Is there an issue? Send a MessageReason:
None
Added DiffLines:
* ''WesternAnimation/StaticShock'': Ebon styles himself a "collector" of meta-humans, gathering disenfranchised but powered-youths under his banner; it's clear he'd like to think of himself as a Magneto-esque super villain, but in reality, Ebon is little more than a petty gangster manipulating and pressuring scared and lonely kids, and his "Meta-Breed" is ultimately just another street gang. This is best evidenced by the fact that most of the time we see them, Ebon and his cronies are squatting in abandoned subway tunnels and warehouses, and subsisting on junk food.
Is there an issue? Send a MessageReason:
None
Changed line(s) 55,56 (click to see context) from:
* General Wade Eiling in ''Series/TheFlash2014''. Normally he'd be a genuine threat and someone to be concerned about, but he's far less influential than he thinks and is ultimately irrelevant compared to the Reverse-Flash and Gorilla Grodd, the real {{Big Bad}}s. In fact, this ends up being his downfall; [[spoiler:after his attempts to make metahuman weapons interferes in the Reverse-Flash's schemes once too often, he gets fed up with it and has Grodd effortlessly MindRape Eiling.]]
* On ''Series/LegendsOfTomorrow'', a trip to 1717 reveals that under his boasting and supposedly evil persona, Blackbeard is a coward who doesn't hesitate to give up information under the slightest threat or bargain to save his own skin.
* On ''Series/LegendsOfTomorrow'', a trip to 1717 reveals that under his boasting and supposedly evil persona, Blackbeard is a coward who doesn't hesitate to give up information under the slightest threat or bargain to save his own skin.
to:
* Franchise/{{Arrowverse}}
** General Wade Eiling in ''Series/TheFlash2014''. Normally he'd be a genuine threat and someone to be concerned about, but he's far less influential than he thinks and is ultimately irrelevant compared to the Reverse-Flash and Gorilla Grodd, the real {{Big Bad}}s. In fact, this ends up being his downfall; [[spoiler:after his attempts to make metahuman weapons interferes in the Reverse-Flash's schemes once too often, he gets fed up with it and has Grodd effortlessly MindRape Eiling.]]
* ** On ''Series/LegendsOfTomorrow'', a trip to 1717 reveals that under his boasting and supposedly evil persona, Blackbeard is a coward who doesn't hesitate to give up information under the slightest threat or bargain to save his own skin.
** General Wade Eiling in ''Series/TheFlash2014''. Normally he'd be a genuine threat and someone to be concerned about, but he's far less influential than he thinks and is ultimately irrelevant compared to the Reverse-Flash and Gorilla Grodd, the real {{Big Bad}}s. In fact, this ends up being his downfall; [[spoiler:after his attempts to make metahuman weapons interferes in the Reverse-Flash's schemes once too often, he gets fed up with it and has Grodd effortlessly MindRape Eiling.]]
Is there an issue? Send a MessageReason:
None
Changed line(s) 47,49 (click to see context) from:
** Carmine Falcone from ''Film/BatmanBegins''. As Gotham City's major crime boss, he makes very clear to Bruce that he's completely untouchable but once Batman gets serious, he stands no chance and he ends as a guinea pig for Dr. Crane, a guy he thought was his underling but who actually worked for the true BigBad.
** Salvatore 'Sal' Maroni the new Mafia Boss from ''Film/TheDarkKnight'' aspires to replace Falcone as the new master of Gotham but he's no threat compared to the Joker.
** John Daggett in ''Film/TheDarkKnightRises'' pays Bane "a small fortune" for helping him attempt to take over Wayne Enterprises. Bane later points out that, contrary to what Daggett thinks, this doesn't give him any power over Bane.
** Salvatore 'Sal' Maroni the new Mafia Boss from ''Film/TheDarkKnight'' aspires to replace Falcone as the new master of Gotham but he's no threat compared to the Joker.
** John Daggett in ''Film/TheDarkKnightRises'' pays Bane "a small fortune" for helping him attempt to take over Wayne Enterprises. Bane later points out that, contrary to what Daggett thinks, this doesn't give him any power over Bane.
to:
** Carmine Falcone from ''Film/BatmanBegins''. As Gotham City's major crime boss, he makes very clear to Bruce that he's completely untouchable untouchable; but once Bruce becomes Batman gets serious, and starts to get serious against crime in Gotham, he stands no chance and he ends as up becoming a guinea pig for the experiments of Dr. Crane, a guy he thought was his underling but who actually worked for the true BigBad.
