# The most gratuitous "I am evil" scenes...



## nikolai (Mar 9, 2004)

Particularly in fantasy fiction, with its good vs. evil plotting, there's a need to demonstrate for the reader the evilness of the enemy. This leads to "I am evil" scenes; which often do nothing to further the plot but show the reader just how gratuitously evil the villains are.

Care to share any examples?

*A very, very minor spoiler for The Dragonbone Chair follows.*

I've been reading this book, which is okay. But, near the beginning the priest Pryrates, who was flagged as evil since his stage entrance, stamps on a puppy, killing it, for absolutely no reason (other than spelling out to the reader exactly who's on the wrong side).


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## takyris (Mar 9, 2004)

Wow.  Among my writer buddies, "kicking a puppy" is slang for going over the top to show that your dude is evil.  In a parody piece I wrote, I had a bad guy kick a puppy and then offer drugs to a small child in the same sentence and got howls of derisive laughter.

The most gratuitous I can think of offhand was one sentence (that I can remember offhand -- there were certainly others in there) from Terry Goodkind's "Wizard's First Rule". It's describing the lieutenant bad guy:

_His skin was as smooth as the chests of the young boys he favored._

I appreciate knowing that our lieutenant is an evil character, but a one-sentence categorization as a child molester is possibly a bit, well, gratuitous.


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## Datt (Mar 9, 2004)

Not from a book but from the new Battlestar miniseries.

The Cylon woman looks down at a baby and then while it's mother isn't looking kills it.  No reason why, shouldn't have even been there, but that's just my opinion.


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## Mark (Mar 9, 2004)

nikolai said:
			
		

> Particularly in fantasy fiction, with its good vs. evil plotting, there's a need to demonstrate for the reader the evilness of the enemy. This leads to "I am evil" scenes; which often do nothing to further the plot but show the reader just how gratuitously evil the villains are.
> 
> Care to share any examples?




Davis Warner (as "Evil") blasts his own minion (who was also previously turned into a dog) after his usefulness has expired...


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## Kai Lord (Mar 9, 2004)

Spoiler for a small art-house film called Return of the Jedi:

Early on Jabba the Hutt tries to molest one of his dancers, when she resists he has a giant monster eat her alive.  Talk about harsh....


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## Wombat (Mar 9, 2004)

Mark said:
			
		

> Davis Warner (as "Evil") blasts his own minion (who was also previously turned into a dog) after his usefulness has expired...




"But if you're all powerful," ask Soon-To-Be-Dead Minion, "why are you trapped here?"

(shuffling minions, look of anger on Supreme Evil)

KABLOOIE!

(pop goes the minion)

"A good question," says Supreme Evil


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## Kai Lord (Mar 9, 2004)

Thulsa Doom also had a pretty good "I am evil" scene at the beginning of Conan the Barbarian, and Mola Ram's heart ripping scene in Temple of Doom was one of the most talked about establishing scenes of 1984.


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## Krieg (Mar 9, 2004)

Kai Lord said:
			
		

> /snip/a small art-house film/snip/





They really need a "soda coming out the nose" or "spitting soda on the monitor" smiley!!

ROFL!!


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## ergeheilalt (Mar 9, 2004)

In the Dirk Pitt Novel "Trojan Oddessy" by Clive Cussler (a good  book btw). An bad gal kills a good gal and then carves an image of a Celtic running horse into her abdomen. No reason - just establishes the fact that the bad guys are really the bad guys.

Erge


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## Altalazar (Mar 9, 2004)

How about in Robin Hood - where the Sherriff shouts out "No more kitchen scraps for the beggars and CALL OFF CHRISTMAS!"

But really, I've always hated those "I am evil" type scenes.  It always seemed so gratuitous and it makes me think I've watching a movie with a one dimensional villain and script.  I mean, ok, in Time Bandits, it worked - because he was pure evil, and it was almost tongue-in-cheek.

But in other movies, it just takes me out of the movie.  NO ONE is pure evil.  Only cartoon villains, and even then, the best of them are not.  

It just makes the whole plot unbelievable.  I mean - if villains went around randomly killing henchmen, for instance, they'd soon find themselves alone - because no one would want to work for them.  

The best villains - the believable ones - are the ones with shades of grey.  The villains who, but for a slight change of circumstances, would be heroes.  Who perhaps could be heroes.  But ok, I guess I'm getting off topic here.


