Line #19 Main/EvilPrincipal


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4	->''"Thanks for accepting my request for help after I only asked once, Lexi. Normally, it takes at least two requests, and some kind of message, like a finger in a box."''
5	-->-- '''Principal Skidmore''', ''Series/ANTFarm''
6
7	Much like how DeanBitterman is the principal equivalent of SadistTeacher, the Evil Principal is one step up from an EvilTeacher. Whereas the Dean Bitterman is merely a crusty, fun-hating bully, the Evil Principal is an outright villain who sets places on fire, murders students and [[ArsonMurderAndJaywalking jaywalks when no one is looking]]. While they can overlap, the Evil Principal has to actually commit crimes or mastermind an EvilPlan of some kind to qualify.
8
9	The Evil Principal also sometimes isn't as obviously antagonistic as the Dean Bitterman and is often [[VillainWithGoodPublicity well-liked]] and seemingly nice. But behind the scenes, they get into all kinds of evil, secretly plotting robberies, assassinations, deals with shady organizations or even things like student [[RapeIsASpecialKindOfEvil rape]] or torture. They are most likely to appear in stories where the protagonists are school-aged children and teens in an AdultsAreUseless situation taken up a level where the adult is genuinely malevolent. Whenever there's a SchoolForScheming or AcademyOfEvil, expect to see this character in charge.
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11	Contrast ReasonableAuthorityFigure and PuttingThePalInPrincipal.
12	----
13	!Examples:
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15	[[foldercontrol]]
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17	[[folder:Anime & Manga]]
18	* ''Literature/TheDevilIsAPartTimer High School'': Archbishop Olba takes on the role of the school superintendent here, helping Lucifer brainwash the students into voting for the latter as StudentCouncilPresident and aiming to TakeOverTheWorld.
19	* ''Manga/GakuenAlice'': Kuonji, the Elementary School Principal of the titular Alice Academy, is the BigBad involved in child slavery and who mistreats and manipulates the students of the school, and commits many evil acts in the process of achieving his goals.
20	* ''Manga/GreatTeacherOnizuka'': Misuzu Daimon [[KnightTemplar believes she's making a positive difference]] when she takes over as principal of Holy Forest Academy, but her methods involve [[BigBrotherIsWatching monitoring all electronic communication between students]], trying to get teachers she doesn't like (i.e. Onizuka) fired (or make his life so miserable he'll quit), and unleashing a student SecretPolice of "[[IronicName Angels]]" to infiltrate the school and punish "bad seeds" through rumors, social ostracism, and even physical violence.
21	* ''Manga/HollowFields'': Miss Eleanor Weaver is the headmistress of the titular AcademyOfEvil, officially named the Academy for the Scientifically Gifted and Ethically Unfettered, and is a MadScientist who educates others in how to be mad scientists. She also commits several evil acts herself.
22	* ''Anime/KillLaKill'': StudentCouncilPresident Satsuki Kiryuin is effectively the head of Honnouji Academy, with the actual principal a powerless figurehead, who rules it with an iron fist, enforcing a strict caste system, executing students, and even annexing other schools. [[spoiler:At least until it turns out she was only doing this to pretend to be loyal to her mother Ragyo, while planning to betray her and stop her tyranny over Japan; though it fails, she still does a HeelFaceTurn afterwards.]]
23	* ''Anime/RevolutionaryGirlUtena'': Though technically one step above this as the "acting" Chairman of the School Board, BigBad End of the World/[[spoiler:Akio Ohtori]] thoroughly qualifies. In a grotesque twist, he hides this status beneath a [[VillainWithGoodPublicity public persona]] of being its [[PuttingThePalInPrincipal theoretical opposite]], presenting himself as a CoolTeacher and ReasonableAuthorityFigure who's OneOfTheKids and occasionally HotForStudent. (And yes, that latter one comes [[RapeAsDrama with all the worst scenarios]].)
24	* ”Manga/DeadRock: The main antagonist is [[GodIsEvil God]] who happens to be the ruler of the three realms and the principal of Dead Rock. An institution that trains its students to become demon kings in the human world.
