History Main / PragmaticVillainy

** Like their Camarilla counterparts, the five playable Covenants in ''TabletopGame/VampireTheRequiem'' put great efforts into avoiding pointless acts of violence and murders that would attract attention and break TheMasquerade.

** In ''Darth Vader #8,'' Emperor Sidious tells Darth Vader to [[BadBoss stop killing so many underlings]]. Sidious says he emphasizes with Vader's frustration and boredom, however, Sidious notes that constantly giving in to anger will make Vader a toy of the Dark Side and lead to the death of all their subjects.

* In the ComicBook/DisneyDucksComicUniverse Magica is definitely a villain and often a cruel and trolling one, but doesn't commit villainous acts for their sake, only in the pursuit of her goals and only if the peaceful solution has failed. In particular, in her quest for the MidasTouch she always tried to ''buy'' the necessary coins from the billionaires who owned them, offering a lot of money or other services and using force only if they refuse. And it worked ''twice'': Scrooge was willing to sell her a dime he touched for a dollar (their enmity coming entirely from Magica discovering that Scrooge still owns his first coin that thus would work much better for the spell, and he refused to sell that one even when Magica offered him ''one thousand dollars''), and a previous billionaire asked her to plant trees on a barren land near his home (Magica turned it into a ''forest'').

** In ''Anime/DragonBallSuper'', [[spoiler:Frost]] seems like a hero, but in reality he's this. He's selfish and concerned mostly with his own gratification, but unlike [[spoiler:his counterpart Frieza]], he's also smart enough to know that it's easier to get what you want when [[OneHundredPercentAdorationRating everybody likes you]]. So he secretly [[EngineeredHeroics causes conflicts and disasters, then uses his powers to save everybody]] and happily accepts the extravagant rewards he gets in return. Naturally, Frieza is such an arrogant idiot that he can't see why this is smart and [[spoiler:betrays Frost for being an "amateur"]].

** Donquixote Doflamingo is the [[HundredPercentAdorationRating beloved king]] to the citizens of Dressrosa. While he is renowned as an accomplished pirate worldwide, his people know him as their savior. He is seen shooting [[spoiler: Trafalgar Law]] in public but explains it away by implicating the victim as a terrorist against the country.

* The Groups of Interest from the Wiki/SCPFoundation wiki are generally {{Well Intentioned Extremist}}s at their worst, but even the ones intent on spreading anomalies out of a desire to end the "tyranny of normalcy" (The Serpent's Hand) or just profit ([=MC&D=]) generally tend to realize that when something is far too dangerous for them to handle, they should just simply hand it over to the Foundation for safekeeping.

An obvious foil to villains with ComplexityAddiction ([[VillainBall who will do the evil deed anyway]]), though some do manage to pair the two. A subtrope is CantKillYouStillNeedYou if applied to villains. Contrast StupidEvil, where the villain hurts their own interests by preferring indiscriminate evil. Compare and contrast ShootTheDog, where a hero or anti-hero does a morally questionable act for pragmatic reasons. See also CooperationGambit, CutLexLuthorACheck, DickDastardlyStopsToCheat, SanityHasAdvantages, and BreadAndCircuses. Compare EvilVirtues, where a villain has good traits; StraightEdgeEvil, where a villain avoids personal vices; and NominalHero, where a character does heroic acts out of neutral-at-best motivations. For the ''less'' evil and more moderate version of this trope, see JerkWithAHeartOfJerk. (This is Villain with a heart of Villain)

** [[ComicBook/SpiderManAndBatmanDisorderedMinds One time]], he begged off from doing a VillainTeamup with ComicBook/{{Carnage}} because Carnage just wanted to maim and kill, while Joker preferred ''panache'' in his murders.

*** They are time pirates who aim at changing history in such a way they'll be in command of the world, but their attempts at doing it (or at least the one seen in the series) involve assembling a device to move history on their preferred course because they're smart enough to know [[TheButterflyEffect it could easily backfire]];

*** Their main agent the Raider once showed up to [[spoiler: prevent Duckburg from getting destroying in a nuclear fusion experiment going awry]]. It's not out of the goodness of his heart, but because [[spoiler: the nuclear experiment working]] would be the only possible power source for his [[MacGuffin Othership]] that isn't too surveilled. In fact, had he not needed to charge the Othership he would have left the events proceeding as normal because he isn't stupid enough to risk running afoul of TheButterflyEffect;

** In the reboot we have the time pirate Kronin (a composite character of the Raider and his predecessor in the job). He steals from all across time, but won't try and change time because he fears running afoul of TheButterflyEffect. He states so in his TheReasonYouSuckSpeech to Zondag, who had [[spoiler: stolen Kronin's time machine and prevented the birth of Evron's main enemies only to ''cause the Evronians to leave their militaristic ways'', thus destroying the Evronian Empire he was planning to rule over]].

