History Main / WickedPretentious

* ''Film/DjangoUnchained'''s main antagonist Calvin Candie ''thinks'' he is charming, intelligent and cultured, but is actually cruel, petty, stupid and disgusting. Despite presenting himself as a lover of French culture, insisting on being addressed as "Monsieur Candie", and naming one of his black slaves after the protagonist from ''Literature/TheThreeMusketeers'', he doesn't actually speak French and is not even aware that Creator/AlexandreDumas was part black himself. The greatest challenge facing Schultz and Django during their stay on Candie's plantation is flattering him and playing along with his hypocrisy without revealing their utter disgust.

* ''[[WesternAnimation/SheRaAndThePrincessesofPower She-Ra and The Princesses of Power]]'': [[Characters/SheRaAndThePrincessesOfPowerHordePrime Horde Prime]] carries a veneer of sophistication and appreciation for alien culture and arts that never deters from his megalomaniacal personality and horrifying, oft-times genocidal rule over most of the universe. He particularly enjoys keeping relics from civilizations he ravaged as a power play meant to demoralize his enemies and express his invincibility.

* ''Manga/FairyTail'': Jose Porla fashions himself a GentlemanWizard who cares about good manners even toward those he kidnapped. But beneath the thinly-veiled façade is an arrogant GreenEyedMonster whose envy over the titular guild's esteemed reputation drives him to wage war. The fact that he intends to ransom Lucy to gain her family's fortune while crushing Fairy Tail into nothing further exposes him as a greedy and petty man at heart.
* ''Manga/JujutsuKaisen'': [[Characters/JujutsuKaisen Mahito]] is a StrawNihilist who waxes philosophical on human nature and believes he's the only one who understands the soul and what it means to live. Of course, he's a misanthropic PsychopathicManchild who uses this ideology as an excuse to murder hundreds, never mind that, once his beliefs are thrown back in his face, [[OriginalPositionFallacy he will quickly abandon them]] to save his own skin.

** Marine Lieutenant Fullbody pretends to be a sophisticated and cultured wine connoisseur to impress women and keep up appearances as an OfficerAndAGentleman. When Sanji calls him out on the facade he quickly averts NiceToTheWaiter and even assaults his date in anger, receiving a CurbstompBattle by Sanji for his troubles. Ironically, after getting demoted[[note]] And befriending the aformentioned Jango [[/note]] he drops the persona and begins {{inver|tedTrope}}ting the trope, becoming openly crass and silly [[TookALevelInKindness but also considerably nicer]].

** Charlie is a haughtier, elitist example, being Eggsy's PrivilegedRival during his time in Kingsman Academy and frequently putting him down for being common-born. He's kicked out when exposed as a DirtyCoward, later tries to sell Eggsy out to the BigBad, and drops the pretentious part entirely in [[Film/KingsmanTheGoldenCircle the second movie]] to become the thuggish [[TheDragon dragon]] to Poppy. [[LampshadeHanging Lampshaded]] by Eggsy in their final confrontation, remarking how he is more of a gentleman than Charlie will ever be.

* ''Film/TheMenu'': Tyler initially appears to be a charming foodie with a deep understanding of cuisine who is ecstatic to be dining at a high-class restaurant hosted by his idol, Julian Slowik. But it becomes increasingly clear that he's largely interested in impressing Slowik and looking like he understands his cooking, even as the chef's murder plot unfolds. His attempts to show off his [[KnowNothingKnowItAll "knowledge"]] are very surface level and earns no attention or respect, and when he's [[spoiler: instructed to make something himself, he fails spectacularly.]] Oh, and for the "Wicked" part? [[spoiler: He knew Slowik was going to kill everyone but still dragged Margot into it [[ItsAllAboutMe just so he can have the plus-one required to attend]]. Quite tellingly, [[EvenEvilHasStandards Slowik is absolutely disgusted with Tyler]] and takes pleasure in humiliating him into being DrivenToSuicide.]]

* ''Series/TheBoys2019'': Homelander gets a moment of this in Season 3, when he states he's been reading up on UsefulNotes/MartinLutherKingJr and claims to relate to him as a victim of persecution who "spoke truth to power." This new "enlightenment" of his stems from him being upset over the public [[EntitledBastard not giving him the admiration he thinks he's owed]] and his evil deeds finally catching up to him, to the point he StoppedCaring about consequences and has elected to do whatever he desires. Right after going on this spiel, he further negates any point he may have by making the Deep eat an octopus alive ForTheEvulz.

* ''VideoGame/Persona5'': Ichiryusai Madarame poses as a respectable and talented artist, when in reality he's long lost his passion and makes a living [[PlagiarismInFiction stealing the works of his students]]. He admits to currently being in it for fame and fortune, and his MagnumOpus, the mural Sayuri, was made by a disciple he let die to claim as his own. Perfectly fitting for the game's [[SevenDeadlySins Monarch of Vanity]].

* ''[[WesternAnimation/SheRaAndThePrincessesofPower She-Ra and The Princesses of Power]]'': [[Characters/SheRaAndThePrincessesOfPowerHordePrime Horde Prime]] carries a veneer of sophistication and appreciation for alien culture and arts that never deters from his megalomaniacal personality and horrifying, oft-times genocidal rule over most of the universe. Any time he shows relics from civilizations he ravaged, it's a power play meant to demoralize his enemies and express his invincibility.

* ''Film/GuardiansOfTheGalaxyVol3'': [[Characters/MCUTheHighEvolutionary The High Evolutionary]] tries to come off as an erudite EmperorScientist and shows an interest in Earth culture and music (classical music, to boot), but it's abundantly clear that he's a [[ThePerfectionist perfectionist]] PsychopathicManchild who is only concerned with playing God and making sure his flawed creations meet his delusional, contradictory standards. He really doesn't understand anything about the culture or science he tries to invest himself in, and when his creations fail him in ''any'' capacity (or causes [[EvilIsPetty a blow to his ego]]), he responds with cruelty of the highest order. Notably, he attempts to appear philosophical by disparaging humanity for its bigotry and violence [[{{Hypocrite}} (despite being just as guilty of the same)]], and when called out on the mess of a society he created he decides that it's unsalvageable and chooses to burn it to the ground. The end result of all this is a bonafide HateSink and one of the most despicable villains in the MCU.