Those Two Bad Guys: Difference between revisions

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[[File:~~pulp_fiction_123~~.~~58_de~~.jpg|link=Pulp Fiction|frame|"This type of work can get a bit...[[Bloody Hilarious|messy]], Mister Rope." "That it can, Mister Liche."]]

[[File:pulp fiction 123.58 de.jpg|link=Pulp Fiction|frame|"This type of work can get a bit...[[Bloody Hilarious|messy]], Mister Rope." "That it can, Mister Liche."]]

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Those Two Bad Guys are a pair of bad guys who not only provide bloodshed, but also exposition in the form of conversation between them; [[I Thought It Meant|not to be confused with]] [[Those Two Guys]]. They are usually [[~~Foil|foils~~]] for each other; commonly [[Brains and Brawn]], and sometimes [[Red Oni, Blue Oni]]. They probably also look different, in such ways as [[Fat and Skinny]] or [[Salt and Pepper]]. When they show up in a video game, you can usually count on the player facing them as a [[Dual Boss]] at some point.

'''Those Two Bad Guys''' are a pair of bad guys who not only provide bloodshed, but also exposition in the form of conversation between them; [[I Thought It Meant|not to be confused with]] [[Those Two Guys]]. They are usually [[foil]]s for each other; commonly [[Brains and Brawn]], and sometimes [[Red Oni, Blue Oni]]. They probably also look different, in such ways as [[Fat and Skinny]] or [[Salt and Pepper]]. When they show up in a video game, you can usually count on the player facing them as a [[Dual Boss]] at some point.

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** The same is true for Itachi and Kisame and Sasori and Deidara. And then, after Sasori is killed, Deidara and Tobi.

** Zetsu and... Zetsu. The left and right sides of his body have split consciousnesses and the halves communicate with each other via speech rather than thought.

** And they all are part of one ~~organization -- Akatsuki~~. They split in [[Evil Duo|pairs]] to counter [[Conservation of Ninjutsu]].

** And they all are part of one organization—Akatsuki. They split in [[Evil Duo|pairs]] to counter [[Conservation of Ninjutsu]].

* Luke and Jan, the Valentine Brothers from ''[[Hellsing]]''.

* ''[[Gundam]]''

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** [[Evil Overlord|Frieza]] and [[From a Single Cell|Cell]] apparently become this while in Hell during their [[Curb Stomp Battle|fight]] with Goku in [[Dragon Ball GT]].

* Tom and Tab from ''[[Kimba the White Lion]]''.

* Christopher Shouldered and Hong Chi-Mei from ''[[Baccano!]]'' are two murderous [[Our Homunculi Are Different|homunculi]] prone to [[Seinfeldian Conversation~~|Seinfeldian Conversations~~]] in between their murderous ~~escapades -- Or~~ rather, Christopher is prone to [[Seinfeldian Conversation~~|Seinfeldian Conversations~~]] while Chi plays his [[Straight Man]].

* Christopher Shouldered and Hong Chi-Mei from ''[[Baccano!]]'' are two murderous [[Our Homunculi Are Different|homunculi]] prone to [[Seinfeldian Conversation]]s in between their murderous escapades—Or rather, Christopher is prone to [[Seinfeldian Conversation]]s while Chi plays his [[Straight Man]].

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* Fite and Maad, agents of APES, from [[The DCU]]'s ''[[Young Justice (comics)|Young Justice]]''. Ironically, they're much more pragmatic than some of the series' other antagonists... but their goals are often much more cruel. By the end, possibly due to intentional [[Villain Decay]], they're the [[Overprotective Dad]] of YJ's newest member, and his wacky friend.

* ''[[Invincible]]''

** The Mauler Twins are like this (with the rapport and the squabbling and the being evil thing), but they're [[Mad Scientist~~|Mad Scientists~~]], not assassins or anything like that.

** The Mauler Twins are like this (with the rapport and the squabbling and the being evil thing), but they're [[Mad Scientist]]s, not assassins or anything like that.

** Magmaniac and Tether Tyrant are a more straight example.

* [[Spider-Man]]'s foes Styx and Stone (they'll break your bones!) and several other [[Marvel Comics]] villains, like Knight and Fogg, Hammer and Anvil, Brother Sun and Sister Moon, and the Brothers Grimm.

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* [[Sam and Max]] fit this pretty well.

* Alonzo and Ramon in ''[[Tintin|The Broken Ear]]''.