25	[[/folder]]
26
27	[[folder:Film -- Live-Action]]
28	* The year 2001 Disney Channel Original Movie ''Hounded'' had Ward Van Dusen, the headmaster of Columbus Hall, the private middle school his son, Ronny, and Jay Martin attended. Ward had a long history of {{Nepotism}} since he was named headmaster, succeeding his father-in-law, Armand Columbus. [[spoiler:An example being when Jay's older brother, Mike, was a student at Columbus, Ward cut him from the baseball team to make room for his nephew, who never even played the sport his entire life]]. When he tries to help Ronny get into a prestigious school by stealing Jay's presentation, stealing the scholarship that should've been his in the first place, his acts of nepotism ultimately get him demoted to secretary and Ronny sent to military school while Armand took back his old job and Jay is rightfully given his scholarship.
29	* Elliot Jindraike, the Principal of Curtis Jr. High, from ''Film/MaxKeeblesBigMove'', who plotted to embezzle all the money from the school to fund his football stadium named after the school superintendent, where it will be constructed at the animal shelter Max regularly visits.
30	* ''Film/TheSubstitute'': Principal Rolle is first introduced as an outwardly genial ex-cop, now tasked with cleaning up a poor inner-city school plagued with gang and drug problems. In reality, Rolle himself is the mastermind behind most of the drug trafficking going on at the school, using school buses to transport cocaine and storing it in the boiler room. He has no qualms about murder either; he tries to have Slade killed several times and personally murders another teacher who finds out about his scheme. Also turns out that he was a DirtyCop before becoming a principal, and sees good to have a more direct line for distributing the drugs directly to the kids.
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32
33	[[folder:Literature]]
34	* ''Literature/{{Animorphs}}'': Assistant Principal Hedrick Chapman is secretly a Controller with a [[PuppeteerParasite Yeerk]] in his brain, helping them take over more people including the students in his school. Upon finding out Chapman is a Controller, Marco jokes this is why he's so strict.
35	* ''Literature/TheDemonHeadmaster'', or rather the first book (and the first series of the BBC adaptation) has the premise of a creepy school where all the students are mysteriously well behaved. It quickly turns out the eponymous character can hypnotize anyone who looks at him, causing the main character to join a group of students dedicated to opposing him. The later books avert this, by having him engage in wilder supervillain plots, like mind-controlling the Prime Minister, and cloning people (albeit, [[ArtifactTitle not dropping the title]]).
36	* ''Literature/GhostGirl2021'': Principal Scratch is an evil spirit who did away with the previous principal and uses his position to reach all the residents of the town and feed off their souls.
37	* ''Literature/HarryPotter'':
38	** In ''Literature/HarryPotterAndTheGobletOfFire'', Karkaroff is the director of Durmstrang and a former Death-Eater Krum described as not caring about his students, leaving them in the cold. He is self-serving at best, being an ex-supporter of Voldemort, and is still shown as treating his students poorly.
39	** ''Literature/HarryPotterAndTheOrderOfThePhoenix'': Dolores Umbridge [[TyrantTakesTheHelm takes charge]], uses her blood-quill on at least two students, and allows Filch to whip students. Not to mention the fact that she was the one who sicced the [[EmotionEater Dementors]] on Harry at the beginning of the story [[HeKnowsTooMuch to silence him]], and outright tries to use ColdBloodedTorture on him later.
40	** In ''Literature/HarryPotterAndTheDeathlyHallows'', [[spoiler:Severus Snape]] seemed to have became this for a Voldemort-controlled Hogwarts until [[spoiler:he was revealed as TheMole]].
41	* ''Literature/{{Matilda}}'': Miss Agatha Trunchbull, headmistress of [[BoardingSchoolOfHorrors Crunchem Hall Primary School]], is a ChildHater and DeanBitterman taken to the extreme, sadistically punishing kids with wildly outlandish punishments like forcing them to eat a whole cake in one sitting, [[DestinationDefenestration chucking them out the window]] for eating during class, or, her favorite, making them stand in [[IronMaiden the Chokey]]. She isn't just [[SadistTeacher abusive to her students]], either- it's heavily implied that [[spoiler:she was involved in the death of Miss Honey's father]].
