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Sometimes the villain just put lots of points into blending in with society - otherwise, [[Fridge Logic|how would they have amassed power behind the scenes anyway?]] The hero often puts all his points into fighting the villain. If the hero ''gets'' to the villain, he wins, but the villain's best defense is having nobody take up arms against him to begin with, and then delaying the hero as much as possible. Both hero and villain make pretty reasonable bets.
Or, more pragmatically, it can just be to make things [[No Delays for
As a corollary, it will generally be easier for the villains to convince the locals that they're friendly than it will be for the heroes to convince them that they're not evil. Even if the evilness of the villains is [[Red Right Hand|writ large enough]] to be detectable from space ([[Names to Run Away From Really Fast|via]] [[NameDar]]). This mostly seems to result from the hero's stubborn refusal to shut the hell up about how great it was back in their world and to refuse to take on any native culture. They will wear the same outfit they had when they came him and constantly complain about the local food. This isn't helped by the fact that the hero will usually insist on going around shouting at people near-hysterically about how they're from the past and how utterly evil the villain is, [[You Have to Believe Me|in a fashion that only makes them come across like a complete psycho]]. The villain on the other hand will immediately trade in his duds for local wear and tuck into the native cuisine with gusto. He will never mention that he is from another world and be immediately accepted.
A heroic inversion of this trope is possible, but much
{{examples}}
== Anime and Manga ==
* Katushiko Jinnai in ''[[El
** It helps that being transported to El
*** Except in the ''Wanderers'' continuity, where his only ability was to merely ''communicate'' with Bugrom. It is unclear whether he controlled the Bugrom or communicated with them in the first OVA series as it was only apparent that he got along with them very well somehow. In ''The Magnificent World'' however, it definitely helped that he supposedly fit a prophecy regarding a [[The Chosen One|messenger who would lead the Bugrom to victory]]...
== Comic Books ==
*
▲* In the [[Comic Books]], ''[[Captain America]]'' had a bit of trouble fitting into the future at first, but his archenemy, The Red Skull, apparently hit the ground running as soon as he was revived. (Justified in that Red Skull actually went into suspended animation by choice (sort of), while Cap fell in the water in 1945 and woke up in...[[Comic Book Time|the present day.]]
* Unlike most Gods, Ares from the ''[[Wonder Woman]]'' comics is adjusted to the modern world, often wearing casual clothing, knowing how to use computers, operate machinery, and able to pass as an ordinary person. To be fair, the other Gods are too arrogant to see any reason to want to fit in.
** His counterpart in [[Marvel Universe]] has been able to adjust very well both before and after his [[Heel Face Turn]] – as a villain he managed to become the leader of terrorist organizations in all the world and as a good guy he quickly found a job and became a completely normal parent. [[Justified Trope|Justified]] because he was spending all his free time between Ancient Greece and the modern Age of Heroes causing and taking a part in Earth's conflicts, so he really has time to learn.
== Film ==
* In ''[[Back to The Future]] Part II'', Old Biff has no trouble fitting into 1955 when he goes back in time to give himself the almanac. Justified in that he likely remembers how things were in [[The Fifties]], he's conservatively dressed, and he looks like an unassuming elderly man. Compare him to Marty, who ''always'' sticks out like a sore thumb upon first arrival.
* Simultaneously (and [[So Bad It's Good|hilariously]]) employed and subverted in ''[[The Beastmaster
* ''[[Demolition Man]]'': Though their violent natures clash with the saccharine-sanitized future equally, the villainous Simon Phoenix was given skills and background that helped him quickly rise to the role of crime kingpin in the future, while heroic John Spartan doesn't even know how to work a futuristic toilet. [[Justified Trope|Justified]] by there being a future native who deliberately provides Phoenix with assistance and deprives Spartan of the same.
* In ''[[Enchanted]]'', Nathaniel, the evil queen's minion, has no trouble fitting into New York. He even comes up with various disguises and gets at least two jobs while there. Oh, and he apparently knows how to drive. Queen Narissa doesn't even attempt to fit in, but she does know how to use an elevator, and can hold plausible conversations {{spoiler|when explaining why the poor girl fell unconscious after eating an apple}}.
