Villain with Good Publicity: Difference between revisions
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[[File:lex luthor for president.jpg|link=Lex Luthor|frame|My name is [[Lex Luthor]], and [[President Evil|I approve this trope.]]]]
{{quote|''"Your powerful GDI forces have been emasculated, and you yourself are a killer of children... Of course it's not true, but the world only believes what the media tells them to believe... and I tell the media what to believe. It's really quite simple."''
|'''[[Dark Messiah|Kane]]''', ''[[Command & Conquer]]''}}
{{quote|''"Villains who [[Dastardly Whiplash|twirl their mustaches]] are easy to spot. Those who clothe themselves in good deeds are well-camouflaged."''
|'''[[The Captain|Captain]] [[Bald of Awesome|Jean-Luc]] [[Patrick Stewart|Picard]]''', ''[[Star Trek: The Next Generation]]'' }}
The '''Villain
Should the heroes know the truth, they're still stymied by the fact that no one else does. Attempts to bust the villain will be met with harassment lawsuits, breaking & entering or assault charges, or bad press. The heroes may even be falsely painted as villains in the public eye. (Some heroes embrace this image and become the [[Loveable Rogue]] or the [[Anti-Hero]].) Should the heroes turn up actual evidence that something is up, it'll probably be ripped up by the villain's [[Amoral Attorney|crack legal team]] (which Villains With Good Publicity ''always'' have), or spun to look like honest behavior.
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Related to [[Hidden Evil]]. [[Anti-Villain|May or may not]] ''[[No Delays for the Wicked|deserve]]'' his reputation as a good guy. If so, expect the setting to lean towards the "cynical" end of the [[Sliding Scale of Idealism Versus Cynicism]]. May use [[Too Funny to Be Evil]] as an [[Affably Evil|affable]] PR tactic. Villains who win over the [[Misaimed Fandom|fans]] are [[Draco in Leather Pants]].
{{noreallife|calling a real person is [[Rule of Cautious Editing Judgment|not a good idea]]. No, not even [[Hitler]].}}
{{examples}}
==
* This trope is practically [[Planet of Hats|the hat]] of the Machine Empire in ''[[Galaxy Express 999]]''. Virtually every world in two galaxies sees them as the wave of the future. Even the protagonist, who watched his own mother being brutally gunned down by Machine-Humans, simply concludes that if he'd been a Machine-Human himself, he would have been powerful enough to stop them.
* Muruta Azrael from ''[[Gundam Seed]]'' is all-but-worshipped by the EA generals, has the Earth's rulers in his pocket, and Natarle has heard of him. His sucessor, Lord Djibril, is regarded as a pale shadow of him, primarily because he has none of his clout (well, that and his [[Fashion Victim Villain|ridiculous choice of clothing]]).
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* Recently in the ''[[Archie Comics Sonic the Hedgehog|Sonic the Hedgehog]]'' comics, this status was bestowed on long-time villain [[Evil Sorcerer|Ixis Naugus]]. Due to a combination of the public's mistrust of NICOLE following her previous [[Brainwashed and Crazy|brainwashing]] by the Iron Queen {{spoiler|(fueled by Naugus' own [[Hate Plague]] magic)}} and Naugus' own actions to defend New Mobotropolis from both Eggman and the Battle Bird Armada, his support amongst the citizens reaches the point that they {{spoiler|gladly appoint him their king}}.
* In one comic book adaptation of ''[[Justice League (animation)|Justice League]]'', several ice and cold-themed villains - Mr. Freeze, Captain Cold, Snowman, Icicle, Cryonic Man, Killer Frost, and Minister Blizzard - formed a team under the leadership of a new villain called Polar Lord, and led a successful coup in a poverty-stricken African nation. The League had no luck in their first attempt to combat a group seen as saviors to a starving and oppressed citizenry, especially when said "saviors" had access to powerful new weaponry provided by Polar Lord. Of course, this completely fell apart for the villains when "Polar Lord" turned out to be General Eklu, a scout from a warmongering planet preparing an invasion. Of course, it turns out even worse for Eklu when the other villains find out [[Treacherous Advisor| his plans ''do not'' involve them...]]
* In a comic book adaptation of ''[[Mighty Morphin Power Rangers]]'' (by BOOM! Studios) Rita Repulsa, of all people - or rather, an alternate dimension version of her - becomes this. In this reality, Tommy remains her henchmen, and as a result, succeeds in conquering the world, later seen as a benevolent dictator. Unfortunately, she is eventually betrayed and assassinated by Tommy himself - now called Lord Drakken - who is [[Complete Monster| anything but this Trope]].
==
* {{spoiler|Vaticus Finch}} in ''[[The Tainted Grimoire]]'' until the end of the St. Galleria arc.
