History Main / NephariousPharaoh

* ''Scion'' has the specter (Titan-corrupted ghost) of pharaoh Akhenaten as a powerful servant of Aten, the Titan of Light and designated enemy of the Egyptian pantheon.

* The latest ''SakuraTaisen'' game has King Tut trying to take over New York City. During TheRoaringTwenties. And the only people capable of stopping him are a MagiTek {{Steampunk}} spec-ops team who masquerade as a theatre troupe.

* For the most part, averted in, well, ''{{Pharaoh}}''. With one or two exceptions, the current ruler of Egypt isn't too bad, but piss him off too much and he considers it a rebellion, and sends his army against you. Once you achieve the title you can't do anything worse than refuse to answer requests, which quickly gets you a game over.
* The main villain of the Egypt section of ''TheSecretWorld'' is Akenaten, changed from simply establishing a new religion into an OmnicidalManiac. His reign is described in this style. [[spoiler: Players fight a "sealed in a tomb" version at the end of this storyline section.]]

* ''Series/StargateSG1'' also uses the general imagery for the Gou'ald, at least the first ones encountered.

* One of the many forms of Nyarlathotep, the most actively evil EldritchAbomination in the Franchise/CthulhuMythos, is the Black Pharaoh, a haughty Egyptian pharaoh wearing a brightly colored robe. He also used to be worshiped in AncientEgypt.

** The Living Pharaoh, an ''ComicBook/{{X-Men}}'' villain who later became upgraded to The Living Monolith when he learned how to grow to colossal size.

* ''Franchise/CthulhuMythos'': One of the many forms of Nyarlathotep, the most actively evil EldritchAbomination in the setting, is the Black Pharaoh, a haughty Egyptian pharaoh wearing a brightly colored robe. He also used to be worshipped in AncientEgypt.

* Necrons in ''TabletopGame/{{Warhammer 40|000}}K'' have always had some Egyptian-ish design elements, but after the latest codex they have embraced this trope. The Necron leaders in the new codex are called "Phaerons" and their armour and headgear has some very obvious Egyptian influences. A lot of the Necron lords also have Egyptian-esque names, such as Imhotek (strangely enough, the ones that don't seem to have Polish names. Go figure).

* Dios the High Priest in Terry Pratchett's ''Literature/{{Discworld}}'' novel ''Discworld/{{Pyramids}}'' -- effectively the ruler of the kingdom, manipulating a succession of essentially benign but hopelessly confused Pharaohs -- for three thousand years. Pratchett offers a subversion of this idea, suggesting that the pharaoh is essentially a powerless figurehead and real power resides elsewhere in an [[UpToEleven Ancient Egypt]]-like country.

[[folder:RealLife]]
* As you would expect with a civilization that lasted for over 3000 years and had hundreds of rulers, many of them were not particularly nice guys. For example, Khufu (the pharaoh who ordered the construction of the Great Pyramid of Giza) had a reputation as a cruel tyrant.
* Akhenaten, the pharaoh who tried to convert Egypt to monotheism, was so disliked by his own people that immediately after his death the old gods were reinstated and his name was erased from all records and monuments. [[TheScottishTrope Even mentioning his name was thought to bring about a curse]]. In Egyptian Mythology making someone an UnPerson was the worst fate that could befall them. Of course, some mentions of his name survived or else we wouldn't know about him today.

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* In LEGO Games' ''[[http://www.toysrus.com/product/index.jsp?productId=3943158 Ramses' Pyramid]]'', the Mummy King, who wears the steriotypical headdress, is both this and The {{Mummy}}.

** There is also the FantasticFour villain, the Sphinx, who physically resembles the Living Monolith, and has some of the same motivations: restoring Egypt to its former glory.

* ''Franchise/CthulhuMythos'': One of the many forms of [[EldritchAbomination Nyarlathotep]] is the Black Pharaoh, a haughty Egyptian pharaoh wearing a brightly colored robe. He also used to be worshipped in AncientEgypt.

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[[/folder]]

* ''Comic/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicIDW'' has supercriminal Pharaoh Phetlock (AKA Phoney Pharaoh) in ''[[ShowWithinAShow Power Ponies]]'', most likely based on King Tut from ''Series/{{Batman}}''.

!Examples:

* Dios the High Priest in Terry Pratchett's ''Literature/{{Discworld}}'' novel ''Pyramids'' -- effectively the ruler of the kingdom, manipulating a succession of essentially benign but hopelessly confused Pharaohs -- for three thousand years. Pratchett offers a subversion of this idea, suggesting that the pharaoh is essentially a powerless figurehead and real power resides elsewhere in an [[UpToEleven Ancient Egypt]]-like country.

* Franchise/CthulhuMythos: One of the many forms of [[EldritchAbomination Nyarlathotep]] is the Black Pharaoh, a haughty Egyptian pharaoh wearing a brightly colored robe. He also used to be worshipped in AncientEgypt.

