“ | My God, man, what am I going to do with you?! You've done nothing but screw up! You've walked off of mesas, been smashed by boulders and run over by diesel trucks! And don't blame the equipment! The equipment is good! It's ACME equipment! You're a coyote! Be wily! | „ |
~ Mr. Chairman ranting to Wile E. Coyote about his incompetence. |
“ | Vader: The rebels are alerted to our presence. Admiral Ozzel came out of light-speed too close to the system. Veers: H-He felt surprise was wiser... Vader: He is as clumsy as he is stupid. |
„ |
~ Darth Vader to General Veers regarding Admiral Ozzel's incompetence. |
Villains who are more likely to accidentally foil their own plots than the heroes they're fighting against (unless if said heroes are the same) due to stupidity, cowardly behavior, weakness, incompetent minions, and/or overconfidence. Thus, they can be easily defeated and often hit the Scapegoat category because of this.
Incompetent villains mostly appear in comedies, where it is expected from the audience to see the main evil-doers or their henchmen fail miserably (such as Bebop & Rocksteady and Dr. Robotnik) - and most cartoons (e.g. many Looney Tunes villains), but can appear as well in serious or even mature stories. If this is the case, they are often comic reliefs due to their incompetence contrasting the work's overall tone. An example is Phil Cassidy. Evil organizations and corporations can also be labeled as incompetent if most or all of their agents/superiors are themselves incompetent. Team Rocket, the Koopalings, and the Casino Bosses are good examples of this.
Incompetent villains can also be characters who have schemes that are ultimately stupid, pointless or do little to cause chaos. Sometimes their attempts at evil blow up in their faces by either causing them great harm or even aiding the heroes; thus, these villains are not really much of a threat but they can occasionally be dangerous or even intimidating. Additionally, characters who are stated or made out to be smart in the media they appear in, or even masterminds, such as Dr. Neo Cortex, Wile E. Coyote, Sideshow Bob, and Krang can still be classified as incompetent if they meet any of the previous qualifications, especially if their intelligence varies. Also, as mentioned, just because they are incompetent does not mean that they aren't smart. It is possible for villains to be good in a certain field, but still are too cowardly, lacking in common sense, or too arrogant to get the job done.
For obvious reasons, these villains are likely not successful, but in certain cases, they CAN still succeed in their goals, notably either if they have the help of much more frightening and competent villains, just with luck, or by learning from their own mistakes to become better (e.g. Heinz Doofenshmirtz, Plankton, Shredder (1987), Bowler Hat Guy, Zim and Agent One and Agent Two).
Keep in mind that this category only refers to incompetence in terms of villainy and antagonism, not professionalism or occupational skills.
Pure Evil villains are NEVER Incompetent as they are capable of committing horrific acts and causing serious problems in a story which actually makes them competent and very formidable. In rare cases where Pure Evil villains are somewhat incompetent (e.g. Chaka, Babidi, Nobuyuki Sugou, Keera L. Greenwood, Screwball, Dolores Umbridge, Edgar Fromware, Joffrey Baratheon, Diodora Astaroth, Sal, and Bob Ewell) they are still capable of committing horrific acts. They should go under the Arrogant, Dimwits, Cowards, Weaklings, Non-Action and/or Pawns categories instead. In some cases, some can improve on their competence heavily if their heinous crimes outweigh their slight and former incompetence. This also applies to villains who are not Pure Evil yet are still extremely dangerous and capable despite their slight incompetence (e.g. Homelander, Envy, Li'l Gideon, Rob, King K. Rool, Dr. Nefarious, Tighten, Ercole Visconti, Big Jack Horner, Dru Gru and Dr. Eggman).