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## VorpalBunny (Mar 9, 2004)

The one that really sticks out in my mind is Vader and Captain Antilles:

"... IF THIS IS A COUNSULATE SHIP, WHERE IS THE AMBASSADOR?!"

gurgle.... gurgle.... crunch

maybe not the best example of an "I'm pure evil" scene, but when you're nine years old it does make an impression...


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## Dark Jezter (Mar 9, 2004)

I can't believe that nobody has mentioned Ernst Blofeld from the old James Bond movies.  That guy had an "I am evil" scene in nearly every Bond film he appeared in... usually, it involved him killing one of his henchman an unpleasent manner because they failed him.  From burning them alive to feeding them to pirahnas, Blofeld was the master of the "I am evil" scene.

Other famous characters who are unashamedly evil:

Prince Humperdink from the Princess Bride.

The Joker from the first Batman movie (although this could apply to pretty much all comic book villains).

Agent Smith from The Matrix ("What good is a phone if you have no voice?).

Every Republican character in any script written by Aaron Sorkin.

Edward Longshanks from Braveheart (prima nochte).

Jeremy Irons' character in the Dungeons & Dragons Movie.


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## The Serge (Mar 9, 2004)

_The Usual Suspects_:  When Keyser Soze kills off his entire family, two of the thugs that threatened them, and then let one go in order to send a message to anyone stupid or crazy enough to screw with him.

_Return of the Jedi_:  Uhhh...  From the moment that nasty old bastish walks off the shuttle, with the brooding male chorus in the background, we know that this guy's worse than Darth Vader.  "Give into your anger.  Take your Jedi weapon.  Use it!  With each passing moment, you become more my servant.  It is unavoidable.  It is your destiny.  You -- like your father -- are now...  _MINE_!"  Evil bastish.

_The Godfather II_:  Although most people are pretty ambivalent about Michael Corleone, I'm certain he's an evil bastish (the epitome of LE IMO).  After discovering that his only surviving brother, Fredo, betrayed the family, Michael disowns him and tells him people to make sure that nothing happens to him while their mother lives.  Fredo, sick with guilt, begs to be let back into the family, but Michael won't speak to him.  It takes the death of their mother and their sister to convince Michael to see his brother at the wake.  Michael confronts a tearful Fredo and the two embrace, Fredo clearly repentant for what he did and truly committed to his brother.  However, we see Michael give one of his lieutenants a look...  Afterall, their mother _is_ dead.

_X-Men United_:  Colonel Stryker's in his bunker, viewing the few mutant children he was able to take after his successful assault on Xavier's Institute on closed circuit.  He is now ready to complete his goal to kill all mutants.  When his henchman asks why Stryker's keeping the children, the Col. replies with a smile that, "I'm a scientist...  I like to study the effects of my research."

_X-Men United_:  Magneto manages to stop Xavier from destroying all mutants.  Rather than free his old friend, he reworks Cerebro II and tells the hypnotized Xavier to kill all humanity before leaving his former friend to be sealed in a subterranean bunker forever.

There are many more...  But the best are those that feature The Joker! 

_The Joker_:  When don't we have an "I am evil" scene from him.  In _The Dark Knight Returns_, he kills the entire audience of a talk show (parodied from David Letterman) before beating the hell out of Selina Kyle before serving poisoned cotton candy to boy scouts before scattering bombs around a carnival before committing suicide in such a way to frame The Batman for his murder (in one of the best death scenes in _any_ comic).  In _A Death in the Family_ he takes some medical supplies he plans on selling to the blackmarket... but rather than just replacing the real medicine with empty boxes, he switches it with his Laughing Gas... and then he beats Robin to death before blowing him and his mother up.  In _The Killing Joke_, The Joker shots Barbara Gordon (witlessly -- we think -- ending her career as Batgirl), crippling her; then he strips her, takes pictures of her torture, and shows the pictures to a kidnapped Commissioner Gordon.  And, finally, in _No Man's Land_, just before Gotham is reopened, to reflect that there is no hope, The Clown Prince of Crime kidnaps all of the babies born in No Man's Land a few days before, intent on blowing them up.  Gordon's wife, Sarah Essen, finds him first and The Joker kills her and gives himself up.  When Gordon confronts him and has an opportunity to kill him since Batman won't stop the execution, Gordon can't bring himself to shoot even as he commiserates over the fact that The Joker tortured him, crippled and tortured Barbara, and murdered his wife, The Joker says "Don't you have a son too?"  Brilliant.