42	* ''Literature/MichaelVey'': Mr. Dallstrom is the rude and cruel principal of Meridian High School that the titular Michael and his peers attend. He picks on weak and unpopular students, and in Michael's case makes fun of his Tourette's Syndrome and punishes him with detention when he is bullied, making up reasons like "[Y]ou cannot be stuffed into a locker without your consent" and for not struggling "hard enough" against his bullies. He later stoops even lower when he accepts bribes from the corrupt Elgen Cooperation to send Michael to their "school" in California so they may experiment on him.
43	* Sometimes in ''Series/TheWorstWitch'', Agatha Cackle, the EvilTwin of the normal headmistress Ada Cackle, takes over as headmistress. She'll usually be giving the students a hard time and/or trying to destroy the school when she does that.
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46	[[folder:Live-Action TV]]
47	* In ''Series/Daybreak2019'', [[spoiler:the sadistic, [[ImAHumanitarian cannibalistic]] warlord Baron Triumph is revealed to be Principal Burr, who [[ChildHater hates children]] and wants to nuke Glendale to rebuild it in his own image]].
48	* ''Series/DoctorWho'': In "[[Recap/DoctorWhoS28E3SchoolReunion School Reunion]]", Headmaster Finch is leading the [[MonsterOfTheWeek Alien Conspiracy of the week]], turning his students into {{Wetware CPU}}s, and occasionally eating a student he thinks nobody will miss.
49	* Downplayed in ''Series/HouseOfAnubis'' with Eric Sweet. He's the headmaster of the school and TheDragon to Victor Rodenmarr Jr., and thus a member of TheConspiracy to attain immortal life at the expense of the students, but he's actually a good man despite his exterior and mostly just gets bossed around by Victor. [[spoiler:He ultimately does a HeelFaceTurn in Season 2, fully subverting this. However, come Season 3, this is double subverted when he comes back to help Victor and Miss Denby complete their ceremony and is turned into a "Sinner".]]
50	* In ''Series/ElInternadoLasCumbres'' Mara the headmistress fills this role. She punishes two students for fighting by having them locked up in the "iceboxes" (chilly isolation cells furnished with a bench and a bucket) overnight. She is upset that a group of students stole money from her and tried to run away, but shows little alarm about the disappearance of one of those students.
51	* In ''Series/MyBabysittersAVampire'', [[spoiler:the [[EvilSorcerer Cloaked Man]], the BigBad of Season 2 who wants to commit genocide on vampires, is revealed to be Vice Principal Stern]].
52	* ''Series/PowerRangersDinoThunder'': [[DarkActionGirl Elsa's]] human disguise is Principal Randall of Reefside High, the school the Rangers attend. Even in her human guise, Elsa is cruel, vindictive, and openly contemptuous of teenagers.
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55	[[folder:Video Games]]
56	* ''VideoGame/{{Ann}}'': [[spoiler:The principal is willing to trade sexual favors for good grades, victory in school contests, and other such things while being uncaring of the students who don't do as well despite turning in better work. He also murders Hana to keep her from leaking his dirty secret.]]
57	* Both ''VideoGame/CorpseParty'' continuities have the principal of the school be a corrupt and loathsome figure.
58	** In the backstory of ''VideoGame/CorpsePartyPC98'', the principal helped cover up the death of [[spoiler:Sachiko Shinozaki]], which was caused when she attempted to escape her teacher's rape attempt because he valued the school's reputation over delivering justice to the teacher. [[spoiler:The evil half of Sachiko]] is shown torturing the principal's soul over this, and yet he still insists he has done nothing wrong.
59	** In the Heavenly Host saga, the principal of the titular school, Takamine Yanagihori, [[spoiler:is here the attempted rapist who targeted school nurse Yoshie Shinozaki, accidentally killed her, then strangled Sachiko for witnessing it, condemning his soul to be tormented for eternity]].
60	* ''VideoGame/JimmyAndThePulsatingMass'': In Megatropolis's Shinryu Academy, [[EldritchAbomination the Pulsating Mass]] takes the form of Principal Pulsating Mass. Running the academy, it acts as an abusive principal to Jimmy and his friends, and once they get close to finding [[MacGuffin the Secret Knowledge]], it outright tries to kill them all.
