengers for assistance, only to be killed by his own costume when he decided to do the right thing and double-cross the Serpent Squad.
* [[The DCU]] villain Dr. Light started out as a formidable foe capable of taking on the Justice League single-handed, but was a victim of severe [[Villain Decay]] in the [[The Bronze Age of Comic Books|Bronze Age]] and [[Post-Crisis]] eras, mostly notable for being repeatedly defeated by kids. And while defeat at the hands of the [[Teen Titans (Comic Book)|Teen Titans]] isn't all that shameful, he was ''also'' humiliated by Little Boy Blue and the Blue Boys, a team of non-powered pre-teens! That all changed with his [[Rape
* The entire [[Legion of Doom|Injustice League]], which consisted of Major Disaster, Cluemaster, Clock King, Big Sir, Multi-Man, and Mighty Bruce. Individually, they were talented in some area, if lacking in others. As a group...they're still a bunch of losers. Here's how bad their luck is -- while staying in Europe, they happened to attend the same French as a Second Language class as the Justice League. And this was following a bank robbery that was thwarted by the fact that none of them could effectively communicate the idea of "This is a stickup" in French.
* Bolphunga the Unrelenting, from ''[[Green Lantern]]''. A [[Large Ham]] villain, notable for using an axe against power-ring wielding space cops, and for attempting to take on [[Genius Loci|Mogo]].
* Turk, the pettiest of the petty hoods in Harlem, in the ''[[Daredevil]]'' comics.
* A good [[He Who Must Not Be Seen|unseen character]] example is Captain Carnage from ''[[Watchmen (
** Not quite, Captain Carnage was Rorshach'd down an elevator shaft. Which could happen to anyone really.
* The All-New Orb from ''[[Ghost Rider]]'' is a man with a giant eyeball for a head and a repulsor ray gun. Captain America describes the problem as "nobody takes him seriously enough to put him in an actual cell." He's not quite [[Not So Harmless]] since he's yet to prove a proper threat to any superhero thus far, but he's more dangerous than he looks.
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== Film ==
* Kaa, from Disney's ''[[The Jungle Book (Disney film)|The Jungle Book]]''. [[Does This Remind You of Anything?|His interest in Mowgli]] occasionally bordered on the paedophilic, though. Unlike in [[The Jungle Book (
* [[Peter Pan (Disney film)|Captain Hook]]. After a while, you just start to hate Peter for being so darn mean to the Captain.
* Peter Lorre in ''[[
** Peter Lorre in ''[[Film/Mad Love|Mad Love]]''; all of the sympathy, three times the creepiness. Fairly efficient, given how nuts he was.
** Exception: he was pretty unsympathetic and effective in ''[[Casino Royale 1954]]''. And as Mister Moto, he's a two-fisted detective hero.
** Further exception: he's [[Playing Against Type|the hero]] in the film of ''The Mask of Dimitrios'' (aka ''[[A Coffin for Dimitrios]]''), and Sydney Greenstreet, who was usually the more competent villain to Lorre's ISV, is the ISV of this film.
* On the other hand, Elisha Cook, Jr. made Peter Lorre look lucky. At least Lorre survived most of the above examples (and in ''[[Arsenic and Old Lace]]'', he even pulled off a [[Karma Houdini]]). The same can't be said for poor Elisha in ''Phantom Lady'', ''[[The Big Sleep (
** Cook's character in ''[[House
** One critic said of Cook that 'his very appearance seems like an invitation to destroy him'.
* Inspector Clouseau, originally intended as an incompetent version of [[Inspector Javert]] in the original ''[[The Pink Panther]]'', managed to be so much more sympathetic than protagonist Charles "The Phantom" Lytton that he was retooled into the hero of the film's sequels.
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* Muerte ("name for death!") in ''[[Undercover Blues]]''. Muerte's reputation on the streets is hinted at as being formidable, but his utterly humiliating defeat at the hands of Jeff Blue quickly turned him into one of these. Every lost tooth just makes him that much more lovable.
* Sol and Vince, the loser duo of pawnshop crooks who try their hand at the big(ger) leagues, in ''[[Snatch]]''. [[The Chew Toy|It does not go well for them]].