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## Rhialto (Mar 9, 2004)

Altalazar said:
			
		

> NO ONE is pure evil.  Only cartoon villains, and even then, the best of them are not.




Serial killers.  Various dictators, torturers, and other unpleasant individuals.  Do a little looking and you'll find people who pretty much fit the bill, I'm afraid.



			
				Altalazar said:
			
		

> It just makes the whole plot unbelievable.  I mean - if villains went around randomly killing henchmen, for instance, they'd soon find themselves alone - because no one would want to work for them.




Never stopped Adolf Hitler.  Or Joe Stalin.  Or Mao.  Or Pol Pot. Or...



			
				Altalazar said:
			
		

> The best villains - the believable ones - are the ones with shades of grey.  The villains who, but for a slight change of circumstances, would be heroes.  Who perhaps could be heroes.  But ok, I guess I'm getting off topic here.




See this is where I really find fault.  Grey villains are fun, but they can be just as badly or as well-done as 'pure evil' villains.  Both types have their place in the world, and in fiction.  

And personally I'd say the bit in *The Dragonbone Chair* establishes character and is the first indication of the growing atmosphere of dread.  But then again, I really like that book...


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## Silver Moon (Mar 9, 2004)

ergeheilalt said:
			
		

> In the Dirk Pitt Novel "Trojan Oddessy" by Clive Cussler (a good  book btw). An bad gal kills a good gal and then carves an image of a Celtic running horse into her abdomen. No reason - just establishes the fact that the bad guys are really the bad guys.



I think you missed it, the reason for the killing was explained later on.  She was a druid priestess and killing the woman was a human sacrifice with the horse carving being part of the ritual.   She took the extra time for the sacrifice to grant herself luck in making a successful escape.   And yes, it was a good book.


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## takyris (Mar 9, 2004)

The key word here is *Gratuitous*.  Gratuitous is generally considered a not-positive word.  In the literary sense, something gratuitous is something that is thrown in there far more than necessary in order to ham-handedly whack the reader over the head with something that the author wants them to understand.

I thought that Darth Vader's killing of the captain wasn't gratuitous, because we hadn't seen much of Vader at this point in the film.  It established his villainous nature in a very impressive and scary method, but it didn't insult the audience with its obviousness (ie, Vader didn't take a lightsaber to a puppy in order to use the puppy's blood to distill an illegal street drug that he would then sell to orphans in exchange for kitten carcasses, which I had a villain in one of my Action Movie d20 Modern games do in order to tell the players that he was evil).  In Empire, Vader is killing folks offscreen -- we cut to a lackey falling down dead, clutching at his throat, and then Vader walks past and says "Apology accepted".  If we'd been treated to ten minutes of Vader choking somebody each time, it'd be a bit gratuitous.


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## RangerWickett (Mar 9, 2004)

I really hope that all the writers of the Joker in comics have used him as a vehicle to get such . . . sick . . . ideas out of their heads, rather than as a form of practice to get ready for the _real_ fun.  Man, the Joker is a twisted ****.


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## s/LaSH (Mar 10, 2004)

Does Grand Moff Tarkin's decision to wipe out Alderaan count? It's a well-reasoned decision, of course ("Dantooine is too remote to serve as an effective demonstration"), but it's also frightfully cruel.

... and I can't think of any more.



			
				Datt said:
			
		

> Not from a book but from the new Battlestar miniseries.
> 
> The Cylon woman looks down at a baby and then while it's mother isn't looking kills it.  No reason why, shouldn't have even been there, but that's just my opinion.




I thought that was obvious... she'd obviously been constructed from 'human plans' found on the Internet (or wherever) and didn't know the first thing about real life. She was just curious, and, when poking around looking at its neck (which she actually mentions seems too weak to hold up its head) must've exceeded boundaries she didn't know about.

That's not a gratuitous evil scene, that's a gratuitous alien-nature scene of a grotesque stripe. I'm still half-convinced her agenda is different to that of the planet-nuking cylons, too (but only half-convinced), partially because she doesn't look too happy after that scene...