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* A strange variation happens in ''Just Visiting'': while the medieval protagonists have to go through the standard [[Fish Out of Temporal Water]] routine when transported to the present, the utterly incompetent wizard that sent them there manages to follow them, and somehow purchase clothes, spell components and ''rent a hotel room'' with no problems. This was averted in the original ''Les Visiteurs'' by having the person helping them not be the original wizard but rather {{spoiler|a modern descendant of his}}.
* In ''[[Last Action Hero]]'', [[Cowboy Cop]] Jack Slater and hitman Mr. Benedict are action movie characters who end up in real world New York City. Jack has difficulty understanding why cars don't explode when you shoot them and becomes despondent after about five minutes of exposure to "our" [[Crapsack World]], whereas Mr. Benedict (after spending a similar period being bemused that murdering people in the streets has no immediate consequences) is elated to have found a world where "the bad guys can win!" The Ripper has no trouble blending into a movie premiere wearing his freakish villain costume consisting of a yellow raincoat, dirty long hair and collapsible axe, but only because he's mistaken for his actor showing up in character, and even then he's quickly pulled aside by the actual actor's agent, who chastises him for his behaviour and attempts to order an emergency tuxedo for him.
* The film ''[[Time After Time]]'' shows [[
* In the ''[[
** In [[Highlander
** In [[Highlander III the Sorcerer|the third film]], the villain awakens after centuries of slumber and quickly assimilates into the modern world, aided in no small measure by his magical powers.
* In ''[[Terminator 2]]'', the T-1000 can look and act like any human it encounters, while the T-800 is easily recognizable to those who have already encountered one.
** Which is justified in-universe, as T-800 is purely combat model, while T-1000 has been built to be more capable of infiltration tasks.
== Literature ==
* Played straight in ''[[Timeline]]''. It's somewhat justified because the villain is a genius who would meet foreigners at bars and go home at night speaking their language on a fairly basic level, but with no accent. How his language ability survived severe brain damage is not explained.
* Inverted in [[
** Played straight with Uncle Andrew (not villainous, but clearly not shown [[It's All About Me|in a very nice light]]), who arrives in Narnia and promptly has a breakdown at the thought of animals having human intelligence. His time there is generally used for comic relief, with the animals viewing him as some sort of pet.
* In [[
** He never does appear in our world in the human form in Lovecraft's own stories apart from the surreal prosaic poem ''Nyarlathotep'' that has only little to do with the deity he evolved into in later stories - unless you
* In the [[Discworld]] novel ''[[
** Carcer actually points this out, saying that while Vimes requires others to believe he is a policeman in order to act as one, Carcer is better at being a criminal while no one believes he's one.
** In terms of "time to position of power", Vimes actually probably beat Carcer by several hours, since he {{spoiler|had the cops convinced by the end of the scene after being let out of his cell}} but he got beaten up several times in the process and Carcer was ahead both of the first two times they met face to face.
* Brutally subverted in ''[[Dune]]''. The Harkonnens spend 80 years ruling Arrakis yet act as [[Evil Overlord
* Baba Yaga in ''[[Enchantment]]'' (one of [[Orson Scott Card]]'s lesser-known works) adjusted to the modern world far more smoothly than the modern protagonist did to hers, despite the fact that he happens to speak ancient Slavonic, and she speaks ''only'' ancient Slavonic.
** Well, she was hiding the entire time, really. The only times she popped up was when she {{spoiler|pretended to be a lost, confused old woman on a plane (she didn't speak English), when she took over a plane brutally and forcefully and when she tricked Ivan's ex fiancee into trying to poison him.}}
** The fact that Baba Yaga could cast spells was an enormous advantage. If she didn't want to get noticed, she didn't get noticed. The fact that she had some idea that she was going on an adventure and thus prepared for a trip also helped.