* Gargamel, mostly, comes off as this in ''[[The Smurfs (
* Prince Edward in ''[[
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* Prince (later King) Korin, [[The Dragon]] {{spoiler|(although the [[Big Bad]] dies first)}} of [[Nightrunner|Lynn Flewelling's]] ''Tamír Trilogy''...although, especially towards the end, he ends up less sympathetic than merely pitiful. In real-world history, kings like him tended to end up with the sobriquet of "The Unready".
* While Sloan in the ''[[Inheritance Cycle]]'' has certainly done some terrible things -- killing a man, selling out his village to man-eating [[Mook|mooks]], and bullying the protagonist in his younger years -- it's revealed that he did everything out of love for his daughter, and so lies on a fuzzy line between this trope and [[Well-Intentioned Extremist]].
* Antorell the wizard in [[Patricia C. Wrede]]'s ''[[Enchanted Forest Chronicles]]''. His father, Zemenar, is the series' closest thing to a [[Big Bad]] (in the first three books, anyway), and Antorell [["Well Done, Son" Guy|wants to be favored by him]], but he -- and pretty much everyone else -- sees him as largely inept, to the point that the heroes will often [[Ignored Enemy|talk about him as if he wasn't in the room]]. He's never really presented as a sympathetic character, and he spends much of his time trying to kill the series' main female protagonist (or maybe not...it's sometimes hard to tell if he hates her, likes her, or both), but he's so bad about it that he's hardly ever presented as a threat, he [[Butt Monkey|never catches a break]], and is all in all just so pathetic that it's hard not to feel a little bad for the guy.
* Toward the end of the sixth ''[[Harry Potter (
* Some of the more incompetent [[Mooks]] in the ''[[Redwall]]'' series fall into this category.
* 'Evil Harry Dread' from ''[[Discworld
** Not so ineffectual, actually. Even with horrible help (which he intentionally looks for, too), he still manages to be a somewhat legitimate threat...Or he would, except the [[Villain Ball|Code]] keeps him from being more then a [[Card-Carrying Villain]]. Remember though, like the Barbarian heroes he travels with for much of the story, he's lived to be very, very old in a profession that regularly has him facing some of the most dangerous individuals in the world (I.E. [[Go-Karting
* [[Butt Monkey|Vaurien Scapegrace]] from ''[[
* Chichikov in ''[[Dead Souls]]'' becomes this effectively.
* [[The Dresden Files
== Live Action TV ==
* The Stillman Sisters from an episode of ''[[
* Dr. Clayton Forrester of ''[[
* Harmony from ''[[Buffy the Vampire Slayer]]'', after she {{spoiler|became a vampire.}} She's evil, but other than that, she's still that teenage girl who wants to have friends and be loved. She is willing to kill her friends and allies, but at the very same time, she sincerely likes them and does not want them to be angry at her.
** That said, the fact that she murders people to drink their blood (she is a vampire, after all) makes her somewhat less sympathetic.
** This finally starts working for her in ''[[
** The Trio also start out this way. They quickly become less sympathetic -- though not less ineffectual, however, as even {{spoiler|Warren murdering Tara was an accident. He meant to kill Buffy.}}
*** Oh, no - Jonathan remains sympathetic, and actually becomes less evil as the other two [[Jumping Off the Slippery Slope|get worse]] - he even {{spoiler|helps Buffy defeat Warren}}. Andrew is less so than Jonathan since [[Evil Is Cool|he enjoys committing crimes]], but he's still so pathetic that even after {{spoiler|he kills Jonathan (while manipulated by the First), he's such a failure at serving it that he's caught easily and held prisoner in Buffy's own house}}. Once he finally realises that real life is not a game, however, {{spoiler|he shows enormous guilt over his actions, crying for the friend he killed and finishing his 'for posterity' recording by stating that not only does he expect to die, but feels he deserves to. He pulls a [[Heel Face Turn]] and survives the final battle}}.
** Spike is a mixture of this and [[Draco in Leather Pants]]. It's why he had a sizable fan following even when he was pathetic and laughably useless.
* Halfway through his [[Villain Decay]] and before his (grudging) [[Heel Face Turn]], Crais of ''[[
* Peter Campbell of ''[[Mad Men]]''. Sure, he's an obsequious little jerk who is looking for any opportunity to take advantage of any tiny opening. He's a total jerk to ANY and ALL women and he's so passive aggressive that it's sickening. And yet he's almost sympathetic because he's a constant failure with puppy dog eyes.
** That was Season 1. Then [[Character Development]] kicks in. I'm not going to spoil the details, but by Season 4, he's possibly the single most sympathetic (in the sense that "you actually like him because he's a good guy") character on the show.