All items (3757)
- A.T.P. Engineers
- Abad Sharif
- Abbot & Morley
- Aber Rindt
- Abis Mal
- Abominus
- Abraham Van Helsing (Hotel Transylvania)
- Abrego
- Abstract Daddy
- Abul Abbas
- Acapulco (Hotel Artemis)
- Acha and Kocha
- Achmed the Dead Terrorist
- AD-W4
- ADA
- Adam (007)
- Adam Pratt
- Adenoid Hynkel
- Admiral Alfonso
- Admiral Kassius Konstantine
- Admiral Ozzel
- Admiral-General Aladeen
- Adolf Hitler (Family Guy)
- Adolf Hitler (Looney Tunes)
- Adolf Hitler (Love, Death & Robots)
- Adolf Hitler (Super Science Friends)
- Adolf Hitler (The Simpsons)
- Adon Coborlwitz
- Adrian Black
- Adrian Doorbal
- Adu Du
- Aegon IV Targaryen
- Aeon the Terrible
- Agent Haggard
- Agent Kalaschnikov
- Agent Pin and Pon
- Agent Schmuck
- Aggie (Craig of the Creek)
- Ahgg
- Ahkmou
- Ahmed & Salim
- Ahmed Khaleel
- Ahnenerbe Obskurakorps
- Ahuizotl (My Little Pony)
- Aidan Maguire
- Air Pirates
- Airzel
- AJ (American Reunion)
- Ajax the Gorilla
- Akaba
- Akane's Suitors
- Akar Kessell
- Akita Rrrepulsa
- Aksel Bang
- Al Capone (Night at the Museum)
- Aladdin (Twisted: The Untold Story of a Royal Vizier)
- Alan (Children Shouldn't Play with Dead Things)
- Alan and Ann
- Albert (A Monster in Paris)
- Albert Böllemann
- Albrecht Von Beck
- Albus and Horace
- Alchemist
- Aleksei Zvonariov
- Alessi
- Alex Barnes
- Alexa Cardinal
- Alexi Leonov
- Alfrid Lickspittle
- Ali and Bobo
- Alice Cotton
- Alice Drablow
- Alice Ribbons
- Alien (Red vs. Blue)
- Alien-inator
- Aliens (Robot Chicken)
- Alistair Beldingford
- Alistair Krei
- Allen Archer
- Allison (The Babysitter)
- Almighty Tallests
- Alonzo (101 Dalmatians)
- Aloyse Von Roddenstein
- Alric (Wolfblood)
- Amazing Rope Guy
- Ambrosio (The Monk)
- American Client
- Amin Damoola
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- Amoeba Boys
- Amos (How to Train Your Dragon)
- Amphibidor
- Amrok
- Amygdala (DC)
- Ana Spelunky
- Anastasia (My Succubus Girlfriend)
- Anastasia Tremaine
- Andariel
- Andrew (The Farm)
- Andrew Kersee Dunstan Francis Barbirolli
- Andrew Oikonny
- Andrew Wells
- André (Rayman)
- Andy Landers
- Andy Prank
- Angelica Pickles
- Angris McBragg
- Angry Kid
- Anna (Silent Hill)
- Anna Nishikinomiya
- Anna Williams (Tekken)
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- Anthony Trumper
- Anti Spirit Team (Date A Live)
- Anti-Christ (American Dad!)
- Anti-Jorgen
- Anti-Pops' Minions
- Anti-Wanda
- Antonio Lopez De Santa Anna
- Antonio Mancini
- Antonius (The Hunger Games)
- Anvil (Ride to Hell: Retribution)
- Aoba
- Apostis
- April May
- Aqual
- Arachni-Thumb
- Aran Ryan
- Arbormon
- Archdemon
- Ares Srowa
- Argo Garcia
- Aria Blaze
- Arios Orlando
- Arlen
- Armando and Tipa
- Army Hammer Bro
- Arne Darvin
- Arnold "Poet" Jackson
- Arnold Rimmer
- Aroma Bats
- Arro and Braccio
- Arry and Bert
- Arthur Coleman
- Arthur Jenkins
- Artie Ziff
- Arturo Roman
- Arukenimon
- Asagi Asagiri
- Ashcan and Pete
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- Ashley Barrett
- Asian Mother (Mychonny)
- Assorted Monsters in Calvin's room
- Astarte and Anat
- Attila, Evita and Todd
- Aubrey James
- Augustus Steranko
- Aultcray Melromarc XXXII
- Aunt Sponge
- Awful Alvin
- Axe Knight
- Axel (Disgaea)
- Axel (Henry Danger)
- Axel (Tangled)
- Axem Rangers
- Ayoub El-Khazzani
- Azazel.exe
- Azmorigan
- Azure Blue
- Baachiyo
- Babbit and Catstello
- Baboon (Skunk Fu)
- Baby Eddie
- Bacterian
- Bad Piggies
- Baddies (Rolie Polie Olie)
- Badger (Breaking Bad)
- Badniks (Sonic the Hedgehog)
- Badredd
- Baikinman
- Baius D. Hoelscher
- Bald Eagle
- Bald Zombie
- Balowski Family
- Balrog (Street Fighter)
- Band of the Bland
- Bandar Log
- Bandit Bob
- Banditto & Gangsteritto
- Bandora
- Bannermen
- Bannister Evil Enterprises
- Bannister's Thugs
- Bara Drill
- Barack Obama (Brickleberry)
- Barb Mentir