* The ''[[His Dark Materials]]'' trilogy has two characters, one villainous from Lyra's universe and one heroic from "our" universe who manage to adapt quite well to life in the other's universe while not being aware of each other, the former being {{spoiler|Lord Boreal AKA Sir Charles Latrom}} and the latter {{spoiler|John Parry AKA Dr. Stanislaus Grumman}}. However, this is still a mostly straight example since the latter managed to adapt mostly out of sheer luck (he became a respected academic due to his academy only requiring someone to submit a thesis and defend it to grant a title, which was quite easy for him due to the universe's lower
* Saint Dane in ''[[The Pendragon Adventure]]'' blends in extremely well, regardless of territory. His [[Voluntary Shapeshifting]] abilities play a part, but in some cases, he's gone as himself (Zadaa), and still assimilated fairly easily. Hero Bobby Pendragon has a much harder time no matter what the Territory.
* Count Olaf of ''[[A Series of Unfortunate Events]]'' plays this trope fairly straight (despite his general incompetence), with one notable subversion in the last book.
* Amaurn adjusts to Callisoria quite easily in the ''[[Shadowleague]]'' books, but his [[Luke, I Am Your Father|secret daughter]] and her partner have a harder time.
* Zig-zagged in the ''[[
* In ''[[
* In ''[[Inkheart]]'', Capricorn loves the modern world and gets along in it fairly well; Dustfinger, on the
== Live-Action TV ==
* ''[[
** Inverted in the ''The Time Monster'' (featuring the Pertwee Doctor). The Master materialises his TARDIS in Atlantis, convinced he'll easily dupe these primitives into thinking he's a god, but the wise old king sees through his charlatan's tricks and laughs off an attempt to hypnotise him. To add insult to injury, as the Master is being led off by the guards he runs right into the Doctor and Jo Grant whom he last saw in his inescapable [[Death Trap]]. The king gives these two a better reception.
** Similarly, in ''The Mysterious Planet'', Sabalom Glitz is convinced that with a few explosives and a machine gun, he'll easily impress the backwards locals on Ravalox that he's the guy who should be in charge and thus be able to dismantle a valuable technological gizmo they believe to be a sacred totem. Unfortunately, he didn't count on their queen being more savvy than her primitive lifestyles would suggest, or the fact that many other con-artists have had the same idea as he did and approached her giving multiple reasons why ''they'' should be allowed to dismantle the totem as well. He's soon captured and thrown in a dungeon, much to his bewilderment. However, ironically this still works to impede the Doctor; when he goes before the queen with the ''real'' reason that he needs to dismantle the totem (it's about to explode and rip a hole in the universe), the queen's so sick of hearing [[Crying Wolf|all these false stories]] that she locks the ''Doctor'' up as well.
** Subverted in an episode where Lady Cassandra [[Grand Theft Me|possesses Rose's body]] and promptly makes it obvious she did so via behavior that makes it painfully clear that "Rose" has never spent a day in the twenty-first century.
* ''[[Read All About It]]'': On Trialveron, the three human characters stick out like a sore thumb, due to having, well, more than one personality trait apiece. Conversely, however, Trialveron's tyrannical ruler, Duneedon, has no trouble getting himself elected mayor back on Earth (under the pseudonym "Don Eden").
* ''[[
* A plot arc of ''[[Stargate SG
** In an inversion, one episode has Daniel [[Grand Theft Me|switch bodies]] with a dying alien. While the guy isn't necessarily evil, he is the antagonist of the episode, and his attempts to blend in with modern American society amounts to him all but running down the street and screaming "I'm a normal Earth native just like all of you!"
* ''[[Star Trek:
** Inverted in the episode "Mirror, Mirror", in which our heroes manage to bite their tongues and play evil in the brutal Terran Empire, while their alternates were unable to pretend to be civilized. As a result, Mr. Spock, preeminent [[Smart Guy]] that he is, instantly realized what is going on and has them hauled to the brig.
*** If memory serves Spock himself [[Lampshade Hanging|points this out]], saying something to the effect of "It is easier for a civilized man to appear barbaric than for a barbarian to appear civilized."
** Inverted in "A Piece of the Action". Captain Kirk proves to be the most formidable [[The Don|gangster]] of all.
** The ''[[Star Trek: Voyager]]'' episode "Future's End" - from his perspective, Captain Braxton is the protagonist, trying to stop the Voyager crew from destroying the future. Naturally, when he's dumped into 1960s San Francisco, he's branded a lunatic and ends up as one of those "The end is nigh!" homeless guys. In contrast, the Voyager crew beam down in period outfits, stay quiet about their true intentions and are able to move around with no trouble at all.