BigBad[[spoiler:, Ra's al Ghul]].
** Salvatore 'Sal' Maroni the new Mafia Boss from ''Film/TheDarkKnight'' aspires to replace Falcone as the new master ofGotham Gotham, but he's no threat compared to the Joker.
** John Daggett in ''Film/TheDarkKnightRises'' pays Bane "a small fortune" for helping him attempt to take over Wayne Enterprises. Bane later points out that, contrary to what Daggett thinks, [[MoneyIsNotPower this doesn't give him any power overBane.Bane]] [[spoiler:before then swiftly killing Daggett now that he's at that point [[YouHaveOutlivedYourUsefulness no longer of any use to Bane]]]].
** Salvatore 'Sal' Maroni the new Mafia Boss from ''Film/TheDarkKnight'' aspires to replace Falcone as the new master of
** John Daggett in ''Film/TheDarkKnightRises'' pays Bane "a small fortune" for helping him attempt to take over Wayne Enterprises. Bane later points out that, contrary to what Daggett thinks, [[MoneyIsNotPower this doesn't give him any power over
Is there an issue? Send a MessageReason:
None
Added DiffLines:
* ''ComicBook/AstroCity'':
** In the "Dark Age" arc, The Platypus pushes himself as a major crime boss when he's really a low-level hood made good and nowhere near as competent as he thinks. That's proven when he ends up taken down in a coup by his own supposedly silent underling who becomes The Deacon who will continue to rule the Astro City Underworld into the 2000s.
** An even better example is a one-shot on Major Domo, who captures a bunch of "sideliners" (people with powers who don't wear costumes) to turn them into his army. He ends up beaten badly as they rebel with one pointing out to this moron that "major domo" is the title of a servant, not a master.
** In the "Dark Age" arc, The Platypus pushes himself as a major crime boss when he's really a low-level hood made good and nowhere near as competent as he thinks. That's proven when he ends up taken down in a coup by his own supposedly silent underling who becomes The Deacon who will continue to rule the Astro City Underworld into the 2000s.
** An even better example is a one-shot on Major Domo, who captures a bunch of "sideliners" (people with powers who don't wear costumes) to turn them into his army. He ends up beaten badly as they rebel with one pointing out to this moron that "major domo" is the title of a servant, not a master.
Is there an issue? Send a MessageReason:
None
Changed line(s) 13 (click to see context) from:
** Basically applies to Doctor Randolph Porter, the doctor who created venom (the drug that gave Bane his superhuman strength). While Porter managed to manipulate Batman into becoming addicted to an early version of venom as part of his efforts to perfect the drug, even sacrificing his own daughter after using a variant of venom to boost his own intellect at the cost of limiting his ability to feel emotion, Porter falls into the trap of overestimating himself and underestimating his enemies. Not only does Batman beat his addiction to Porter's drugs, but he then escapes a death trap that Porter believed could only be beaten if Batman took a new version of the drug. On top of that, Porter is tortured by a colonel he had been working with until Porter gives up the formula for the drug, having underestimated his own importance to the colonel’s plans, and when Porter tries to use the pills he gave Batman to escape captivity after he’s arrested, he ends up overdosing and dying of withdrawal in the prison hospital.
to:
** Basically applies to Doctor Randolph Porter, the doctor who created venom (the drug that gave Bane his superhuman strength). While Porter managed to manipulate Batman into becoming addicted to an early version of venom as part of his efforts to perfect the drug, even sacrificing his own daughter after using a variant of venom to boost his own intellect at the cost of limiting his ability to feel emotion, Porter falls into the trap of overestimating himself and underestimating his enemies. Not only does Batman beat overcome his addiction to Porter's drugs, but he then escapes a death trap that Porter believed could only be beaten if Batman took a new version of the drug. drug, tricking Porter into giving him food, blankets and other tools that he can use to effect a more drawn-out escape plan. On top of that, Porter is tortured by a colonel he had been working with until Porter gives up the formula for the drug, the doctor having underestimated his own importance to the colonel’s plans, plans. After Batman defeats the colonel and when Porter captures Porter, the doctor tries to use the pills he gave Batman to escape captivity after he’s arrested, but he ends up overdosing and dying of withdrawal in the prison hospital.
