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Stupid Evil: Difference between revisions
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** It's justified, although it tends to depend on the movie. In all movies, granting somebody's wish effectively allows him to take their soul when they die (and the interpretations of these wishes usually end up with the person making the wish dead); in the third movie, it's mentioned that he needs 1000 souls before he can achieve his goal, although this detail wasn't present in the first two movies.
* [[Helena Bonham Carter]]'s version of Bellatrix Lestrange in the [[Harry Potter (film)|''Harry Potter'' movies]] borderlines on this. She's portrayed as an insane character who delights in petty acts of vandalism like shattering windows and setting houses on fire. In the books, she's described as much more serious - she's considered insane only because of the level of her devotion to Lord Voldemort.
* ''[[Super Mario Bros. (film)|Super Mario Bros.]]'' - man, where to begin here?
** King Koopah's evil plan is to merge ''his'' world with ''ours'' so he could conquer it. Assuming this didn't cause ''two'' [[Earthshattering Kaboom]]s, ''his'' world has only one settlement, Dinohattan, meaning he'd be facing off against multiple armies with his limited forces. This includes the police of Dinohattan, who are overworked, understaffed, and incompetent; Koopa's enforcers, the woefully stupid Goombahs which were ''purposely'' made so via devolution; and his cousins Iggy and Spike, whom he trust to get the [[MacGuffin]] he needs ''after'' the two morons kidnap the wrong girl ''five times'' before managing to grab Daisy.
** Also, Koopa is rather careless for a totalitarian ruler, seeing as ''every'' citizen is armed and weapons are lying around everywhere, just waiting to be picked up. Half of the movie is one big case of [[Boss Arena Idiocy]], giving the heroes easy access to bombs, high-tech guns, and rocket shoes. [[Rule of Cool|Which, in all fairness, are kinda cool.]]
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** Of course, Belloq is more a glorified thief than an “expert archaeologist", as Indy would attest: though he makes a token attempt to dress like a priest, he's not even Jewish, ''let alone'' a Kohen Levite - [[Only the Worthy May Pass|they are the only ones among the priesthood permitted to even carry the Ark]], and as the [[Book of Numbers]] detailed, even ''they'' would die if they touched it. Without any actual Kohanim present, any attempt to open the Ark is a fool's game. On that note, as the Nazis are a genocidal regime bent on exterminating the Jewish people, any attempt to use their artifacts - much less a Biblical artifact of ''this'' nature - as a [[Weapon of Mass Destruction]] easily registers as a ludicrous idea.
** ''[[Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny]]'' continues the tradition of stupid Nazis. The main antagonist - former Nazi Jürgen Voller - is actually kind of smart, realizing from the beginning that Hitler was an incompetent madman, and intending to use the eponymous Dial of Destiny to travel back in time, assassinate Hitler and assume command of the Third Reich, in order to change the outcome of [[World War II]]. His henchmen, however, are complete idiots:
*** In the second act of the movie (the first happening three decades earlier than most of the story) Vollner (a [[Villain
*** Of course, given the nature of his plans, Voller assumes none of this will matter in the end. However, the villains’ ultimate act of stupidity comes in the final act. While Voller himself has a brief moment of sanity and subverts the [[Cassandra Truth]] Trope, ordering his men to abort the mission, it is too late and they fly into [[Ancient Greece]] into the middle of the [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Siege_of_Syracuse_(213%E2%80%93212_BC) Siege of Syracuse]. Stupidly, they open fire on the Roman soldiers, making them think there are dragons attacking them. While Indy and Helena (being smart) parachute to safety where they are met by Archimedes himself (inadvertently creating a [[Stable Time Loop]] that enables the Dial to be completed), the villains’ plunge to their deaths as the plane is brought down by Greek fire from the retaliating Roman army.
* The Purgers in ''[[The Purge]]''. (First movie, that is.) While [[This Troper]] is no expert on the subject, one would assume that gangs intending to invade a home and murder the occupants on the day of the year it is most likely to happen would expect some level of resistance. Nobody wants to be dragged out of bed and murdered in the middle of the night by people wearing horrendous-looking masks, right? Yet, the Purgers in this movie aren’t exactly up for the task. Despite this movie occurring in America, [[Never Bring a Knife to A Gun Fight| they carry surprisingly little in the way of firearms]]. Plus two of them they literally act like children (sociopathic murderous children, that is) [[Giggling Villain| giggling wickedly]] and giving each other piggyback rides, actions [[Obviously Evil| that make them seem like evil lunatics]], right up to the part where the much savvier homeowner James blows their brains out with a shotgun. The rest fare little better, easily ambushed and killed by the Sanders’ neighbors, seemingly forgetting that when you go out on Purge Night, [[The Hunter Becomes the Hunted| you are not the only ones purging]].
