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Evil Is Cool / Live-Action TV

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    A-D 
  • Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.:
    • Best exemplified in the episode "Providence", where the scenes with the heroes at their Darkest Hour are interspersed with what the bad guys are up to. Quite a few fans found the baddies more fun to watch.
    • Ward! It's really saying something that critics and fan alike complimented the show for not trying to redeem him and turn him good.
    • Gideon Malick, as played by the late, great Powers Boothe, sells the role of HYDRA leader with an enormous amount of gravitas, enough to intimidate even Ward despite being a Non-Action Big Bad.
    • Hive, as the original creator of HYDRA, is a pretty evil bastard, being a twisted squid-faced parasitic cult leader who brainwashes Inhumans and devours regular humans. He's also easily one of the coolest threats the show ever faced and one of the best villains in the MCU thanks to how intimidating and charismatic he is.
    • Ruby Hale, due to being a solid Evil Counterpart to Daisy and the interesting dissonance of being a complete psychopath who also happens to be a snarky teenager with attitude problems.
    • The Remorath are terrifying. They're basically Baraka clones who literally bring darkness with them wherever they go. Although their leader, Qovas, doesn't get to do as much fighting, Peter Mensah's performance makes the character suitably menacing, and then there's his giant, incredibly badass Cool Starship.
    • Graviton Talbot. Very scary powers. Also, totally awesome powers.
  • Alias: Julian Sark is the epitome of this trope. He's young and attractive, he frequently wears expensive, elegant suits, and his dry sense of humour produces numerous amusing quips. Sark even sports stylish sunglasses to enhance his villainous awesomeness.
  • The Arrowverse has many supervillains who are pretty cool :
  • Ahsoka has several, continuing the tradition of cool Star Wars villains:
    • Baylan Skoll and his apprentice, Shin Hati, both deliver on villains that are a unique take on force wielders (being Dark Jedi) that are competent, deadly, and very attractive, including an atypical dynamic in the Master-Apprentice chain, and Skoll's philosophy about breaking the cycle that the galaxy seems to be stuck in winning over a lot of fans.
    • Grand Admiral Thrawn is back, and he hasn't lost his touch as The Chessmaster in the slightest. Bonus points for being reprised by his actor from Rebels, Lars Mikkelsen.
    • Though it's only for a brief moment, seeing an armorless Darth Vader push Ahsoka to her limit in the World Between Worlds while wielding a red lightsaber is nothing short of spectacular. It helps that Hayden Christensen truly knows how to embody Vader even without the suit or James Earl Jones overdubbing his voice.
  • The villains in Batman (1966) were always more colorful than Batman and Robin. No wonder so many established actors were willing to play them!
  • Mike, Gus, and Walt from Breaking Bad are undeniably villains, but they're so brilliant and badass that it's hard not to admire them.
    • For an even clearer example, Walt is far cooler when he adopts his Heisenberg persona than he is when he's being himself.
    • Leonel and Marco Salamanca, known as "The Cousins". They wear awesome clothes (shiny sharkskin suits and cowboy boots with silver skulls), they're incredibly calm and collected, they walk unflinchingly even into cars, and they are equipped with an silver axe.
  • Better Call Saul: Eduardo "Lalo" Salamanca, a charming and intelligent, yet psychopathic and completely terrifying enforcer for the Cartel. In contrast to the rest of his family, Lalo is a honed scalpel who understands the situational need for subtlety. With a much more calculating approach to complement his ruthlessness along with an absolutely menacing and scene-stealing charisma, he has enough cunning to be able to play a pretty even cat-and-mouse game with the likes of Gus Fring. He is the only character in either show capable of making Gus lose his composure out of fear, making him arguably the most dangerous and entertaining-to-watch Salamanca introduced in either series. Bonus points for him being an incredible cook.
  • Buffyverse:
    • Spike, who, before he was turned into a vampire, was laughed at and wrote "poncy poetry", whereas when he was sired, he became all bad ass. (His actor, James Marsters, has since made this his specialty, as the rest of this page shows.)
    • Evil Angel is about seven times cooler than Good Angel. It probably has to do with the lack of brooding. Evil Angel is funny. He also gets several times smarter when he goes evil, which was lampshaded in the episode Awakening.
    • In an alternate universe, Xander and Willow got rid of their geeky sides after vampirization, instead opting for black leather and a smooth demeanour.