Is there an issue? Send a MessageReason:
Updating link
Changed line(s) 14 (click to see context) from:
** One of the main villains of [[ComicBook/BatmanJamesTynionIV James Tynion's]] run is Simon Saint, a CorruptCorporateExecutive who's working with Scarecrow in a scheme to take over Gotham and turn it into a PoliceState. Or at least, that's what ''he'' thinks the plan is; Saint is enough of [[SmallNameBigEgo an arrogant idiot]] to seriously think that ''[[TheDreaded Scarecrow]]'' is his lackey and they're in some kind of mutually beneficial partnership. In truth, Scarecrow is manipulating Saint every step of the way as an UnwittingPawn to pull off yet another of his mass fear experiments, and when the moment comes where Saint expected Scarecrow to take a dive, the supervillain just ''keeps going'' while gleefully mocking Saint for thinking the two of them were anything approaching equals. In general, Saint is portrayed as basically being a dumb, spoiled yuppie who saw guys like SelfDemonstrating/LexLuthor get away with supervillainy on the regular and got the idea in his head that he could do that.
to:
** One of the main villains of [[ComicBook/BatmanJamesTynionIV James Tynion's]] run is Simon Saint, a CorruptCorporateExecutive who's working with Scarecrow in a scheme to take over Gotham and turn it into a PoliceState. Or at least, that's what ''he'' thinks the plan is; Saint is enough of [[SmallNameBigEgo an arrogant idiot]] to seriously think that ''[[TheDreaded Scarecrow]]'' is his lackey and they're in some kind of mutually beneficial partnership. In truth, Scarecrow is manipulating Saint every step of the way as an UnwittingPawn to pull off yet another of his mass fear experiments, and when the moment comes where Saint expected Scarecrow to take a dive, the supervillain just ''keeps going'' while gleefully mocking Saint for thinking the two of them were anything approaching equals. In general, Saint is portrayed as basically being a dumb, spoiled yuppie who saw guys like SelfDemonstrating/LexLuthor ComicBook/LexLuthor get away with supervillainy on the regular and got the idea in his head that he could do that.
Is there an issue? Send a MessageReason:
None
Added DiffLines:
* ''VideoGame/GothamKnights2022'': Once their mystique is stripped away, it becomes clear that The Court of Owls are just a bargain-brand version of the League of Shadows, with far less reach, far less power, and far less ideological rigour. They even have a weaker and more poorly-understood version of the League's Lazarus Pits in their 'Dionesium', which they use to make their zombie-like Talon enforcers. This ends up being a major plot point, as the League itself holds them in disgust and contempt once it finds out about them and enters a furious internal debate over whether to destroy or absorb them.
** Played with. As a high-level member of the Court, Jacob Kane has enough power and influence to make [[ComicBook/TheLongHalloween Carmine Falcone]] look like a low-rent hoodlum. [[spoiler: But Talia easily kills him and becomes the TrueFinalBoss.]]
** Played with. As a high-level member of the Court, Jacob Kane has enough power and influence to make [[ComicBook/TheLongHalloween Carmine Falcone]] look like a low-rent hoodlum. [[spoiler: But Talia easily kills him and becomes the TrueFinalBoss.]]
Is there an issue? Send a MessageReason:
None
Changed line(s) 61 (click to see context) from:
** ComicBook/TheRiddler is not exactly harmless by any means, but compared to the other villains he can't measure up. He keeps boasting to everyone how he's Batman's intellectual equal and match when at best he's been an annoyance who is too self-deluding to solve a mystery as basic as finding out Batman's SecretIdentity (something ComicBook/{{Bane}}, Hugo Strange and [[spoiler:Scarecrow]] for instance found out with BoringButPractical means). He is also unable to come anywhere ''near'' the threat level of ComicBook/TheJoker or [[VideoGame/BatmanArkhamKnight Scarecrow]] whose plans are massive in scope and grand in vision in comparison to the Riddler's [[EvilIsPetty extremely narrow and petty goals]].