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* ''[[Wiseguy]]''. Mark Volchek runs the town of Lynchboro, Seattle as a personal fiefdom. The OCB is sent in to investigate him, only to find that his big plan is merely to build a [[Human Popsicle|cryogenic storage hospital]] for the entire town in order to sate his own personal phobia of death.
* Crossing the border to [[Real Life]] here. ''Smoking Gun: World's Dumbest Criminals'' features quite a few of these. From the guy who broke in a convenience store through the roof, but couldn't get back out, to the group of guys who broke into a department store and stole all the display models (which have no working components).
* The Ferengi were introduced on ''[[Star Trek:
* Col. Klink in ''[[Hogan's Heroes]]''.
* Governor Croque in ''[[Jack of All Trades (TV series)|Jack of All Trades]]'' has a role similar to Klink's in ''[[Hogan's Heroes]]''. He's not all that bad a guy, but more to the point, any likely replacement would either be more intelligent (and thus more likely to figure out what Jack and Emilia are up to), more tyrannical (and thus more likely to inflict suffering on the innocent people of Pulau Pulau), or both.
* Crowley in ''[[Supernatural]]'' doesn't ''always '' fit this trope, but he's had his moments. He seems to flip-flop between wanting to be a badass demon overlord and sincerely trying to be a lesser evil, and his success either way is somewhat mixed.
** After his first (unsuccessful) effort at {{spoiler|double-crossing Lucifer}} in Season 5, the next time he meets the Winchesters he's on the lam, protesting to the boys "They killed my cat! They ATE MY TAILOR!" Of course at this point he's also on ''their'' bad side, as his bad information {{spoiler|got Jo and Ellen killed.}}
** After he succeeded in becoming {{spoiler|King of Hell}} in Season 6, when summoned by Bobby to address the matter of the latter's soul, he popped a couple of Alka-Selzer in lieu of his usual glass of Scotch, complaining about the difficulties of trying to better the lot of his hopelessly corrupt demon brethren.
** And of course in Season 7 he winds up {{spoiler|living in hiding in a rundown house trailer}} after being ironically {{spoiler|double-crossed by Castiel, who takes on the monster souls they had been jointly trying to acquire and briefly assumes the role of God.}}
* Much like the Ferengi, the Centauri of ''[[Babylon
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== Video Games ==
* In ''[[
* ''[[
** He's proven so popular with fans that he's made reappearances as a summon in ''[[Final Fantasy VIII
** ''[[
** ''[[Final Fantasy X 2
* ''[[Disgaea]]'' has the Ex-Dark Adonis Vyers...
{{quote| '''Vyers''': I see. So you saw my potential and decided to strike first against moi... Such wonderful intuition... Well played, son of Krichevskoy.<br />
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** {{spoiler|At least, until the best ending reveals that he's [[Luke, I Am Your Father|Laharl's father]], who, together with the Seraph, is [[Batman Gambit|responsible for most of the game's plot as an attempt to end the feuding between demons and angels]].}}
** The second and third games have Axel, a fame-hungry 'Dark Hero', and the Vato Bros, a trio of orcs monsters who sound like they were shipped in from Venezuela. Axel returns in the fourth game.
* Solt and Peppor, the bumbling duo from ''[[
** Do know, though, that the final time you face them, they are properly tough bosses and will probably kick your ass by spamming Earthquake.
* Rose, from ''[[Zack and Wiki]]'', gets this in her second appearance. She gets frozen in ice and used as a statue!
* Winston Payne from the ''[[Ace Attorney]]'' series, while not a villain, is a prosecutor, and therefore an antagonist. He was once the famous "Rookie Killer" who claims to have never lost a case in his first seven years as a lawyer, but lost one case along [[Hair Today, Gone Tomorrow|with his hair]] and, from then on, basically became a joke.
* Dist from ''[[Tales of the Abyss]]'' certainly comes off as one, introducing himself as 'Dist the Rose' but ending up being called 'Dist the Runny'. In every fight, he sweeps in with an over-dramatic entrance and then gets made fun of immediately, usually by Jade, before his humiliating and undignified loss.