* For the most part, averted in, well, {{Pharaoh}}. With one or two exceptions, the current ruler of Egypt isn't too bad, but piss him off too much and he considers it a rebellion, and sends his army against you. Once you achieve the title you can't do anything worse than refuse to answer requests, which quickly gets you a game over.
* The main villain of the Egypt section of TheSecretWorld is Akenaten, changed from simply establishing a new religion into an OmnicidalManiac. His reign is described in this style. [[spoiler: Players fight a "sealed in a tomb" version at the end of this storyline section]]

The TropeMaker, TropeCodifier, and UrExample is probably TheBible, with that nasty pharaoh as one of the villains of the Old Testament, making this OlderThanFeudalism.

* The Armenian national epic ''Literature/DavidOfSasun'' has Melik, the evil Egyptian king. He was probably based on the pharaoh from Exodus, and given the fact that Egypt has never actually conquered Armenia, is also probably a sort of NoCelebritiesWereHarmed {{Expy}} of the Turkish or Iranian sultans.

** The Living Pharaoh, an ''XMen'' villain who later became upgraded to The Living Monolith when he learned how to grow to colossal size.

* The Pharaoh / Yami Yugi from YuGiOhAbridged is interpreted as this for laughs, a DesignatedHero who ruled over Egypt with an iron fist, forcing slaves to erect pyramids for his amusement. [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0KbqRPuQetY He sings about it too.]]

-->"Let a whole new wave of cruelty wash over this lazy land!"

[[redirect:NefariousPharaoh]]

The other stock Egyptian style villain alongside the {{Mummy}}.

The appearance of this character is pretty recognisable, chances are, you will see a striped head dress, called a 'Nemes', and perhaps some sort of ancient looking robe with sceptre.

And if the work in question isn't set in AncientEgypt, they may be found sealed inside some kind of tomb or pyramid and vow to curse any explorer who comes near.

In video games, this character has a 50% chance of being the Boss found in ShiftingSandLand, with the {{Mummy}} being the other.

See also AristocratsAreEvil and {{Mummy}}, the latter is arguably a sub trope.

The TropeMaker, TropeCodifier, and UrExample is probably TheBible, with that nasty pharaoh as one of the villains of the Old Testament, making this OlderThanFeudalism.

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!Examples:

[[foldercontrol]]

[[folder:Anime And Manga]]

* ''Manga/SoulEater'': Witch {{necromancer}} Samantha tries to summon Wrath of the Pharaoh, a malevolent spirit residing in the Pyramid of Anubis. The sarcophagus of the Pharaoh is perfectly symmetrical, making it impossible for the SuperOCD Kid to destroy it. Then the Pharaoh steps out of the sarcophagus to give the final strike, and he is revealed to be horribly asymmetrical. Cue Kid's BerserkButton [[CurbStompBattle hitting the floor]].

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[[folder:Comic Books]]

* BlackAdam in the Shazam (Captain Marvel) comics. After learning how to use the word "Shazam!" to gain super powers, he overthrows the pharaoh of Egypt and assumes the throne.
* Creator/MarvelComics:
** The villain Kang the Conqueror (who may or may not be a future version of Doctor Doom) first appeared as the pharaoh Rama Tut; he had gone back in time to ancient Egypt to conquer from there.
** The Living Pharaoh, an ''XMen'' villain who later became upgraded to The Living Monolith when he learned how to grow to colossal size.

[[/folder]]

[[folder:Film]]

* Most works based off the Literature/BookOfExodus from Literature/TheBible, like ''WesternAnimation/ThePrinceOfEgypt'' and ''Film/TheTenCommandments'' have the Pharaoh Ramses as the BigBad.
* ''Film/{{Stargate}}'' uses the general imagery, although the bad guy was the god Ra.
* The movie ''Land of the Pharaohs'', in which the Pharaoh's determination to have the ultimate tomb becomes oppressive.

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[[folder:Literature]]

* In the ''Literature/SecretSeries'', Lord Pharaoh is a prime example of this: evil, single-minded dedication to living forever and quite possibly taking over the world someday.
* Dios the High Priest in Terry Pratchett's ''Literature/{{Discworld}}'' novel ''Pyramids'' -- effectively the ruler of the kingdom, manipulating a succession of essentially benign but hopelessly confused Pharaohs -- for three thousand years. Pratchett offers a subversion of this idea, suggesting that the pharaoh is essentially a powerless figurehead and real power resides elsewhere in an [[UpToEleven Ancient Egypt]]-like country.
* The Armenian national epic ''Literature/DavidOfSasun'' has Melik, the evil Egyptian king. He was probably based on the pharaoh from Exodus, and given the fact that Egypt has never actually conquered Armenia, is also probably a sort of NoCelebritiesWereHarmed {{Expy}} of the Turkish or Iranian sultans.
* Franchise/CthulhuMythos: One of the many forms of [[EldritchAbomination Nyarlathotep]] is the Black Pharaoh, a haughty Egyptian pharaoh wearing a brightly colored robe. He also used to be worshipped in AncientEgypt.
* The main villain of the first novel in the ''Literature/IslandRus'' series by Creator/SergeyLukyanenko is an ancient Egyptian Pharaoh who pursues the {{Time Travel}}ing heroes throughout history.