61	* ''VideoGame/{{Kindergarten\|2017}}'':
62	** The Principal of the first game serves as the BigBad, having taken away Billy for his experiments and giving drugs to anybody who tries to look into it. He also has no qualms [[WouldHurtAChild shooting the kids]].
63	** At first glance, the Principal in ''VideoGame/Kindergarten2'' appears a lot nicer than the principal from the first game, but the way her daughter acts makes it clear that something is off. [[spoiler:This is ultimately because she made her daughter into a cyborg forced to obey her, and she has three students down below for experiments with plans to take over every school in the world. She will also kill her daughter if she starts to disobey her.]]
64	* ''VideoGame/LastWeek'': [[spoiler:The School Principal of Vitheesart is revealed to be the BigBad of the duology who was [[HumanSacrifice sacrificing]] his best-performing female students in exchange for the school rising in prosperity and reputation.]]
65	* Principal Kobayakawa from ''VideoGame/Persona5'' displays apathy to students' troubles under a [[FauxAffablyEvil mask of politeness]], as he turns a blind eye to [[CreepyGymCoach Kamoshida]]'s sexual abuses because the teacher's athletic achievements are giving the school some [[SlaveToPR good reputation]]. He's also a low-ranking member of TheConspiracy, and when the order came to investigate the Phantom Thieves, he requests his honor student Makoto to do it for him, pressing and then blackmailing her to uncover a group known for its secrecy, even as she gets in trouble with the {{Yakuza}}. It's worth noting when [[spoiler:he's [[YouHaveFailedMe offed by his superiors for incompetence]], none of the students show any pity]].
66	* ''VideoGame/SenranKagura'': Dogen, a recurring BigBad in the series, is effectively this if not officially. In the games, he's merely an investor of [[ThugDojo Hebijo Clandestine Girls' Academy]] who's power is nevertheless such that the actual principal is basically a figurehead who he could easily fire if he wanted to, while the anime and manga adaptations make him the official Headmaster. Either way, he uses Hebijo to carry out his criminal operations and try to TakeOverTheWorld, manipulates troubled girls into joining, instills a TrainingFromHell regimen to beat the kindness out of his students and turn them into his minions, and displays a willingness to kill them if they defy his orders or if he no longer needs them.
67	* ''VideoGame/SevenMysteries'': In the original version, [[spoiler:the Headmaster flat-out organizes the murder of his students if they get too close to the dark secrets of the school, and blackmails Sang and Thuy into being his muscle]]. In the remake, [[spoiler:he's more of a pawn of the Demon who doesn't want to help out but is forced to]].
68	* Downplayed in ''VideoGame/TurtleHead'' with Principal Kurtis Dale in that he isn't actively malicious, but he does use his authority as principal to cover up [[spoiler:his SerialKiller son's connection to his murders]] just to preserve his own reputation, which he values more than the safety of his students. He goes out of his way to obstruct anyone from investigating the incidents, most notably janitor Tian Henderson, by doing things like preventing anyone from entering the old school building where [[spoiler:his son is holding [[DamselInDistress Kay Brown]] and the corpses of his victims]]. He even [[spoiler:kills his son in the original game solely because his son's murders were drawing too much bad attention to him]]. In the end of both the original game and ''Emma's Story'', he is ultimately arrested as [[spoiler:an accomplice to his son's crimes]].
69	* ''VideoGame/WeirdAndUnfortunateThingsAreHappening'': Principal Inez Ulrich is the human ArcVillain of the Atkinson Middle School chapter who has [[DealWithTheDevil made a deal]] with an [[EldritchAbomination Inner Evocation]], Moror the Voracious, for the power to become a [[GodSaveUsFromTheQueen queen]]. With Moror's power, Inez turns the school into her fairy court and has her minions abduct children to be [[HumanSacrifice sacrificed]] to Moror via [[spoiler:[[{{Transflormation}} turning them]] into plants]].