* Pete from ''[[
** Demyx arguably fits in the same category, especially in ''[[Kingdom Hearts: 358 Days Over 2
* ''[[Steambot Chronicles]]'' has Dudley, an obnoxious, tough-talking, muscle-brained trotmobile rider who the player runs into on about 4 occasions (3 during the main story and another in an optional encounter). While not necessarily a villain per se, the oaf constantly boasts about his strength and generally acts like a prick (he picks fights with anyone he can, destroys a farm just because "flowers are stupid", and think that a massive zeppelin is hoarding treasure). In the hero ending of the game, he can even be seen during the credits making what appears to be threatening gestures towards Vanilla (who is leaving on a ship for his homeland).
* ''[[Halo]]'' has the Unggoy/Grunts, the main cannon fodder for the Covenant. Small (by Covenant standards), requiring gas masks to breathe in non-methane atmosphere, mistreated by the other races, they're slaves who come across as cowards. In large part because, fearing an uprising, the Covenant doesn't want to give them any actual combat training. Half the fandom feels sorry for them. The other half [[Video Game Cruelty Potential|loves to slaughter them]]. Averted in ''Halo3'' and ''Halo3: ODST'': there, they take [[Took a Level In Badass|so many levels in badassery]].
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== Webcomics ==
* About half the [[Card-Carrying Villain|Card Carrying Villains]] in ''[[Antihero for Hire]]'' fit this trope. (The rest, of course, are anywhere on the scale between [[Affably Evil]] and [[Complete Monster]].)
* Waldo and Steve in the [[Web Comic]] ''[[College Roomies
* Cassiel from ''[[Misfile]]'' desperately wants to be Rumisiel's nemesis and is constantly plotting his downfall. Too bad she makes the [[Pokémon (
* Fructose Riboflavin in ''[[The Inexplicable Adventures of Bob]],'' who has been [http://bobadventures.comicgenesis.com/d/20070327.html trying and trying and failing] to take over the Nemesite Empire for [http://bobadventures.comicgenesis.com/d/20061223.html so danged long] that you have [http://bobadventures.comicgenesis.com/d/20070331.html to pity him, just a little.]
* The [http://www.sluggy.com/daily.php?date=081023 Minion Master] from ''[[Sluggy Freelance]]''.
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** Pretty much, [[Everything Trying to Kill You|everything]] in [[Crapsack World|the universe]] has [[Butt Monkey|two purposes]]: to hurt [[Heroic Sociopath|Black]] [[Complete Monster|Mage]] and humiliate Drizz'l.
* The Flaming Prince from ''[[Van Von Hunter]]''.
* Clubs Deuce from the Midnight Crew [[Spin-Off|Interlude]] of ''[[
** In Act 5 of ''[[
{{quote| [Y]our penchant for mass murder notwithstanding, people tend to regard you as a BIT OF A TOOL.}}
*** Eridan really doesn't [[Zig
*** Eridan becomes a full-on subversion when {{spoiler|he loses both the [[Moral Event Horizon|"sympathetic"]] and [[Not So Harmless|"ineffectual"]] parts in Act 5 Act 2. The crush mentioned in the above line? He killed her as he leapt across the [[Moral Event Horizon]].}}
*** Though he switches right back to ineffectual when {{spoiler|Kanaya comes back from the grave as a vampire and effortlessly fells him. Like a tree.}}
** Jack Noir ''[[Bait the Dog|starts]]'' as this. Later into the story...he's [[Complete Monster|significantly less ineffectual or sympathetic]].
* Dr. Kinesis in [http://www.evilplan.thewebcomic.com Evil Plan]. His technology gets stolen, the other villains laugh at him, and on his minions' first mission, they bump into a brand new superhero.
* In ''[[
** [http://egscomics.com/?date=2008-04-14 He knows it, too].
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== Web Original ==
* Dr. Horrible of ''[[Doctor Horribles Sing Along Blog]]'', portrayed as a decent fellow with evil ambitions and a crush on a girl from his laundromat, while also being bullied around by [[Jerk Jock]] superhero Captain Hammer.
** He even qualifies as a [[Well-Intentioned Extremist]]; he thinks [[Utopia Justifies the Means]] and a benevolent dictatorship would do that. Kind of like [[Pinky and The Brain
** Interestingly, at the very beginning, he gets a letter from a would-be superhero calling himself Johnny Snow. Horrible immediately makes it seem as if Snow is an Ineffectual Sympathetic ''Hero''. Then we read the prequel comics and see how Johnny Snow single-handedly stopped the entire Evil League of Evil while Captain Hammer was out of town. It turns out that he's also a [[Gadgeteer Genius]]. That "ice beam" which is so "Johnny Snow" that Horrible mentions in his song was actually used by Snow.