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* One bad habit that villains in the ''[[Power Rangers]]'' franchise ''never'' seem to get tired of (but never seem to do ''right'') is using some sort of spell or curse to brainwash a friend, ally, or classmate of the heroes to use against them. It literally ''never'' works, and more than one [[Sixth Ranger]] has been recruited this way. Rita takes the cake here - after Kat became the Pink Ranger, Rita tried to enspell her again ''twice'', and failed both times.
** Well, other than Lord Drakkon<ref>An [[Alternate Universe]] version of Tommy Oliver who, in his reality, chose to remain on Rita's side</ref> {{spoiler| which is a case where it worked only too well, Drakkon [[The Starscream| betraying Rita and killing her]].}}
* From ''[[Wonder Woman (TV series)|Wonder Woman]]'' Diana has fought her share of [[Politically-Incorrect Villain]]s in her time, and plenty of them were Nazis, but Colonel Kesselman (from "Fausta, the Nazi Wonder Woman") pulls double duty, being a Nazi ''and'' a misogynist - which causes him to be twice as stupid. His attitude towards women causes him to treat Fausta like garbage, refusing to believe that using the Lasso of Truth on the heroine can gain any productive information, scoffing at the idea of her claims that a woman can be as powerful as a man and the idea of Paradise Island, even though he's watched live news footage of her heroic actions. Eventually, simply out of a desire to prove he's right, he ''gives Diana back her lasso and belt!'' Naturally, she breaks free of the her restraints, and takes Fausta down. To top that off, while that's happening, his only means of calling for backup is a rotory phone - even when you consider that [[Technology Marches On| the show was made in the 80s]], that was rather poor planning.
== [[Oral Tradition]], [[Folklore]], Myths and Legends ==
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*** And then there are the mistakes she makes that are associated with this Trope. She makes deals with Shao Kahn and Shang Tsung (two villains who any fan of the franchise realize are ''guaranteed'' to betray her), [[Bond Villain Stupidity|tells her minions not to kill the living heroes who have revenant counterparts]], because doing so would [[Ret-Gone|RetGone]] the revenants (even though the revenants [[Surrounded by Idiots|are not helping her much]] and [[Fridge Logic|being killed is required to become a revenant]]), she leaves her crown (something she needs to use the Hourglass) where the heroes can find it, [[Explaining Your Power to the Enemy|blatantly tells the heroes how she can be beaten]] (that her plans involving turning Liu Kang and Raiden against each other because their cooperation is a threat to her). It almost seems like Kronika wants there to be a chance she could fail simply to make the conflict more interesting [[They Wasted a Perfectly Good Plot|(which might have been an interesting plot twist, actually)]] but no, she has no viable excuse other than being a moron.
* In the Lost Chapters version of ''[[Fable (video game series)|Fable]]'', the evil option of the final choice is this. The options are either A. Throw an evil talking mask into the lava (Good) or B. put on the talking mask that tempts you with power and obviously just wants you to put it on so it can possess you (evil). Guess which option is the smart one and which is the really, ''really'' stupid one. Come on, guess.
* [[Mega Corp|The Umbrella Corporation]] in the ''[[Resident Evil]]'' series. This group of [[Mad Scientist]]-slash-[[Corrupt Corporate Executive]] types were obsessed with manipulating DNA and creating biological weapons ("BOWs”) in order to market them to various military firms, only to run into some problems. Problem #1: These BOWs are unpredictable, unstable, and usually destroy whatever facility they're developed in. Problem #2: Said results of these BOWs are usually defeated and destroyed by one police officer. On top of that, they have a task force dedicated to cleaning up these accidents, but most of them are either eaten alive or infected. Problem #3, they ''never'' learn, never having any concern for repercussions of their experiments, even when the brunt of such repercussions come crashing down on their heads, and often come off as "evil for evil's sake". They'd nuke a school bus full of preschoolers if they thought it could be [[For Science!]], and that is clearly [[Not Hyperbole]]; they definitely would. Calling Umbrella "incompetent” would be an understatement. As noted above, the movie's incarnation stay true to this portrayal.
* Union Aerospace Corporation, from the ''[[Doom]]'' franchise. Okay, the Earth is in the middle of an energy crisis, so the "geniuses” at this Mega Corp discover an energy source on Mars that originates from Hell itself. (That's right, ''from Hell itself''.) Not only that, they decide to explore Hell itself (which is infested with demons, of course) while mining its resources and looting its artifacts. On top that, they knew one of their own scientists, Dr. Olivia Pierce, has started [[Religion of Evil|a devil-worshiping cult]] among members of the organization, and do nothing. Worst of all, after the demons are unleashed and the heroic [[Space Marine]] saves humanity from being wiped out, their idiotic CEO Samuel Hayden doesn't even thank him, and decides to continue research into the project. How dumb can you get?
* Phenotrans, the [[Mega Corp]] main antagonists of the ''[[Dead Rising]]'' series. This is the group that markets a drug called Zombrex, a daily dose of which is required for anyone infected by a zombie, in order to stay human. And they charge an astronomical price for it. The apocalyptic ramifications of this deliberate price gouging - not to mention profiteering, as they deliberately try to worsen the [[Zombie Apocalypse]] - never occurs to them, nor do they ever realize that the overwhelming profits they're making are going to collapse once customers start to lose the funds to afford it. Not to mention they risk turning the entire world into a state where said profits will be worthless.