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## Silver Moon (Mar 10, 2004)

takyris said:
			
		

> ...Vader didn't take a lightsaber to a puppy in order to use the puppy's blood to distill an illegal street drug that he would then sell to orphans in exchange for kitten carcasses.



Damn, you should have put a spoiler warning on that!  You've now given away the entire plot for Episode III!


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## ergeheilalt (Mar 10, 2004)

Silver Moon said:
			
		

> I think you missed it, the reason for the killing was explained later on.  She was a druid priestess and killing the woman was a human sacrifice with the horse carving being part of the ritual.   She took the extra time for the sacrifice to grant herself luck in making a successful escape.   And yes, it was a good book.




Go and spoil it - I haven't even finished it . Meh, I'll be done with it before the week is out and then it's time to go book shopping again. I hate running out of them so quickly...

Erge


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## Ankh-Morpork Guard (Mar 10, 2004)

Silver Moon said:
			
		

> Damn, you should have put a spoiler warning on that!  You've now given away the entire plot for Episode III!



 Shhh!! Don't let the world find out that spoiler's here or so many people will come to ENWorld it'll be down for years!!


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## Pierce (Mar 10, 2004)

Pretty much anything that Jason Isaacs' British colonel did in The Patriot.  The movie as a whole wasn't bad and Isaacs is usually enjoyable (see: Lucius Malfoy), but that character just got on my nerves with the whole "see how evil I am?!!??" thing.  Ugh.


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## Dark Jezter (Mar 10, 2004)

Pierce said:
			
		

> Pretty much anything that Jason Isaacs' British colonel did in The Patriot.  The movie as a whole wasn't bad and Isaacs is usually enjoyable (see: Lucius Malfoy), but that character just got on my nerves with the whole "see how evil I am?!!??" thing.  Ugh.



 I can't believe I forgot to mention that one in my first post.  Yeah, Jason Isaac's British Colonel in The Patriot had more "I am evil!!!" scenes than I could count.  All he was missing was a long moustache he could twirl sinisterly.


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## Kai Lord (Mar 10, 2004)

Its been a few years since I've seen it, but I seem to remember Gary Oldman having a number of such scenes in _Leon_ _("The Professional")_.  Didn't he shoot Natalie Pormtan's four year old brother?


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## mmu1 (Mar 10, 2004)

s/LaSH said:
			
		

> I thought that was obvious... she'd obviously been constructed from 'human plans' found on the Internet (or wherever) and didn't know the first thing about real life. She was just curious, and, when poking around looking at its neck (which she actually mentions seems too weak to hold up its head) must've exceeded boundaries she didn't know about.
> 
> That's not a gratuitous evil scene, that's a gratuitous alien-nature scene of a grotesque stripe. I'm still half-convinced her agenda is different to that of the planet-nuking cylons, too (but only half-convinced), partially because she doesn't look too happy after that scene...




I don't think that was it at all - I think she did it because she felt the baby would suffer less if she killed it instantly than if it died as a result of the nuclear strike she knew was coming. It was her idea of mercy.


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## The Grumpy Celt (Mar 10, 2004)

Right, it has been a while sense I posted anything here, but how about Judge Doom killing the Shoe in Roger Rabbit.

Granted, killing R.K. Maroon, Teddy Valient, Marvin Acme and trying to kill Roger Rabbit, Eddie Valient and Jessica Rabbit all made sense in terms of the plot he was hatching.

But dipping the Shoe was just mean.

Above and beyond that, Doom was trying to wipe out other 'Toons. He was a 'Toon. He was trying to wipe-out his own kind. That should make him more evil than even Magneto - which is saying something...

"I'm so  EVIL that I'm genocidal - against my own people! Mwa ha ha!"


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## John Crichton (Mar 10, 2004)

To add a few of my faves:

- General Chang from Star Trek VI and the scenes from the bridge of his bird of prey and the courtroom.

- Khan (Trek II) putting the brain munchers in Checkov and that other dude's helmet.

- When we first meet Barbosa in Pirates of the Caribbean.

- Gozer.  You know what I'm talking 'bout.

- The Mayor from Buffy.  Any scene.


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## Dirigible (Mar 10, 2004)

From Gaiman's _Neverwhere_, the scene where Mr. Croup and Mr. Vandemar eat a puppy after burning down a nunnery. And I thought that was jsut the induciton test to the Villain's Guild in The Tick...