70	[[/folder]]
71
72	[[folder:Visual Novels]]
73	* ''Franchise/{{Danganronpa}}'': Series BigBad Monokuma calls himself the headmaster of Hope's Peak Academy (and in ''VisualNovel/DanganronpaV3KillingHarmony'', of Ultimate Academy for Gifted Juveniles), and since there are no adults present, he effectively is one. Maintaining a friendly and comedic demeanor, he blackmails students into killing each other and isn't above getting his hands dirty when threatened. For the majority of the game, one of the ongoing mysteries is if the KillerGameMaster and the school's real headmaster are the same person. [[spoiler:They are not, though Jin Kirigiri has been working under people who forcibly nurture talents in students, and had to let Junko get away with murders in her younger days, both ending with the situation in the present]].
74	* ''VisualNovel/PrincessEvangile'': Misako Kitamikado, the Headmistress of Vincennes Private Girls Academy is the BigBad of all routes both main and fandisc, wanting to preserve the school's status quo as a OneGenderSchool through any and all means possible, including blackmail, hiring thugs to trash a Culture Festival, and kidnapping, depending on the route. In the main story routes at least, she eventually has a HeelRealization and eventual HeelFaceTurn, but in the Fandisc routes, she gets what she wants and remains as evil as she was at the story's start.
75	* ''VisualNovel/SpiritHunterDeathMark'': [[spoiler:The principal of H Elementary is revealed to have been the adoptive father of Hanahiko, the ArcVillain of Chapter 1, who [[AbusiveParents abused]] and [[ParentalIncest molested]] him in an attempt to "cure" his crossdressing and feminine tendencies, and eventually [[OffingTheOffspring killed]] him. His abuse is what warped him into a VengefulGhost.]]
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77
78	[[folder:Webcomic]]
79	* ''Webcomic/NineteenNinetySomething'': Principal Mulroney is one of the few characters who got worse in the comic's reboot, going from an apathetic DeanBitterman to an utter asshole willing to intentionally flunk a student in order for her to be available for him to steal her ideas for school improvement for another year.
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82	[[folder:Western Animation]]
83	* ''WesternAnimation/TheAmazingSpiez'': The episode "Operation: Rival Schools"'s villain is Principal Farley, the principal of the spies' rival school Oak Knolls Junior High who stole an experimental ability-enhancing light wave technology from a secret military lab so his students could finally win the annual Olympiad instead of always coming in last place. When Principal Shields has Oak Knolls disqualified from the competition and banned from future ones because of the student's extra aggressive behavior (a side-effect of the experimental tech), [[SoreLoser Farley kidnaps her and tries to make off with her and all of the competition's awards]].
84	* ''WesternAnimation/TheEmperorsNewSchool'': The villainous Yzma has become the principal of Kuzco Academy under the pseudonym of [[SdrawkcabAlias Principal Amzy]]. She has her sights on becoming empress and so will do whatever it takes to sabotage Kuzco's attempts of passing his classes so that he will fail and be disqualified from continuing as emperor.
85	* The ''WesternAnimation/FreakyStories'' segment "The Iron Fist Principal" had a girl transfer to a new school where everyone lived in constant fear of the unseen and apparently extraordinarily cruel disciplinarian principal [[spoiler:who ultimately turned out to be nothing but a story that the school's faculty made up to keep the students in line, with the teachers even going as far as using a creepy mannequin to cast SinisterSilhouettes in the Principal's Office]].
86	* ''WesternAnimation/JacobTwoTwo'':
87	** Principal I. M. Greedyguts, the FatBastard principal of Dreary Meadows Elementary School and a recurring antagonist whose schemes usually involve making the school even more of a living hell for his own self-benefit.
88	** He claims that his twin brother, Y. B. Greedyguts, the principal of Cheery Meadows Elementary School is [[EvilerThanThou even worse than he is]] despite seemingly being [[PuttingThePalInPrincipal the complete opposite of I. M. in personality]]. [[spoiler:He's right; [[BitchInSheepsClothing the niceness is all an act Y. B. puts on]] to trick students and teachers into coming to his school that's actually a power plant where they are forced to run endlessly on hamster wheels to generate electricity for him to sell, and they don't even get coffee breaks]].
89	[[/folder]]

Context Main / EvilPrincipal