to:
** ComicBook/TheRiddler [[Characters/BatmanArkhamSeriesTheRiddler The Riddler]] is not exactly harmless by any means, but compared to the other villains he can't measure up. He keeps boasting to everyone how he's Batman's intellectual equal and match when at best he's been an annoyance who is too self-deluding to solve a mystery as basic as finding out Batman's SecretIdentity (something ComicBook/{{Bane}}, Hugo Strange and [[spoiler:Scarecrow]] for instance found out with BoringButPractical means). He is also unable to come anywhere ''near'' the threat level of ComicBook/TheJoker or [[VideoGame/BatmanArkhamKnight Scarecrow]] whose plans are massive in scope and grand in vision in comparison to the Riddler's [[EvilIsPetty extremely narrow and petty goals]].
Changed line(s) 72 (click to see context) from:
* ''WesternAnimation/HarleyQuinn2019'': After breaking up with the Joker, Harley seeks to replace him as the top villain in Gotham City. However, her attempts only make her seen as a regular criminal at best. When she tries to attract a big-league superhero like Superman or Batman, or try to join the Legion of Doom, it never works out as she hopes, being seen as a nuisance at best or a pest at worst.
to:
* ''WesternAnimation/HarleyQuinn2019'': After breaking up with the Joker, [[Characters/HarleyQuinn2019TheCharacter Harley Quinn]] seeks to replace him as the top villain in Gotham City. However, her attempts only make her seen as a regular criminal at best. When she tries to attract a big-league superhero like Superman or Batman, or try to join the Legion of Doom, it never works out as she hopes, being seen as a nuisance at best or a pest at worst.
Is there an issue? Send a MessageReason:
None
Changed line(s) 62,63 (click to see context) from:
** ComicBook/TwoFace is this in [[VideoGame/BatmanArkhamCity Arkham City]]. He's certainly a threat in his own right (capturing and almost executing Catwoman at the start of the game, for example) and is one of three crime lords waging war for control of Arkham City, but he gets taken out rather easily by Batman early on and spends the rest of the game in hiding. In contrast, his rivals, Joker and the Penguin, both take considerably more effort to defeat and are much, much more dangerous than Harvey ever was. [[spoiler: Sure, he pretty much won the gang war by game's end...but that's only because Batman had concentrated on taking out Joker's and Penguin's gangs first.]] Then in the [[PlayableEpilogue epilogue]], [[spoiler: he tries to take revenge on Catwoman by blowing up her apartment and stealing her loot, taking half for himself and giving the rest to his gang. However, he fails to actually kill Selina who very quickly tracked him down and delivered another humiliating defeat to him, before recovering her fortune from his gang at her leisure.]] It doesn't get any better for Harv in Arkham Knight where he only features in a side mission which ends with Batman taking on Two-Face and his goons in a Predator encounter... where Two-Face is no tougher than a regular mook and can be easily defeated with a simple Stealth Takedown.
** ComicBook/ThePenguin is a ruthless, sadistic monster with an army of loyal, brutal thugs at his disposal, but compared to the likes of the Joker, Hugo Strange, and Scarecrow, he just can't compete. Not to mention that he's nowhere near as cunning as he likes to fancy himself. In Arkham City, while he puts up more of a fight than Two-Face, he still gets taken out long before the end of the game. In Knight, he's relegated to a side mission which sees Batman and Nightwing systematically destroying all of Penguin's money and weapon caches, leaving with him with nothing.
** ComicBook/ThePenguin is a ruthless, sadistic monster with an army of loyal, brutal thugs at his disposal, but compared to the likes of the Joker, Hugo Strange, and Scarecrow, he just can't compete. Not to mention that he's nowhere near as cunning as he likes to fancy himself. In Arkham City, while he puts up more of a fight than Two-Face, he still gets taken out long before the end of the game. In Knight, he's relegated to a side mission which sees Batman and Nightwing systematically destroying all of Penguin's money and weapon caches, leaving with him with nothing.