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## Frostmarrow (Mar 10, 2004)

The fat leacherous Baron Harkonnen has skin diseases implanted on himself. Then he pulls the heart plug from one of his servants. The servant bleeds to death in the Baron's arms. Why would you have heart plugs installed in your henchmen?


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## John Q. Mayhem (Mar 10, 2004)

Prince Einon from Dragonheart. Ordering the peasents to be blinded and killing the girls father for no particular reason.


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## Silver Moon (Mar 10, 2004)

John Crichton said:
			
		

> - Khan (Trek II) putting the brain munchers in Checkov and that other dude's helmet.



FYI, "that other dude" was played by the great character actor Paul Winfield, who passed away yesterday.


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## Barendd Nobeard (Mar 10, 2004)

Frostmarrow said:
			
		

> The fat leacherous Baron Harkonnen has skin diseases implanted on himself. Then he pulls the heart plug from one of his servants. The servant bleeds to death in the Baron's arms. Why would you have heart plugs installed in your henchmen?



Because he's evil?


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## GoodKingJayIII (Mar 10, 2004)

Kai Lord said:
			
		

> Its been a few years since I've seen it, but I seem to remember Gary Oldman having a number of such scenes in _Leon_ _("The Professional")_.  Didn't he shoot Natalie Pormtan's four year old brother?




Yeah, Gary Oldman killed everyone in that movie.

Gratuitous evil scene?  Hmm... that's a tough one... I try and avoid books/movies with that sort of thing (though I did love _the Patriot_).

How about Emperor Commodus in _The Gladiator_?  Smothered his Dad to death while hugging him, insinuated killing his own nephew, wanted to sleep with his sister, stabbed Maximus in the back, attacked an unarmed, dying man, and still got his buttocks handed to him in the gladiatorial arena.

Though I will admit I rather enjoyed hating him.


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## John Crichton (Mar 10, 2004)

Silver Moon said:
			
		

> FYI, "that other dude" was played by the great character actor Paul Winfield, who passed away yesterday.



 I actually knew that but I couldn't remember any names and didn't feel like checking IMDb as I was tired.  I did not know he passed recently.


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## Berandor (Mar 10, 2004)

O.K., I'm jumping to the end here, so if someone already wrote it in, sorry. Also sorry that I don't use spoiler tags, but this thread is spoilery enough already.

One of my favourite "I'm evil" scenes is in "Once upon a time in the west", when Frank kills the family, and especially the kid. It's just ruthless, and uncommon in that he doesn't shoot his buddy who said Frank's name. O.K., it's not gratitious, but it establishes his evilness soooo good.

I really dislike most of these scenes, however, because they show me what a fool the villain is. Who would honestly kill a henchman because he came back to report failure, or better: if you really did that, what kind of henchman would come back to your after failing you? Even more stupid is it when the BBEG just didn't want to be disturbed and kills his mook because of disturbing him. Who'd work for such a crazy madman?


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## Frostmarrow (Mar 10, 2004)

Barendd Nobeard said:
			
		

> Because he's evil?




-Obviously. But he could just as well keep a dagger handy rather than go through all that trouble. But noooooo, he has to do it the awkward way - It strikes fear into the underlings, it does.


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## Hand of Evil (Mar 10, 2004)

Evil in Time Bandits


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## Kahuna Burger (Mar 10, 2004)

Rhialto said:
			
		

> Serial killers.  Various dictators, torturers, and other unpleasant individuals.  Do a little looking and you'll find people who pretty much fit the bill, I'm afraid.
> 
> 
> 
> ...




Are you aware of any historical cases where Adolf hitler killed an underling himself, in cold blood, on any issue, much less a gratuitous one? Aside from his wife and himself, I don't know of any killing Hitler did with his own hands after leaving the army. If you say it 'never stopped them' I hope you can demonstrate that each one actually did it more than once.

As for 'real' pure evil, serial killers are boring. While they may be gratuitously evil, they make bad villains for other reasons, and cannot be the BBEG because their lack of stability tends to prevent the aquisition of followers. The various dictators and such, while not always 'grey' tend to have evil of another non gratuitous sort - the 'cold' variety. Little up close and personal death, little attachment to the suffering, just doing business. When writers try to have an evil as calculating as a successful dictator, but as debased as a serial killer, thats where I find it becomes gratuitous and silly. 