*** "Stops" is kind of the wrong word here. The League was planning to pour poison in the watermain [[For the Evulz]], and Johnny Snow stopped them by [[An Ice Person|freezing the water]], leaving millions without water. The ELE [[Your Approval Fills Me
** Dr. Horrible's main problem with Johnny Snow is that Snow wants to set himself up as a nemesis, when the doctor has much more personal reasons for reserving this for Captain Hammer.
* Lee Phillips from ''[[Kate Modern]]'', during his brief time as a villain. He is perfectly serious in his plot to [[Who's Laughing Now?|revenge himself]] on Gavin and Tariq, but is overshadowed by the arrival of far more threatening antagonists such as Kate's Watcher and Terrence.
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'''Harry''': No time to chat, Voldemort! (runs off)<br />
'''Voldemort''': Every time I try to kill him... }}
* [[The Spoony Experiment
* On a less mass-homicidal note, [[
* While she worms her way out of trouble much more successfully than the Critic and could dominate the world if she got her mind fixed, [[
* Kami Steele of ''[[
* [http://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/scp-1370 SCP-1370] of the [[
== Western Animation ==
* The ''[[My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic
** Except in the episode "Secrets of My Excess", however this time, Spike is transformed into a gargantuan rampaging beast that almost completely demolishes Ponyville. ''Even then'' he may lean into this since it's all for the sake of [[Poke the Poodle|hoarding "gifts"]].
** Most of the [[Rogues Gallery]] for the show act as this or mere petty bullies. The foes used in the two part specials are the only notable exceptions, and even then their [[Smug Snake|detrmimental arrogance]] and the often humiliating manner they are taken out almost makes you pity them.
* Harley Quinn of ''[[Batman: The Animated Series
** Harley was often treated as genuinely misguided, so the audience sometimes forgave her for her more violent behavior depending on how softening a particular episode was.
** In the comic-turned-episode "Mad Love", Harley did manage to succeed in trapping Batman. Batman's only hope was to have her inform The Joker, who he knew would free Batman because ''[[The Only One Allowed to Defeat You|it wasn't HIM that defeated Batman!]]'' Batman even admitted that Harley came closer to killing him than the Joker ever did. Harley also suggested [[Why Don't You Just Shoot Him?|just shooting Batman]], instead of elaborate death traps. Ironically, at the end of the episode, {{spoiler|Harley almost succeeded in killing Bats with an elaborate death trap, while the ''Joker'', who previously slapped Harley for even suggesting such a thing, tried simply shooting him...and failed.}}
** Also from [[Batman: The Animated Series
** The ''[[
{{quote| ''[[Lex Luthor]]'': [[Trivially Obvious|Scarecrow, you...you're made of STRAW!]]}}
* The Amoeba Boys in ''[[
** In one of the early World Premiere Toon shorts, the Girls actually commit a bank robbery solely to show the Boys how it's done. When the Girls are brought in for the crime, the boys turn themselves in, in an attempt to appear "big time".
** In another, during the actual series, the Boys stumble upon Mojo Jojo's [[Death Trap]] plans, and they, along with the Girls, mistake it for a "scavenger hunt" -- so they find all the things it calls for and put it together, and once it's assembled, the Girls think it's a theme-park ride, so they willingly submit to the plan intended to destroy them.
** In another episode, the Boys catch a cold while loitering on the grass in yet another attempt at crime. Even though they end up unwittingly mutating the cold into a deadly strain of virus and even more unwittingly starting an epidemic in Townsville, the viewers '''still''' can't help but feel sorry for them.
** And in another episode, they manage to actually ''succeed'' at stealing an orange, for once, and when it splits apart, are reminded that, as amoebae, they are capable of multiplying. There is quickly an army of them, and the only thing they can think to do is to steal '''all''' the oranges in Townsville (although this does cause the citizens to contract scurvy).
* The Toilenator from ''[[Codename: Kids Next Door]]'' badly wants to be a villain, but is far too wimpy and incompetent to pull it off. He's a minor inconvenience to the KND, and most of the bad guys try not to be seen with him because of his clingy [[Bumbling Sidekick]] personality.
** He's [[Not So Harmless]] though, as he's able of using his "toilet powers" to "flush" the entire Grand Canyon with milk.