to:
** ComicBook/TwoFace is this in [[VideoGame/BatmanArkhamCity ''[[VideoGame/BatmanArkhamCity Arkham City]].City]]''. He's certainly a threat in his own right (capturing and almost executing Catwoman at the start of the game, for example) and is one of three crime lords waging war for control of Arkham City, but he gets taken out rather easily by Batman early on and spends the rest of the game in hiding. In contrast, his rivals, Joker and the Penguin, both take considerably more effort to defeat and are much, much more dangerous than Harvey ever was. [[spoiler: Sure, he pretty much won the gang war by game's end...but that's only because Batman had concentrated on taking out Joker's and Penguin's gangs first.]] Then in the [[PlayableEpilogue epilogue]], [[spoiler: he tries to take revenge on Catwoman by blowing up her apartment and stealing her loot, taking half for himself and giving the rest to his gang. However, he fails to actually kill Selina who very quickly tracked him down and delivered another humiliating defeat to him, before recovering her fortune from his gang at her leisure.]] It doesn't get any better for Harv in ''[[VideoGame/BatmanArkhamKnight Arkham Knight Knight]]'' where he only features in a side mission which ends with Batman taking on Two-Face and his goons in a Predator encounter... where Two-Face is no tougher than a regular mook and can be easily defeated with a simple Stealth Takedown.
** ComicBook/ThePenguin is a ruthless, sadistic monster with an army of loyal, brutal thugs at his disposal, but compared to the likes of the Joker, Hugo Strange, and Scarecrow, he just can't compete. Not to mention that he's nowhere near as cunning as he likes to fancy himself. InArkham City, ''Arkham City'', while he puts up more of a fight than Two-Face, he still gets taken out long before the end of the game. In Knight, ''Knight'', he's relegated to a side mission which sees Batman and Nightwing systematically destroying destroy all of Penguin's money and weapon caches, leaving with him with nothing.
** ComicBook/ThePenguin is a ruthless, sadistic monster with an army of loyal, brutal thugs at his disposal, but compared to the likes of the Joker, Hugo Strange, and Scarecrow, he just can't compete. Not to mention that he's nowhere near as cunning as he likes to fancy himself. In
Is there an issue? Send a MessageReason:
Updating Links
Changed line(s) 8 (click to see context) from:
* ''Franchise/{{Batman}}''
to:
* ''Franchise/{{Batman}}''''ComicBook/{{Batman}}''
Changed line(s) 18 (click to see context) from:
* CrisisCrossover ''ComicBook/FinalCrisis''
to:
* CrisisCrossover ''ComicBook/FinalCrisis''''ComicBook/FinalCrisis'':
Changed line(s) 21,22 (click to see context) from:
* The Daniel West iteration of Reverse-Flash from ''Franchise/TheFlash'' has played this trope straight to tragic levels. Initially presented as a new ArchEnemy for Barry in ''ComicBook/New52'', he was unceremoniously moved to ''New Suicide Squad'' after one story arc to make room for the reappearance of Professor Zoom after the latter [[RealLifeWritesThePlot gained a new level of recognition]] in the 2014 TV series -- then DroppedABridgeOnHim mid-HeelRealisation there. ''Rebirth'' had Barry regain some of his pre-''Flashpoint'' memories and start referring to Thawne as the first Reverse-Flash once more, displacing him completely from even sole use of the Reverse-Flash name. Meanwhile, Thawne constantly made [[PretenderDiss snide remarks]] about Daniel's use of the name, not even acknowledging him as a successor like he did Hunter Zolomon, his true successor. On top of all this, Hunter Zolomon was also later revealed to be alive, thus further distancing Daniel from the top of the villain chain. Since he was only effective in one arc, he can't even claim to be a recurring villain, let alone a Big Bad Wannabe now.
* ''Franchise/GreenArrow'': The two-part story "Night Olympics" by Creator/AlanMoore features a street punk with some archery skills named Pete Lomax who believes that superheroes are frauds and ambushes Green Arrow and Black Canary to show how easily a "regular person" could kill them. Though he manages to injure Dinah, Oliver scares him off and, after checking on Dinah, proceeds to quickly track Lomax down. The resulting "fight" between the two sees Lomax being so hilariously outmatched by Green Arrow that he passes out.