How 'bout the big bad in The Crow? "I kill women in kinky group sex with my sister the witch, stab people for fun and have an incredibly powerful organization based on doing evil, and I'm anoyed that we've strayed away from doing chaotic stupid things in favor of making the organization sustainable... did i meantion the kinky sex with my sister, done mostly for the evil Athurian overtones?"

For over the top evil in a well leashed underling (where it makes more sense) I'd say caleb in the final buffy season. As if his intro wasn't enough, the bit where he's having the First take on the forms of his old victims so he can relive his favorite misogynistic slayings was just the reminder we needed that this guy has no plan, no class, just another psycho on a leash. 

kahuna Burger


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## diaglo (Mar 10, 2004)

do you expect me to talk?

no..Mr. Bond...I expect you to die.


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## Hand of Evil (Mar 10, 2004)

*Fight Night* - The vampire dragging his finger along the banister, the wood curling were his fingernail cuts into it.


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## S'mon (Mar 10, 2004)

Kahuna Burger said:
			
		

> Are you aware of any historical cases where Adolf hitler killed an underling himself, in cold blood, on any issue, much less a gratuitous one?




Yeah, Hitler doesn't fit the criminal psychopath mold, but plenty of dictators do - Idi Amin, Joe Stalin, Saddam Hussein & his sons, all seem to have enjoyed personally killing people, as do many crime bosses like Al Capone.  Most don't do it completely randomly though, at least not to henchmen - henchmen are typically killed for saying things like "Maybe we should have elections now..."


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## Staffan (Mar 10, 2004)

Lord Farquaad of Duloc torturing the Gingerbread Man by dipping him into milk.


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## Kesh (Mar 10, 2004)

diaglo said:
			
		

> do you expect me to talk?
> 
> no..Mr. Bond...I expect you to die.



 I love that scene. The look on Sean Connery's face after that line is absolutely wonderful. Kind of, "Wait, that's _not_ how it's supposed to go!"


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## ergeheilalt (Mar 10, 2004)

Staffan said:
			
		

> Lord Farquaad of Duloc torturing the Gingerbread Man by dipping him into milk.




Oh my, I think you've hit on something. You are a very asstute person, my friend.   

Erge


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## reapersaurus (Mar 10, 2004)

Hand of Evil said:
			
		

> *Fight Night* - The vampire dragging his finger along the banister, the wood curling were his fingernail cuts into it.



Is that the movie where Evil Ed says "The First Rule of Vampirism
is : 
You Do Not Talk About Vampirism."


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## Kahuna Burger (Mar 10, 2004)

Didn't the cartoon Wizards have some really weird symbolic slaughter of a animal meant to represent a jew at the intro of the villain? I remember almost nothing about that film, but even the vestigal memory of that scene leaves me with the feeling that it must have had a REALLY EVIL bad guy....

Kahuna burger


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## Dirigible (Mar 11, 2004)

> Why would you have heart plugs installed in your henchmen?




I counter: Why would you not, sir? Why would you not?


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## Rhialto (Mar 11, 2004)

Kahuna Burger said:
			
		

> Are you aware of any historical cases where Adolf hitler killed an underling himself, in cold blood, on any issue, much less a gratuitous one? Aside from his wife and himself, I don't know of any killing Hitler did with his own hands after leaving the army. If you say it 'never stopped them' I hope you can demonstrate that each one actually did it more than once.




Well, there was that niece of his who died under suspicious circumstances...

But nothing was proven there.  Anyway, you're missing my point--most of the time the 'killing underlings' shtick is done to show how the villian keeps authority/secrets in his evil organization, and is done to underlings who show signs of disobeying, or 'know too much'.  It's a bit of cliche, but the truth is evil people tend to work that way.

And the fact that Hitler ordered it done by someone else doesn't change the fact that he did it...


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## Pants (Mar 11, 2004)

Dirigible said:
			
		

> From Gaiman's _Neverwhere_, the scene where Mr. Croup and Mr. Vandemar eat a puppy after burning down a nunnery. And I thought that was jsut the induciton test to the Villain's Guild in The Tick...



But they were pretty much 'over-the-top' in every conceivable way.