* Idget [[Exactly What It Says on the Tin|the Midget]] and Dangerous Dan Mc Boo in [[Mickey Mouse]] comics. Idget is slightly smarter than Dan, but they in general seem equal partners in ~~crime -- sometimes~~ employed by others, sometimes working on their own.

* Idget [[Exactly What It Says on the Tin|the Midget]] and Dangerous Dan Mc Boo in [[Mickey Mouse]] comics. Idget is slightly smarter than Dan, but they in general seem equal partners in crime—sometimes employed by others, sometimes working on their own.

* DC universe enjoys the company Monsieur Mallah & ~~brain -- who~~ take this to the ~~extreme -- one~~'s a brain in a can, the other's a gorilla... they also really love discussing ~~philosophy -- and~~ each other.

* DC universe enjoys the company Monsieur Mallah & brain—who take this to the extreme—one's a brain in a can, the other's a gorilla... they also really love discussing philosophy—and each other.

* Arguably, Trypticon and his yes-man Wipe-out in the ''[[Transformers]]'' comics; They're both persisting menaces that are only barely affiliated with one side; Wipe-Out's primary role is just doing things for the not-exactly-mobile transforming city, and they aren't exactly equals or anything, but....

* The ''Harley and Ivy'' miniseries featured Slash and Burn, who were all but directly stated to be, uh, ''close''.

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* Finney and Mudd from Tad Williams' Otherland series fit this trope extremely well... and their copies inside the Otherland network practically define it, since the network is essentially constructed out of story tropes.

* ''[[Discworld]]''

** Mr. Pin and Mr. Tulip, the New Firm, from ''[[Discworld/The Truth|The Truth]]'' are based on the archtype, and contain references to other [[Those Two Bad Guys]] pairs, like Jules and Vincent. "Do you know what they call sausage-in-a-bun in Quirm?"

** Mr. Pin and Mr. Tulip, the New Firm, from ''[[Discworld/The Truth|The Truth]]'' are based on the archtype, and contain references to other Those Two Bad Guys pairs, like Jules and Vincent. "Do you know what they call sausage-in-a-bun in Quirm?"

** In ''The Art Of Discworld'', Pratchett lays out the principle of this ~~trope -- if~~ a gang has two members (a "gangette"), one will do the thinking and the other will "talk like dis". If there is a third, the same applies but the third guy will be called Fingers.

** In ''The Art Of Discworld'', Pratchett lays out the principle of this trope—if a gang has two members (a "gangette"), one will do the thinking and the other will "talk like dis". If there is a third, the same applies but the third guy will be called Fingers.

* Robert Asprin's ''[[Myth Adventures]]'' series has Guido and Nunzio, who work for the main character Skeeve as part of his new connection to the Mafia. It ends up neither one is that bad, and Guido has a history in the theater. And a degree in business administration. Also, Nunzio worked as an elementary school (primary school, for our royal cousins) teacher in the past. Also, oddly, as an [[Renaissance Man|animal trainer.]]

* Hawker and Boon, the schoolboy-suited Prefects from Jonathan Barnes' ''[[The Somnambulist]]''. They are called into service by a [[Black and Grey Morality|greyish]] protagonist, but they really are [[Complete Monster|not nice people]].

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* The ''[[Welkin Weasels]]'' series:

** Rosencrass and Guildenswine (their names being one of many [[Shout-Out|shout-outs]] to [[Shakespeare]]). Usually they're just spies, but near the end of ''Castle Storm'' they commit murder on a whim and are willing to kill Sylver and his gang for money. Since they do this in a magical forest, [[And I Must Scream|this proves to be their downfall]].

** Both depicted generations of the Herk and Bare families could also fall into this ~~category -- the~~ first pair are mercenaries, and the second pair are graverobbers.

** Both depicted generations of the Herk and Bare families could also fall into this category—the first pair are mercenaries, and the second pair are graverobbers.

* Two of Eva Ibbotson's young adult novels -- ''The Dragonfly Pool'' and ''Journey to the River Sea'' ~~-- have~~ comically villainous duos who are hired to kidnap the hero.

* Two of Eva Ibbotson's young adult novels -- ''The Dragonfly Pool'' and ''Journey to the River Sea''—have comically villainous duos who are hired to kidnap the hero.

* Haruki Murakami's ''[[Hard-Boiled Wonderland and the End of the World]]'' features "Big Boy" and "Junior", who try to extort information about the Professor's dealings from the book's protagonist midway through the book.