== Film ==
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* Augustus Steranko in ''[[If Looks Could Kill]]''. Despite the fact his personal emblem is a scary-looking scorpion and he has a private army of machine gun toting goons for no reason he could possibly justify and generally acts like a jerk to people in public, Steranko has somehow convinced British Intelligence that he is "an ally and a friend."
* * Zigzagged in [[Casino]]; Sam Rohstein, a bookie associated with the Mafia is assigned to Las Vegas where he obtains entrepreneurial reputation, awards and social recognition. After a while things go sour and he gets surrounded by great media controversy regarding his license problems and his connection with a well-known mobster. As a reaction, Sam starts his own talk-show to make a stand and defend himself and his image. He gets called on it by his mob associates as his flamboyant crusade draws unwanted attention.
* In the film, ''[[Coco]]'', Ernesto de la Cruz was the most celebrated musician/actor in Mexican history and beloved throughout the world with a huge fanbase that persisted 75 years after his death and the idol of Miguel Rivera. One trip to the Land of the Dead reveals however that he {{spoiler|[[Plagiarism in Fiction|stole the songs]] of his best friend, Hector, Miguel's great great grandfather, after murdering him.}} After his crimes are exposed in both the Land of the Living and the Dead, he loses his status and becomes hated by everyone and remembered only for his movies and his crimes, ensuring that he'll be hated but not forgotten for centuries.
== Literature ==
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* Regina Mills of ''[[Once Upon a Time]]'', mayor of Storybrooke and secretly the [[God Save Us From the Queen|evil queen]] of the "[[Snow White and The Seven Dwarfs (novel)|Snow White]]" [[Fairy Tale]]. Some people know she's controlling, a few consider her a [[Rich Bitch]] or a [[Mean Boss]], but she gets away with murder because the town [[Refuge in Audacity|just can't imagine]] she'd ever sink to the depths that she actually spends most of her life in.
* Wilson Fisk in the Netflix ''[[Daredevil (series)|Daredevil]]'' series is very much this once he steps out of the shadows.
* The Netflix series ''[[The Dark Crystal|The Dark Crystal: Age of Resistance]]'' paints the Sheksis (of all people) as this originally (the series being a prequel), being initially seen as benevolent rulers by the Podlings ''and'' the Gelflings. Their greed often caused them to abuse this trust and abuse their subjects, eventually causing the Good Publicity to wane until their genocidal atrocities caused them to pass the [[Moral Event Horizon]] and turn them into the fiends they were in the movie.
== Music ==
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* In ''[[Professor Layton and the Unwound Future]]'', {{spoiler|the Prime Minister}} is the victim of the evil deeds of evil scientists for the whole game, up until the [[The Reveal]], at which point it is shown that he is the unknown instigator of the whole plot due to his greed and want for power. He {{spoiler|ran a dangerous scientific experiment to please investors, with fatal results; then swept the deaths under the rug and used the money he received to fund a political campaign. Both major antagonists want revenge for the loved ones they lost in the incident.}} He is the only unrepentant character in the original trilogy, and perhaps in the whole series, and yet he has never been shown paying the consequences.
* In ''[[Saints Row]]: The Third'', the Third Street Saints operate a massive media empire that has since made the members celebrities in the eyes of Stillwater. This includes taking the time to give autographs in the middle of a bank robbery to having cops you're in the middle of fighting ask you to autograph your weapons before putting them down.
* In ''[[Evil Genius (video game)|Evil Genius]]'', this is Alexis' biggest advantage. Maximillian has [[No Social Skills]] while Shen Yu does his best to remain hidden from the public entirely, but Alexis uses her fame and charm to sway the public to her side.
== Web Comics ==
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** There is also Othar Tryggvassen, [[Gentleman Adventurer]]!, who has a heroic reputation amongst the common folk of Europa, despite being a spark-killing maniac. Well, let's be fair: it's ''because'' he is a spark-killing maniac. Othar is <s>completely</s> [[Destructive Savior|mostly]] harmless to people who are not sparks and their minions, clanks or monsters, and specifically wants to kill all sparks and their creations because of the mess most of them put normal people in. While this is bad news for our protagonists, who are all sparks, it makes him a hero to the rest of the population (who generally don't like sparks much). Aside from this, there's the fact he's also a spark, and completely nuts.
* Angelo from ''[[Our Little Adventure]]''. He has a legion of adventurers and missionaries who do his bidding and spread the word of Angelo's gospel, even if it means [http://danielscreations.com/ola/comics/ep0096.html razing and burning villages to the ground].
* Von Gernsbach in ''[[Minion Comics]]'' hacks into government and private sector files - and [https://web.archive.org/web/20120904142150/http://www.meetmyminion.com/?p=865 got on the cover of Time magazine] by portraying himself as a Wikileaks-style freedom of information proponent.
* In ''[[Sinfest]]'', [https://web.archive.org/web/20140209175922/http://sinfest.net/archive_page.php?comicID=2413 Satan has this.]
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