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## Mustrum_Ridcully (Mar 11, 2004)

Rhialto said:
			
		

> Well, there was that niece of his who died under suspicious circumstances...
> 
> But nothing was proven there.  Anyway, you're missing my point--most of the time the 'killing underlings' shtick is done to show how the villian keeps authority/secrets in his evil organization, and is done to underlings who show signs of disobeying, or 'know too much'.  It's a bit of cliche, but the truth is evil people tend to work that way.
> 
> And the fact that Hitler ordered it done by someone else doesn't change the fact that he did it...



Still, it is not entirely random. The scenes in movies are definitely over the top here (or at least use the wrong "targets")
Failure seldomly leads to death, usually people like this get, after they used up all their connections and second chances get thrown out or get a lower rank / weaker position where they can`t do any "harm". (Unless maybe they prove a real security/secrecy risk)
People that get killed are those who can really harm the dictator (and its dictatorship)...

Mustrum Ridcully


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## Avouz (Mar 11, 2004)

Dark Jezter said:
			
		

> I can't believe I forgot to mention that one in my first post.  Yeah, Jason Isaac's British Colonel in The Patriot had more "I am evil!!!" scenes than I could count.  All he was missing was a long moustache he could twirl sinisterly.




This was what I thought off the instant I saw the thread topic. Jason Isaac's character was so over the top it actually ruined the film for me. Just goes to show there is too much of a "bad" thing.


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## Branduil (Mar 12, 2004)

Seems like this thread needs a link to the Evil Overlord List.

32. I will not fly into a rage and kill a messenger who brings me bad news just to illustrate how evil I really am. Good messengers are hard to come by.


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## Claude Raines (Mar 13, 2004)

In the book _The Stone and The Maiden_ (which everyone should avoid) the evil princess who stole the throne from her nice sister would regularly have kinky sex while bathing in animal blood. Just because that's what evil sister's do.


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## Kai Lord (Mar 13, 2004)

Ma Gnucci from _The Punisher: Welcome Back Frank:_ "Lick my scabs."


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## demiurge1138 (Mar 13, 2004)

Claude Raines said:
			
		

> In the book _The Stone and The Maiden_ (which everyone should avoid) the evil princess who stole the throne from her nice sister would regularly have kinky sex while bathing in animal blood. Just because that's what evil sister's do.



Well, in real life, the Countess Elizabeth Bathory would regualrly bathe in the blood of virgins to keep her young. So I'd bet that this excess of evil is based on that real world incident. No kinky sex though. 

Demiurge out.


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## Dark Jezter (Mar 13, 2004)

How about the Kurgan from Highlander?

The first time we see him, he rides into battle wearing evil-looking armor complete with a skull helmet, so we know right away that he's a bad guy.  Later, we get to see him kill Connor's friend and mentor, drive around with an old lady on the hood of his car, and meet with Connor in the chapel of a Catholic church to brag about how he raped Connor's wife after killing Ramirez.

Yep, the Kurgan is one evil bastard.


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## Kai Lord (Mar 13, 2004)

Dark Jezter said:
			
		

> Later, we get to see him...brag about how he raped Connor's wife after killing Ramirez.



Ugh.  You just reminded me of the scene in Rob Roy where Tim Roth rapes Jessica Lange.  One of the most despicable characters ever.


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## shilsen (Mar 13, 2004)

Kai Lord said:
			
		

> Ugh.  You just reminded me of the scene in Rob Roy where Tim Roth rapes Jessica Lange.  One of the most despicable characters ever.




I loved that character! "I am a  (rooster) that crows on the dunghill that is life" (IIRC).


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## TheBadElf (Mar 13, 2004)

As I recall his name was Archibald Cunningham.  One of my favorite movie villains ever; I saw _Rob Roy_ in the base theater at Kunsan Air Force Base in South Korea, and the audience actually did a standing ovation when he met his fate.  Only time I've EVER seen that at a movie theater.


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## Ace (Mar 14, 2004)

Kai Lord said:
			
		

> Its been a few years since I've seen it, but I seem to remember Gary Oldman having a number of such scenes in _Leon_ _("The Professional")_.  Didn't he shoot Natalie Pormtan's four year old brother?