* Mr and Mrs Cavendish in the ''[[Nightside]]'' book ''Nightingale's Lament''. They run a nightclub where the singer Rossignol, the titular Nightingale, performs, but because they {{spoiler|put her through a process which left her [[The Princess Bride (film)|mostly dead]],}} her voice now induces her listeners to commit suicide.

** Simon R. Green also plays with this one a bit in one of his ''[[Secret Histories]]'' books: first he invokes it straight with the Russian werewolf/gangsters, the Vodyanoi brothers, and then he parodies it with a couple of Mooks who get so caught up bickering with one another that ''they forget they're supposed to be intimidating the hero''.

* Tom and Ty in Simon Spurrier's ''Contract'', two thugs acting as disposable backup for Michael Point, a professional assassin. Tom's a frustrated New Zealander with a taste for casual ultraviolence and Speed, and Ty's a [[Scary Black Man|hulking Jamaican]] who never speaks louder than a whisper. They're also [[Alas, Poor Scrappy|short-lived]] [[The Scrappy|Scrappies.]]

* The Duke and the Dauphin from ''[[The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn]]'' are [[Con Artist~~|Con Artists~~]], not killers, but they're still the lead antagonists who do the heroes the most harm. However, it should be noted they are not a villainous duo prior to their introduction in the novel, but become one shortly after meeting up.

* The Duke and the Dauphin from ''[[The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn]]'' are [[Con Artist]]s, not killers, but they're still the lead antagonists who do the heroes the most harm. However, it should be noted they are not a villainous duo prior to their introduction in the novel, but become one shortly after meeting up.

* Finney and Mudd, [[Corrupt Corporate Executive|Felix Jongleur's]] hirelings in [[Tad Williams]]' [[Doorstopper]] quadrilogy ''[[Otherland]]'' ~~-- not~~ only do they oppress and sometimes torture his employees, but their online avatars wreak havoc in the titular computer network, taking on various forms including [[Nightmare Fuel|creepy versions]] of the Walrus and the Carpenter.

* Finney and Mudd, [[Corrupt Corporate Executive|Felix Jongleur's]] hirelings in [[Tad Williams]]' [[Doorstopper]] quadrilogy ''[[Otherland]]''—not only do they oppress and sometimes torture his employees, but their online avatars wreak havoc in the titular computer network, taking on various forms including [[Nightmare Fuel|creepy versions]] of the Walrus and the Carpenter.

* [[Affably Evil|Dr. Talos]] and [[Genius Bruiser|Baldanders]] from [[Gene Wolfe]]'s magnum opus ''The [[Book of the New Sun]]''.

* In ''[[Warbreaker]]'', {{spoiler|Denth and Tonk Fah may qualify, though Denth is such an [[Affably Evil]] [[Magnificent Bastard]] that we don't know that they're bad guys for about half the book.}}

* Flingler and Dr. Roboy in ''[[The Yiddish Policemen's Union|The Yiddish Policemens Union]]''.

* ''[[Gotz and Meyer]]'' makes [[Those Two Bad Guys]] the focus of the story, as a teacher several decades later reads of their part in the Holocaust and tries to figure out what their motivations were. {{spoiler|We don't quite figure it out -- the research [[Go Mad From the Revelation|drives him insane]]}}.

* ''[[Gotz and Meyer]]'' makes Those Two Bad Guys the focus of the story, as a teacher several decades later reads of their part in the Holocaust and tries to figure out what their motivations were. {{spoiler|We don't quite figure it out -- the research [[Go Mad From the Revelation|drives him insane]]}}.

* Agents Myers & Franks from ''[[Monster Hunter International]]''. Myers is the polite, educated one, and Franks is the quiet, brutal one who's quite capable of curb-stomping the hero, Owen Pitt. (Owen managed to kill a rampaging werewolf with his bare hands in the opening chapter, so that should tell you just what a badass Franks is...) Both are full-blown [[Knights Templar]].

* Goss and Subby from [[China Mieville]]'s novel ''[[Kraken (novel)|Kraken]]''. With a twist. In fact, Miéville referenced this page in [http://bldgblog.blogspot.com/2011/03/unsolving-city-interview-with-china.html an interview].

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* The two assassins in a 1961 episode of ''Danger Man'' titled "The Island".

* [[Pyromaniac|Flint]] and [[Scary Black Man|Knox]] on ''[[Heroes (TV series)|Heroes]]''.

* Dennis Potter's ''[[The Singing Detective]]'' features two bad guys who live the cliché. At one point, one of them realises it, and points out that neither of them has a ~~name -- a~~ combo of [[Breaking the Fourth Wall]] and [[Lampshade Hanging]] that only adds to the already epic levels of [[Mind Screw]].