* Odlaw in the animated series ''[[Where's Wally
* In ''[[
** This is reinforced by Jack being probably the only fictional character, let alone villain, to have a breakdown failing to interrogate a parrot that simply repeated everything he said.
* With one exception (The Phantom Limb) and, [[Not So Harmless|in later episodes]], The Monarch, all the villains on ''[[The Venture Brothers]]'' are of this nature.
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** [[Daffy Duck]], initially just a [[Screwy Squirrel]] or [[Anti-Hero]], eventually evolved into one for [[Bugs Bunny]] and [[Speedy Gonzales]].
** Nasty Canasta and Rocky the gangster, initially more fearsome subversions of this trope, eventually devolved into hopeless foils for Bugs as well.
* [[The Simpsons (
* Waspinator from ''[[Transformers]]: [[
** Ditto for Sky-Byte and his [[Team Rocket]] in ''[[Transformers Robots in Disguise]]''. Except that Sky-Byte would actually be leadership material if only a few things were different. It's just that he lacked the only two qualities that really mattered for a leader: ''aptitude'' and ''intelligence''.
* [[Overlord, Jr.|Prince]] [[Butt Monkey|Zuko]] in the first season of ''[[
** His [[Butt Monkey]] status comes up for actual discussion in the second season, as "[[Big Bad|My father]] says [[Daddy's Little Villain|Azula]] was born lucky. He said I was lucky to be ''born''." Plus Zuko's [[Rage Against the Heavens]] when attempting to be struck by lightning, but he can't even get that to go right. ([[It Makes Sense in Context]].)
** He has a few positive experiences even in the first season, and [[Villains Out Shopping|got so much screen time not directly related]] to suffering or fighting the Gaang that he was practically a main character all along. He was even allowed to win against the other villain and get his first CMOA.
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** Killface is so sympathetic, especially when compared to [[Jerkass]] [[Designated Hero]] Xander Crews, that it's easy to forget that he brutally killed two people in the pilot and has added to his body count throughout the series. It helps that some of the other members of the cast have committed similar misdeeds and/or are [[Asshole Victim|Asshole Victims]].
* ''[[Invader Zim]]'' qualifies for this trope most of the time; more often than not, his schemes are thwarted by the Ditz portion of his [[Genius Ditz]] personality, rather than by his arch-nemesis or his [[Cloudcuckoolander]] robot. Of particular note is the episode where he survives a [[Training From Hell]] in order to receive some [[Humongous Mecha|Humongous Mechas]] from his leaders, only to be shot into a sun for his troubles.
* [[Yin Yang Yo
* [[South Park
* Dr. Drakken from ''[[Kim Possible]]'' never gets the respect he thinks he should have; he always fails his capers, sometimes even without the help of Team Possible. He often gets mistaken for the more respected Dementor and, at the end of the series, he is outright told how much of a failure of a villain he has been (despite having come closer to [[Take Over the World|taking over the world]] than any of his peers, and ending up with {{spoiler|much of the credit for saving the world from the [[Alien Invasion]])}}. If it wasn't for his [[The Dragon|Dragon]], Shego, he wouldn't be a villain at all.
** Arguably, every villain in ''[[Kim Possible]]'' is like this, aside from Shego, who's the only one with any amount of competence or fighting ability.
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** Of course, he was never anything but effective and unsympathetic in the comics, where, among other things, he ''killed his own son''. Oh, and he used to be a ''[[Honest John's Dealership|used car salesman]]'', [[Arson, Murder, and Jaywalking|the]] ''[[Arson, Murder, and Jaywalking|fiend]]''!
*** He does get the ineffectual part still - sometimes as part of a [[Plan]], sometimes because it's an imposter performing poorly. And sometimes, Destro just plain doesn't like him, and is willing to take the loss just to make him look bad, mostly because of his 'thing' for the Baroness.
** The miniseries ''[[G.I. Joe: Resolute]]'' is also a subversion. Cobra Commander actually has a speech where he claims his previous incompetence was just an attempt to force his minions to think outside the box. {{spoiler|He wipes Moscow from the face of the Earth just to prove that he could, and by the end of the series, [[Ax Crazy|he's so unhinged that he's hacking his own men apart with a sabre]]. His plan still failed, of course, but holy shit was he badass.}}
* While he started off as a [[Badass]] and a walking [[Crowning Moment of Awesome]], by the end of ''[[Kung Fu Panda]]'', [[Big Bad|Tai Lung]] had become this due to a combination of [[Freudian Excuse]], [[Sympathy for
** Of course, after his [[Arrogant Kung Fu Guy]] resume is firmly established and he has shamelessly brutalized the entire rest of the cast, others see this as simple Kharmic retribution. Pride goeth before the fall, after all, and a [[Humiliation Conga]] was really no less than Tai Lung deserved at that point.