* Rufus Shinra is like this in ''Machinima/FinalFantasyVIIMachinabridged'', contrasting with the rest of the Shinra High Command, who are pure IncompetenceInc.
--->'''Rufus:''' Let us use a scalpel to solve our problems instead of a hammer, shall we?

* While Reeve of ''Machinima/FinalFantasyVIIMachinabridged'' is the TokenGoodTeammate of Shinra, he knows that trying to appeal to his [[CorruptCorporateExecutive colleagues']] morality is a pointless endeavour, so he tries to appeal to their business sense when yelling at them for dropping a section of the city onto another section of the city, killing thousands in an effort to quash a rebel cell that consisted of six people. This fails as well.
* ''Machinima/RedVsBlue'':

* The Gandor Family in ''LightNovel/{{Baccano}}'' stays steadfastly out of the drug trade, sticking with [[NeighborhoodFriendlyGangsters relatively less objectionable crimes]] like bootlegging and gambling. This is due to [[EvenEvilHasStandards actual moral objections]] on the part of Keith Gandor, but the other two Gandor brothers, Luck especially, recognize that it's also because their relatively small organization is not equipped to compete with the larger organized crime families currently running drugs.

* ''LightNovel/ACertainMagicalIndex'': Even when he considered himself a villain, Accelerator buys his groceries and meals instead of taking them by force. When questioned about this by Last Order, he explains that although he's powerful enough to just take anything he wants, it's too much hassle to have to deal with the authorities and others futilely trying to fight him off. Buying stuff without making a fuss means he gets it quickly and without any problems. Having everyone in the city hate him for fighting the police would be very annoying.

* ''LightNovel/{{Durarara}}'':
** Inverted. Despite easily seeming more restrained than Shizuo, Izaya is highly impulsive and even admits he often makes problems since he can't stop himself from messing with others. He caused Akane incident out of sheer pettiness for not being involved with Hollywood, leading to [[spoiler:Yodogiri stabbing him]] and Vorona meeting Shizuo.
** Played straight later on. Izaya dismantles Heaven's Slave and Amphisbaena after being assigned by the Awakusu to gain intel on them. As it turns out, [[spoiler:the gangs had been created by Nakura under different aliases before leaving them, and both leaders posed as second-in-commands to pin everything on their nonexistent bosses]]. Instead of handing over this info, Izaya tells the Awakusu they probably destroyed each other and disappeared, keeping [[spoiler:Nakura]] safe and ensuring that he would forever be under Izaya's thumb.
* Kiritsugu Emiya of ''LightNovel/FateZero'' may not see himself as a villain, but deliberately uses methods he knows to be both pragmatic and villainous. In his perspective, there is no such thing as a noble war, and that chivalry is the greater crime for perpetuating war by glamorizing it, rather than ending fights with merciless and abrupt execution and leaving survivors with no taste for war.

* ''LightNovel/HowNotToSummonADemonLord'': Medios is a slave trader. She does not abuse her slaves and makes sure they are well educated and all their needs are met. Her reasoning is that this results in HappinessInSlavery, meaning everyone is satisfied and her slaves don't try to escape or resist their masters, resulting in higher profits for her.

* In ''LightNovel/IzureShinwaNoRagnarok'', the warring gods put their previous war on hold when they realized they were razing the very lands that they were fighting over. Their current rules now limit them to an island for their battlefield.

* ''LightNovel/LordMarksmanAndVanadis'':
** While leading a raid on the Alsace territory, Zion orders his men not to attack anyone who has taken shelter in the temple, saying such an act would cause everyone in the kingdom to turn against them.
** After Roland fails a mission, Duke Ganelon [[YouHaveFailedMe has him framed for treason and executed]]. When Duke Thenardier finds out, he angrily calls Ganelon [[YouFool an idiot]], since Roland was a very powerful soldier, one of the few people able to fight a War Maiden on equal terms, and was much more useful alive.

* Aur from ''LightNovel/MaouNoHajimekata'' treats those who have become his subjects with decency, even if he has fooled some demons to become part of his army or the women he violated to submission; he gives them what they want by being at his side, thus ensuring loyalty, and erasing suspicion and lingering hatred from those who hated him before they joined his ranks.

* In ''LightNovel/MyNextLifeAsAVillainessAllRoutesLeadToDoom'', several students falsely accuse Catarina of bullying Maria (which she was guilty of in the original FictionalVideoGame, but not in [[AlternateTimeline main story]]). However, Catarina's friends stand up for her and disprove the accusations. Some time later, Geordo and Catarina realize that the students would normally never even attempt to make false accusations against Catarina since, as the daughter of a duke, she outranks her accusers. It turns out that [[spoiler:the students had fallen under the sway of a dark magic user]].

* In ''LightNovel/SwordArtOnline'', Sigurd threatens to kill Kirito when the latter intercedes in a dispute between Sigurd and Leafa. Since Kirito is in an enemy capital city, he can't fight back, but Sigurd stops when one of his underlings points out that there are people watching, and it would look bad if he killed Kirito. Apparently believing that taking his anger out on Kirito wouldn't be worth the blow to his reputation, Sigurd lets Kirito go.