Yes and he ruined any diet he might have been on with a lot of scenery chewing "Bring ME EVERYONE"

I always thoough his chewing the amphetamines scene was gratuitous myself


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## d10 (Mar 14, 2004)

Any scene in "The Dark Elf Trilogy" involving any one other than Drizzt or the deep gnomes. I'm reading right now and am begining to skip the bits in the Drow city just because all they do is show you how evil the Drow are.It get real monotonous real fast!!!


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## VirgilCaine (Mar 14, 2004)

> In the book The Stone and The Maiden (which everyone should avoid) the evil princess who stole the throne from her nice sister would regularly have kinky sex while bathing in animal blood. Just because that's what evil sister's do.




Ah, but _who_ [what?] does she have sex with in the animal blood? THis has a further impact on the evilness of the demonstration.



> Does Grand Moff Tarkin's decision to wipe out Alderaan count? It's a well-reasoned decision, of course ("Dantooine is too remote to serve as an effective demonstration"), but it's also frightfully cruel.




Not to mention that fact that Alderaan is officially a weapons-free planet. But then, it's really nothing worse than what governments have been doing all through the 20th century.  



> (ie, Vader didn't take a lightsaber to a puppy in order to use the puppy's blood to distill an illegal street drug that he would then sell to orphans in exchange for kitten carcasses, which I had a villain in one of my Action Movie d20 Modern games do in order to tell the players that he was evil).




Did the D20 Modern character really use a _lightsaber_...?


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## NiTessine (Mar 14, 2004)

In _He-Man: Masters of the Universe_, Skeletor disintegrating a subordinate who failed. I think it was Saurod. I had that guy as an action figure. When you rolled this wheel on his back, sparks shot out of his mouth. I remember being real miffed about him dying. Man, it's been a long time since I saw that film. Even longer since I saw any of my action figures...


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## Caliban (Mar 14, 2004)

In the recent _DareDevil_ movie, pretty much every scene with Bullseye.
  -- Killing the bar patron with paperclips after he insulted him.
  -- Killing the old lady on the plane with a peanut because she wouldn't stop talking. 
  --Killing the Kingpin's guard just because he could.

I'm sure there's more that I'm forgetting.


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## PoppaGunch (Mar 14, 2004)

Recently I was watching the show Firefly on DVD (found out it existed after the thing was canceled, damn you FOX).  Anywho.  One episode in particular shocked me with some brutality.  The captain and the pilot were captured by a guy they didn't finish a job for.  And the guy tortured the snot out of the both of them.  The pilots wife took a collection of money and went to buy them back.  The bad guy would only let her take one and she had to pick.  THe messed up part was after she chose her husband, the bad guy says, 
"Wait we aren't even"  he then Cuts off the Captains ear and hands it to the pilots wife.  
He then goes on to say "Here's your change"
All I gots to say to that is: "*Dayamn!*"


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## Hand of Evil (Mar 15, 2004)

The Simpons, Mister Burns: "Release the dogs!"


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## TracerBullet42 (Mar 15, 2004)

Hand of Evil said:
			
		

> The Simpons, Mister Burns: "Release the dogs!"




Worse yet...release the bees...or the dogs with bees in there mouth that shoot bees at you when they bark...

Or what we all should fear most...THE ROBOTIC RICHARD SIMMONS!


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## Pants (Mar 15, 2004)

His ass is going to explode!


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## Nuclear Platypus (Mar 16, 2004)

It's been awhile since I seen the movie but Jack Palance in "Shane". IIRC, he tosses a gun at the feet of some dirt farmer, who won't pick it up even after being taunted. When he finally goes for it, Jack easily outdraws him, killing him. His response: "You all saw it. He had a gun."

Sticking with Westerns, I've also a fondness for the evilness of Gene Hackman in "The Quick and the Dead".

However, one of my all time fave scenes of villainy was an Imperial officer dropping dead and Vader saying "Apology accepted Captain Needa."

But an honorable mention goes out to Mel Gibson in "Payback". Killing a man's alligator bags and shooting holes in his suits? That's just MEAN!


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## Kobold Avenger (Mar 17, 2004)

How about some comic book characters...
Such as the part in Preacher where the Saint of Killers killed everyone in a bar just to show he was the Patron Saint of Killers.  However many of the villians were just outright crazy or messed up to begin with.  Herr Starr didn't have too much gratuitously evil scenes, mainly because they were all overshadowed by him being unluckily victimized by just about everybody and everything.


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