* Dennis Potter's ''[[The Singing Detective]]'' features two bad guys who live the cliché. At one point, one of them realises it, and points out that neither of them has a name—a combo of [[Breaking the Fourth Wall]] and [[Lampshade Hanging]] that only adds to the already epic levels of [[Mind Screw]].

* They're not villains so much as creepy-but-essentially-neutral set dressing, but the two undertakers in the first season of ''[[Slings and Arrows]]'' otherwise fit this trope perfectly (including the personality types and manner of speech outlined in the example).

* Traidy and Sorm, the two Orion Syndicate assassins in the ''[[Star Trek: Deep Space Nine]]'' episode "A Simple Investigation".

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== Theater ==

* The Fox and the Cat in the opera ''The Adventures of [[Pinocchio]]'' definitely qualify. Although a bit bumbling, and definitely comedic, their scenes can be ''intensely'' creepy. [[Ho Yay|And also a bit something else.]] They might not ''kill'' anyone outright, as they're rather poor at their jobs and more tricksters than assassins, but they certainly make a good try at it. (Such as ''trying to lynch Pinocchio for the five gold coins he got out of sympathy from the puppet show owner''.)

* Rosencrantz and Guildenstern of ''[[Hamlet]]'' and ''[[Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead]]'' fame ~~counted -- they~~ might not be straight up villains in ''[[Hamlet]]'' but they definitely qualify.

* Rosencrantz and Guildenstern of ''[[Hamlet]]'' and ''[[Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead]]'' fame counted—they might not be straight up villains in ''[[Hamlet]]'' but they definitely qualify.

* A few [[William Shakespeare]] cases, especially the two killers sent after Clarence in ''[[Richard III]]''.

* ''[[The Dumb Waiter]]'' is all about [[Those Two Bad Guys]].

* ''[[The Dumb Waiter]]'' is all about Those Two Bad Guys.

* The First Man and Second Man from ''Kiss Me, Kate'' don't kill anyone on stage, but they are mobsters and they talk an awful lot.

* The trio of nameless villains in the Kurt Weill opera ''Die Bürgschaft'', who take dirty work where they find it.

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== Web Comics ==

* Dom and Ed from ''[[Megatokyo]]'', though they are enemies.

* The Caterers of Calumny, Texto Porfiria and Zuzux Uzbochs, in ''[[Unicorn Jelly]]''. Their favorite modus operandi is rather ~~unusual -- they~~ pose as caterers and serve poisoned food.

* The Caterers of Calumny, Texto Porfiria and Zuzux Uzbochs, in ''[[Unicorn Jelly]]''. Their favorite modus operandi is rather unusual—they pose as caterers and serve poisoned food.

* Hunter and Arcturus from ''[[Suicide for Hire]]'' are a [[Villain Protagonist]] variation.

* The [[Lizard Folk|reptilian]] [[Bounty Hunter|bounty hunters]] Gannji and Enor from ''[[The Order of the Stick|Order of the Stick]]''.

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== Web Original ==

* ''[[Broken Saints]]'' has two pairs: [[Sociopathic Soldier~~|Sociopathic Soldiers~~]] Lt. Charles and Lt. Bravado, and strip club bouncers Phobos and Deimos. Also, all four of them could qualify as [[Giant Mook~~|Giant Mooks~~]].

* ''[[Broken Saints]]'' has two pairs: [[Sociopathic Soldier]]s Lt. Charles and Lt. Bravado, and strip club bouncers Phobos and Deimos. Also, all four of them could qualify as [[Giant Mook]]s.

* From the point of view of the [[Mary Sue]] victims, most [[PPC]] agent pairs are this. The agents' opinions may vary.

* As of V4, ''[[Survival of the Fittest]]'' has Richards and Baines. Although the terrorists are often used as vehicles for exposition, it tends to be this pairing more than any others, particularly given their penchant for not keeping secrets too well.

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* Gutsman and Cutman in the Ruby-Spears ''[[Mega Man (animation)|Mega Man]]'' production. [[Dumb Muscle|Shame about their IQs.]] Elecman and Bombman are a less frequent but definite evil duo.

* ''[[The Fairly Odd Parents]]''

** Though more [[~~Jerkass|jerkasses~~]] than true bad guys, Tad and Chad fit this role.

** Though more [[jerkass]]es than true bad guys, Tad and Chad fit this role.

** HP and Sanderson.

** And on the few occasions they've teamed up, HP and Anti-Cosmo.