An obvious foil to villains with ComplexityAddiction ([[VillainBall who will do the evil deed anyway]]), though some do manage to pair the two. A subtrope is CantKillYouStillNeedYou if applied to villains. Contrast StupidEvil, where the villain hurts their own interests by preferring indiscriminate evil. Compare and contrast ShootTheDog, where a hero or anti-hero does a morally questionable act for pragmatic reasons. See also CooperationGambit, CutLexLuthorACheck, DickDastardlyStopsToCheat, SanityHasAdvantages, and BreadAndCircuses. Compare EvilVirtues, where a villain has good traits; StraightEdgeEvil, where a villain avoids personal vices; and NominalHero, where a character does heroic acts out of neutral-at-best motivations. For the ''less'' evil and more moderate version of this trope, see JerkWithAHeartOfJerk.(This is Villain with a heart of Villain)

An obvious foil to villains with ComplexityAddiction ([[VillainBall who will do the evil deed anyway]]), though some do manage to pair the two. A subtrope is CantKillYouStillNeedYou if applied to villains. Contrast StupidEvil, where the villain hurts their own interests by preferring indiscriminate evil. Compare and contrast ShootTheDog, where a hero or anti-hero does a morally questionable act for pragmatic reasons. See also CooperationGambit, CutLexLuthorACheck, DickDastardlyStopsToCheat, SanityHasAdvantages, and BreadAndCircuses. Compare EvilVirtues, where a villain has good traits; StraightEdgeEvil, where a villain avoids personal vices; and NominalHero, where a character does heroic acts out of neutral-at-best motivations. For the ''less'' evil and more moderate version of this trope, see JerkWithAHeartOfJerk. (This is Villain with a heart of Villain)

An obvious foil to villains with ComplexityAddiction ([[VillainBall who will do the evil deed anyway]]), though some do manage to pair the two. A subtrope is CantKillYouStillNeedYou if applied to villains. Contrast StupidEvil, where the villain hurts their own interests by preferring indiscriminate evil. Compare and contrast ShootTheDog, where a hero or anti-hero does a morally questionable act for pragmatic reasons. See also CooperationGambit, CutLexLuthorACheck, DickDastardlyStopsToCheat, SanityHasAdvantages, and BreadAndCircuses. Compare EvilVirtues, where a villain has good traits; StraightEdgeEvil, where a villain avoids personal vices; and NominalHero, where a character does heroic acts out of neutral-at-best motivations. For the ''less'' evil and more moderate version of this trope, see JerkWithAHeartOfJerk.

* In Tennessee Williams's ''Sweet Bird of Youth'', [[CorruptHick "Boss" Finley]] is upset to discover that his son arranged for a team of goons to break into his political rival's house, rough him up and burn some of his possessions on the lawn. Not because it's wrong, but because they left evidence linking them to the Finley campaign. [[CrossesTheLineTwice The least they could have done]] was [[FalseFlagOperation dress up like the Klan and let them take the blame.]]

* This sometimes applies to [[{{Mooks}} low-level criminals and petty thugs]] in some of the later Creator/MarvelComics as well. In one ''ComicBook/IncredibleHulk'' comic, for instance, two perverts in the showers at the local [=YMCA=] are planning to rape Bruce Banner until he warns them about his having superpowers; they decide not to see whether he's bluffing. Moreover, in the future depicted in ComicBook/SpiderGirl's comics, several bands of assassins made it a policy only to subdue cops who got in their way and never to kill them, since the various law enforcement agencies involved tend to retaliate swiftly and brutally against cop-killers. A couple of petty burglars caught in the act by a superhero also surrender immediately rather than risk the near-certainty of being pounded into the pavement for fighting or fleeing.

** ''StarWarsMarvel1977'': In one issue, Han Solo is attacked and robbed by the SpacePirate Crimson Jack. Jack's first mate suggests killing Han after they take his cargo, but Jack chooses to let Han live; after all, a living man can be robbed many times, but a dead man can only be robbed once.

Pragmatic Villainy is when a villain either refuses to do something horrible or does something nice. It's not because [[EvenEvilHasStandards the action is too evil even for them]], nor is it a genuine PetTheDog moment. No, it's because it's in their best interest to not act the maggot this time. Whatever the situation might be, choosing the most evil option would be [[StupidEvil counter-productive to]] ThePlan. As such, the Pragmatic Villain doesn't take this evil option, instead opting for something a little less evil or even geuninely good.

* While [[EvilChancellor Sir Hiss]] from ''WesternAnimation/RobinHood'' seemed genuinely shocked that [[LargeHam Prince John]] [[NotSoHarmlessVillain would execute]] Friar Tuck to lure Robin Hood out, he was probably afraid that doing so would risk them being excommunicated by the Catholic Church, a powerful political entity at that time.