* Partially used in ''[[Vampire Diaries]]'' with the {{spoiler|vampires released from beneath the church, most of whom start fitting in pretty fast. However, they are seen being instructed in using modern technology, and some of them are too interested in feeding to bother learning much.}} And of course, the ability to mind control your way through most problems would help.
** One would also assume that vampires who are bad in adapting to changing circumstances don't survive for long.
* In ''[[Angel]]'' Holtz took to the 21st century pretty well for someone transplanted from the 18th century, at times seeming better adapted than Angel, who actually lived through the intervening period. It probably helped that he quickly gathered a group of modern people who could help him deal with the things he didn't understand (cars, styrofoam) by using the same, fairly timeless motivations - desire for revenge over vampires killing those close to them.
* Inverted by the final season of ''[[Smallville]]'': [[Magnificent Bastard|Lionel Luthor's]] nicer counterpart from [[Alternate Universe|Earth-2]] is transported to the main universe and easily settles in, despite the fact that on Earth-1, Lionel Luthor's been ''dead'' for three years. He claims his cover story is that he faked his death, which is pretty believable for Earth-1 Lionel and he has Earth-1 Lionel's journal to fill in the details.
* In ''[[Supernatural (TV series)|Supernatural]]'', most demons, even ones who had been sealed away like Lilith, seem to have a pretty good grasp on modern life. Angels, on the other hand, especially the "good" ones, ''especially'' Castiel, sticks out like a sore thumb.
** [[Fridge Brilliance]]: Well of course, demons used to be humans and have much more "intimate" contact with the humans that get sent to hell. Most angels, on the other hand, try to spend as little time with the "[[Fantastic Racism|mud-monkeys]]" as possible!
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*** Of course he didn't figure Tak out; she had a holographic disguise, while Zim just has a [[Paper-Thin Disguise|wig and contacts]]. And she's doesn't resemble a human child, which helps. She's not more competent. She's just better equipped.
*** Tak is roughly about as well-equipped as Zim himself is and has about the same amount of support from The Tallest (which is to say 'none'). She's just smarter about how she ''uses'' her equipment; Zim could easily rig up a holographic diguise - he just doesn't see the point when he gets along just fine. (Also note that Tak's plan is thwarted only by Zim. If not for that, she would have succeeded. Zim's plans are, if Dib or GIR don't interfere, thwarted by his own ego and overconfidence.)
* Both played straight and subverted in ''[[Justice League Unlimited]]''
* ''[[Lilo and Stitch]]'' - While Stitch causes havoc around the island attempting to overcome his programmed genetics, his [[Mad Scientist]] creator and a hapless government agent, who are both aliens with non-human body shapes and numbers of eyes, get along just fine [[Paper-Thin Disguise|Strangely Effectively Disguised]] as tourists.
* One episode of ''[[
* [[Subverted]] in ''[[Batman
* In the ''[[Teen Titans (
* Speaking of ''[[Transformers]]'', it ought to be surprising how often the Decepticons manage to persuade humans that the Autobots are evil. The ''Decepticons''. The ''DECEPT''icons. The unsubtly-scary-looking Decepticons.
** And similarly, Cobra managed to pull this one on ''[[G.I. Joe]]'', despite Cobra being a well-known international terrorist organization, and GI Joe being the US Army.
** In Transformers ''[[
*** Well Megatron did exit the transwarp field [[The Slow Path|early enough]] to arrive on Cybertron long before the Maximals got there. It's likely Megatron had years to put his plans into action while the Maximals were attacked immediately on arrival and had no chance at all to adapt like Megatron did.
* In ''[[My Little Pony:
*** However she was talking to her sister not her subjects.
** Meanwhile, Discord, a different villain who has been trapped in the form of a [[Taken for Granite|statue]] for even longer than Luna was on the moon, has no trouble with modern speech patterns at all. However, when he first breaks out, he seems to know a lot about the main cast, implying that he was [[And I Must Scream|aware of his surroundings while he as locked into his statue]], which would explain that.
{{reflist}}
[[Category:Evil Tropes]]
[[Category:Speculative Fiction Tropes]]
[[Category:
[[Category:Villains]]
▲[[Category:Trope]]
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