* The battle droids in ''[[Star Wars:
** Until they start gunning down unarmed pacifist, cracking open escape pods so the helpless people on board will die in space, and [[Zerg Rush|Zerg Rushing]] that is.
* Plankton from ''[[
** Most of the time, it seems that he just wants some manner of success. In the cruel [[Yank the Dog's Chain]] episode "Plankton's Regular", after getting just ''one'' regular customer, he immediately stops trying to steal the Krabby Patty secret formula.
*** Plankton himself [[Lampshade Hanging|lampshades]] this in one episode:
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* Voltar and the ''[[League of Super Evil]]''. Guy is just so very motivated and happy about every plan or scheme he thinks up, no matter how trivial, that you just have to root for him. I mean, how many villains are ecstatic about throwing an 'EVIL' barbeque and not inviting their uncaring neighbors?
** One of the episodes involves a highly convoluted plot by the League...to make the pizza delivery boy late so that their food will be free!
* Snively from ''[[
** {{spoiler|Nope, he was still going to retain this role. [[Word of God|In one interview with screen-writer Ben Hurst]] regarding the third season that never arrived, it was revealed that Snively was going to take a shot at becoming the new [[Big Bad]], only to be shortly upstaged by Ixis Naugus, and would later make a [[Heel Face Turn]] and join the Freedom Fighters.}}
* Dr. Ivo Robotnik and his henchmen from ''[[
** Even more so are his minions, Scratch and Grounder. While Robotnik could at least genuinely cook up a malicious plan every now and then, his duncebot's Wile E Coyote-esque traps hardly ever worked on anyone but themselves.
* Jack W. Tweeg and his sidekick L.B. from ''[[
* [[Phineas and Ferb
** However, he did get a major [[Not So Harmless]] moment in a [[Bad Future]].
* Sandman in ''[[The Spectacular Spider-Man]]'' can never quite get his big score. Before his superpowers, Spider-man jokes about how many times he's been caught. After, he can actually fight Spidey, but then proceeds to forget or be unable to keep his take when he escapes down the drain. He also gets a couple of [[Pet the Dog]] moments when it's revealed that while he cares a lot about the Big Score, he doesn't really want to hurt anybody (other than Spider-man, of course).
* The Lobe, archnemesis of the titular character in ''[[
* Dr. Reginald Bushroot of ''[[Darkwing Duck]]''. He mutated himself in an attempt to impress a girl. When that went [[Failure Is the Only Option|about as well as expected]], most of schemes throughout the series involved trying to grow a companion or feed his plants. He certainly seemed like a nice enough guy most of the time, only turning violent when Darkwing tried to stop his plans.
* Hack and Slash, the bumbling minions of Megabyte, in ''[[Re Boot]]''. In fact, they are justified in being bad guys by the fact that the heroes always stop them before they could do anything really awful. When the heroes fail to arrive to stop them from killing a traitor to Megabyte, {{spoiler|they let him go off on their own and undergo a [[Heel Face Turn]].}}
* Skeletor in ''[[He-Man and
** His 2002 incarnation, on the other hand, was every bit as powerful, terrifying, and evil as he claimed to be.
* Control Freak from ''[[Teen Titans (
{{quote| '''Control Freak:''' ''The Puppet King?! They fought him ONCE!!'' }}
** In later seasons, Dr. Light is similarly ineffectual. Though he does get one major [[Not So Harmless]] moment.
* ''[[Word Girl]]'''s Chuck the Evil Sandwich Making Guy.
* Lucius Heinous VII on ''[[Jimmy Two
* Tom, from [[
** [[Depending
* [[X-Men: Evolution
** Usual, given that this is the reason why they're so popular, with people playing up the ineffectual sympathetic part, and ignoring the vilain part.
* ''[[
* Zordrak's minions, the Urpneys (and sometimes even his former self) of ''[[The Dreamstone]]'', are a mix of this alongside the [[Minion
|