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** Finally, Comstock's biggest flaw is his true goal, conquering the United States, thinking victory is certain, because he assumes the visions he has witnessed through the portal device are based on prophecy. As Rosalyn explains, they are actually based on probability. (As in, each is a reflection of what ''might'' happen, not what ''will'' happen, and some possible futures are more likely than others. Thus, the future he views where Elizabeth (as an old woman in the year 1984) continues his life's work and destroys New York (using zeppelins of all things) could possibly happen theoretically in his reality… but the odds would be very ''very'' much against it. Even if it did come to pass, it's very likely the scenario would end with the U.S. Army blowing Columbia out of the sky in retaliation.
** In the end, {{spoiler| Comstock's foolish machinations result in Elizabeth realizing her true past, tapping the true potential of her [[Reality Warping]] powers, and [[My Future Self and Me| recruiting every version of herself]] throughout all realities, managing to kill Comstock before he even perceives the idea of Columbia, eradicating the regime not only in the core reality but throughout all others. When your own mistakes lead to your plans being [[Ret-Gone]] out of existence, you know you're one of the stupidest villains who ever lived.}}
* In the first two ''[[BioShock]]'' games, the trope is not as obvious, but is still there. The production and marketing of Adam isn't
** It's possible for the player to fall into this too if they ignore the obvious moral repercussions of harvesting the Little Sisters. This game does a very good job at making you feel like a jerk should you take the evil path, the resulting endings of such not rewarding or pleasant at all. The sequel is even worse - if the player harvests ''every'' Little Sister, Eleanor realizes Evil is the only logical path to success and becomes the worst [[Serial Killer]] the world has ever seen.
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* In the [[DuckTales (2017)|''DuckTales'' relaunch]], the leaders of F.O.W.L. try very hard to avoid this, their preferred methods being global domination through subtlety and subterfuge. Unfortunately, they just can't seem to keep their agents from [[They Just Don't Get It|acting like open and blatant supervillains]], which tends to [[Surrounded by Idiots|cause their carefully-planned schemes to collapse into chaos]]. In fact, Bradford - the founder of the group - had simply wanted to call it O.W.L. (Organization for World Larceny) only adding the "F" - for "Fiendish" - in order to convince [[Dark Action Girl|Black Heron]] to join them.
* Bullies tend to be [[Dumb Muscle]] types, but Flats the Flounder from the aptly-named ''[[SpongeBob SquarePants]]'' episode "The Bully" emphasizes the "dumb" part. And he's ''pretty'' dumb. It's unknown why he's so dead-set on flattening SpongeBob, but he spends ''days'' trying to do so using [[Good Old Fisticuffs]], never seeming to realize that SpongeBob is, well, a sponge. After several days of this and it never sinking in that he's not hurting his victim much, Flats collapses from exhaustion.
* The Pakleds were intentionally designed to fit this
* Adam, the [[Big Bad]] from ''[[Hazbin Hotel]]''. Granted, he is a decent fighter and field leader, and a dire threat to demon-kind, but that is clearly not due to his intellect. Sure, he managed to convince Sera (with [[The Dragon| Lute’s]] help) that it was in her best interests to continue the
* In ''[[Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (1987 series)|Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles]]'' Baxter Stockman was never the model of intelligence or lucidity to begin with, but he seems to get worse with each appearance. In “Revenge of the Fly”, [[Evil Versus Evil| his anger towards Shredder and Krang is well-justified]], but his desire to make everyone in the world suffer by using Mutagen on them is [[Misplaced Retribution]], the repercussions of a city full of mutated insect people never occurring to him. This is even lampshaded by Stockman himself halfway through the episode, where he rants, “Yes! I must destroy the Turtles because of… uh… because of whatever I’m mad at them about!” Such is his lack of foresight, he deals with Shredder and Krang by locking them in a closet full of barrels of chemicals (Krang is a master chemist who invented mutagen; while it takes a few tries, he manages to jury rig a device they can use to break out), he turns Vernon into a mutant spider (it is very easy for the heroes to get him to side with them by reminding him that spiders eat flies), and worst of all, for him, he is trapped in "dimensional limbo" again, and this time, [[Fate Worse Than Death| never returns.]]
* Let's be honest here, Dr. Facilier (from ''[[The Princess and the Frog]]'') was an ''excellent'' villain, but in hindsight, making deals with dark spirits (his "friends from the other side") was, in hindsight, ''not'' a good idea. You could blame what happened to him on greed or overconfidence but there are better ways to become rich than risking your soul.
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[[Category:Evil Tropes]]
[[Category:Obviously Evil]]
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[[Category:Tabletop Game Tropes]]
[[Category:Stupidity Tropes]]
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