[[/folder]]

[[folder:Live-Action TV]]
* King Tut, one of the supervillains from the 1960's ''Series/{{Batman}}''. He wore clothing appropriate for a pharaoh and liked to use Eygptian-themed dialogue. He was actually Professor William [=McElroy=], an Egyptologist at Yale University. Every time he gets hit on the head he develops a split personality that thinks he's a reincarnation of the original King Tut. Hitting him on the head again restores his original personality.
* ''Series/StargateSG1'' also uses the general imagery for the Gou'ald, at least the first ones encountered.
* ''Series/DoctorWho'' has Sutekh, a SufficientlyAdvancedAlien with an Egyptian theme and {{Mooks}} disguised as {{Mumm|y}}ies from the [[TheNthDoctor Fourth Doctor]] story, "[[Recap/DoctorWhoS13E3PyramidsOfMars Pyramids of Mars]]."

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[[folder:Tabletop Games]]
* Necrons in ''TabletopGame/{{Warhammer 40|000}}K'' have always had some Egyptian-ish design elements, but after the latest codex they have embraced this trope. The Necron leaders in the new codex are called "Phaerons" and their armour and headgear has some very obvious Egyptian influences. A lot of the Necron lords also have Egyptian-esque names, such as Imhotek (strangely enough, the ones that don't seem to have Polish names. Go figure).
* The Tomb Kings of ''TabletopGame/{{Warhammer}}'' are this, as the priests who were supposed to grant them entry to the afterlife instead brought them back as undead corpses. In an interesting variation, they all still think themselves the rightful rulers of Khemri, which doesn't go well with the previous and following rightful rulers of Khemri.
* In LEGO Games' ''[[http://www.toysrus.com/product/index.jsp?productId=3943158 Ramses' Pyramid]]'', the Mummy King, who wears the steriotypical headdress, is both this and The {{Mummy}}.

[[/folder]]

[[folder:Video Games]]
* Pharaoh Man is one of the Robot Masters fought in ''VideoGame/MegaMan4''. He's not an actual pharaoh, though he was originally built to explore pyramids. His stage begins as a ShiftingSandLand and progresses into a TempleOfDoom.
* Tutankoopa in ''VideoGame/{{Paper Mario|64}}'' is the boss of Dry Dry Ruins and keeper of one of the kidnapped Star Spirits. He attempts to frighten Mario away from the ruins, even calling himself the "remorseless king of the desert" in his first warning.
* The latest ''SakuraTaisen'' game has King Tut trying to take over New York City. During TheRoaringTwenties. And the only people capable of stopping him are a MagiTek {{Steampunk}} spec-ops team who masquerade as a theatre troupe.
* ''VideoGame/VampiresDawn'' has Pharaoh Ustrah. While he isn't really important in the first game, he becomes one of the main villains of the second game.
* [[DarkIsEvil Dark]] Pharaoh Tekahn in ''VideoGame/WorldOfWarcraft'' is the leader of a faction of very sphinx-like creatures who allied themselves with Deathwing, the Big Bad of the "Cataclysm" expansion.

[[/folder]]

[[folder:Western Animation]]
* Bender from ''WesternAnimation/{{Futurama}}'' episode "A Pharaoh To Remember":
-->"Citizens of me! The cruelty of the old Pharaoh is a thing of the past!"
-->''[crowd cheers]''
-->"Let a whole new wave of cruelty wash over this lazy land!"
-->''[crowd cheers, then is confused]''
* The first act of the ''WesternAnimation/MrBogus'' episode "[[Recap/MrBogusS1E10MuseumMadness Museum Madness]]" had Bogus come upon a young child-like pharaoh who behaved this way, after he and Ratty accidentally wind up in a secret chamber hidden within the Egyptian exhibit of the museum. [[spoiler: Although to be completely fair, the kid pharoah actually possessed an ancient [[{{MacGuffin}} scarab]] that had been stolen for many centuries, but Bogus was able to reclaim the scarab and return it back to its rightful place after making quick work of the child.]]
* King Bob briefly becomes one of these in one episode of ''WesternAnimation/{{Recess}}'', when he changes his title to Pharaoh Bob and makes the other kids work like slaves to build a mud-brick pyramid in his honor.

[[/folder]]

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