* ''Franchise/GreenArrow'': The two-part story "Night Olympics" by Creator/AlanMoore features a street punk with some archery skills named Pete Lomax who believes that superheroes are frauds and ambushes Green Arrow and Black Canary to show how easily a "regular person" could kill them. Though he manages to injure Dinah, Oliver scares him off and, after checking on Dinah, proceeds to quickly track Lomax down. The resulting "fight" between the two sees Lomax being so hilariously outmatched by Green Arrow that he passes out.
to:
* ''ComicBook/TheFlash'': The Daniel West iteration of Reverse-Flash from ''Franchise/TheFlash'' has played this trope straight to tragic levels. Initially presented as a new ArchEnemy for Barry in ''ComicBook/New52'', he was unceremoniously moved to ''New Suicide Squad'' after one story arc to make room for the reappearance of Professor Zoom after the latter [[RealLifeWritesThePlot gained a new level of recognition]] in the 2014 TV series -- then DroppedABridgeOnHim mid-HeelRealisation there. ''Rebirth'' had Barry regain some of his pre-''Flashpoint'' memories and start referring to Thawne as the first Reverse-Flash once more, displacing him completely from even sole use of the Reverse-Flash name. Meanwhile, Thawne constantly made [[PretenderDiss snide remarks]] about Daniel's use of the name, not even acknowledging him as a successor like he did Hunter Zolomon, his true successor. On top of all this, Hunter Zolomon was also later revealed to be alive, thus further distancing Daniel from the top of the villain chain. Since he was only effective in one arc, he can't even claim to be a recurring villain, let alone a Big Bad Wannabe now.
*''Franchise/GreenArrow'': ''ComicBook/GreenArrow'': The two-part story "Night Olympics" by Creator/AlanMoore features a street punk with some archery skills named Pete Lomax who believes that superheroes are frauds and ambushes Green Arrow and Black Canary to show how easily a "regular person" could kill them. Though he manages to injure Dinah, Oliver scares him off and, after checking on Dinah, proceeds to quickly track Lomax down. The resulting "fight" between the two sees Lomax being so hilariously outmatched by Green Arrow that he passes out.
*
Changed line(s) 26 (click to see context) from:
* In ''ComicBook/TheSandman1989'' the third rate villain Dr. Destiny gains godhood and that appears to be it. [[spoiler: it's only temporary. Once unleashed Dream is a literal force of nature and beyond such combat.]] Another example are the minor nightmares Brute and Glob (originally from a much more child-friendly DC comic that previously held the Sandman title) manage to make their own miniature Dreaming from a single child's mind.
to:
* In ''ComicBook/TheSandman1989'' the ''ComicBook/{{The Sandman|1989}}'': The third rate villain Dr. Destiny gains godhood and that appears to be it. [[spoiler: it's only temporary. Once unleashed Dream is a literal force of nature and beyond such combat.]] Another example are the minor nightmares Brute and Glob (originally from a much more child-friendly DC comic that previously held the Sandman title) manage to make their own miniature Dreaming from a single child's mind.
Changed line(s) 28 (click to see context) from:
* ''Franchise/{{Superman}}'':
to:
* ''Franchise/{{Superman}}'':''ComicBook/{{Superman}}'':
Changed line(s) 37 (click to see context) from:
* ''Franchise/WonderWoman'' [[ComicBook/WonderWoman1987 Vol 2]] has Veronica Cale, a millionaire perfume magnate and MadScientist who fancies herself the ComicBook/LexLuthor to Diana's Superman. The problem is, Cale lacks not only superpowers, but common sense, and regularly finds herself the pawn of more powerful antagonists, including Dr. Psycho, the Gorgons, and Circe. She becomes far more dangerous in ''ComicBook/WonderWomanRebirth'' where she was pushed into villainy by more powerful individuals trying to use her as a pawn.
to:
* ''Franchise/WonderWoman'' ''ComicBook/WonderWoman'' [[ComicBook/WonderWoman1987 Vol 2]] has 2]]: Veronica Cale, Cale is a millionaire perfume magnate and MadScientist who fancies herself the ComicBook/LexLuthor to Diana's Superman. The problem is, is that Cale lacks not only superpowers, but common sense, and regularly finds herself the pawn of more powerful antagonists, including Dr. Psycho, the Gorgons, and Circe. She becomes far more dangerous in ''ComicBook/WonderWomanRebirth'' where she was is pushed into villainy by more powerful individuals trying to use her as a pawn.