    • Faith thought this was the case for a while, mostly as a result of her living conditions improving (going from living in a roach motel that could be and was attacked by vampires, to a giant studio apartment that had all the furnishings and luxury items one could want), until she saw what she had become and attempts suicide by Angel, then Buffy.
    • Consider Wesley from Angel: glasses on — the scholar and gentleman of the group. His attempts to be baddass are laughable. Glasses off — beds Lilah, keeps a woman tied up in his closet, breaks rogue Slayers out of jail, and tortures junkies for information.
  • Chouseishin Series:
    • Chouseishin Gransazer: Impactor-Logia is your standard rival in a lot of ways, but he's so competent and badass he still leaves a lasting impression.
    • Kurogane of Genseishin Justiriser is one of the stand-out examples in the franchise. Daruga is threatening enough when he first appears, but after he becomes Kurogane, he gets even more badass and formidable, manhandling the Justirisers and their Humongous Mecha whenever he steps onto the battlefield.
    • Grouza in Chousei Kantai Sazer X is an extremely competent and diabolical Evil Genius, who ups the stakes of the show significantly after she appears and takes the reigns from the bumbling Three Shoguns.
    • Also in Sazer-X is King Neo Descal, who combines a cool design with being the most formidable manipulator in the series.
  • Control Z: For a high number of fans, Raul is interesting for his dark schemes and as the hacker.
  • Generally averted in Criminal Minds, where the various killers usually come across as rather pathetic as soon as they're not in a position of power, (they are usually trying to fulfil some fantasy or make themselves feel better about some perceived deficiency in themselves,) and the whole focus of the show is on The Profiler team proving themselves intellectually superior to the killers by outsmarting and catching them. The only exceptions to this tend to be killers like the Boston Reaper, who gives off this vibe due to his extremely high level of competence and his apparent lack of any fantasy-fulfilment (he just kills because he's an evil sadist who enjoys tormenting his victims and being notorious).
  • Dead Boy Detectives (2024):
  • Doctor Who:
    • The Daleks, especially in the revived series. They might look goofy at a glance, but they are a Higher-Tech Species and a single one of them can take down dozens of armed humans with ease, and that's without bringing in their bigger weapons.
    • Contrast Patrick Troughton as the playful and impish Second Doctor, and as the frilly-shirted, pleather-covered, exotic and sleazy Diabolical Mastermind Salamander in "Enemy of the World". Similarly, contrast Tom Baker as the childish and manic Fourth Doctor, and as the dominating, darkly charismatic and sadomasochistic Evil Twin Meglos. Both of the Doctor roles are huge dorks. Both of the villain roles ooze a staggering of coolness that you would not see in the Doctor performances.
    • The Master, in all his incarnations. He's a suave and classy baddie with the charisma to make a really effective Diabolical Mastermind. Special points to the Roger Delgado incarnation for being Wicked Cultured and Affably Evil.
    • Also Davros is this despite being a Non-Action Big Bad. He's able to fluctuate between being a Faux Affably Evil Soft-Spoken Sadist and Evil Is Hammy at its best. Helps that he's one of the smartest villains in the entire series being a Manipulative Bastard.
    • All three of the villain characters played by Peter Miles - Dr Lawrence, Professor Whitaker, and especially Nyder. And all in different ways - Dr Lawrence is Evil Is Hammy, Nyder is Creepy Monotone, and Whitaker is pretty much exactly between the two.
    • Brother Lassar. He's played by Anthony Head. Nothing more needs to be said.

    F-O 

    P-Y 
  • Percy Jackson and the Olympians (2023): Luke was a well received twist villain, due to his clever plan, sympathetic reasoning, and his actor's charisma. It helps that his fight with Percy is visually interesting. Many go so far as to say that he is better than his book counterpart.
  • Power Rangers:
    • The good guys are cool and all, but let's be honest, the Monsters are the real stars; creativity in these things is the key that's made the show so popular.
    "That was your lesson for today! Your homework: Feel the emotion that rages within you! It is called—FEEEEEAR!"
  • Smallville:
  • Ba'al from Stargate SG-1. He's the one System Lord who wasn't handed an Idiot Ball, and, as a result, causes all sorts of unexpected trouble for SG-1. True, he also usually wears some really nice clothes that seem to be specially tailored. He's also one of the more fun, hammy Goa'uld, partly due to his pride and being a bit of a Deadpan Snarker with a really good plan.
  • From Stranger Things:
    • After most of the show's human villains being simply despicable, we finally get one of these in Season 3 with Grigori, the main muscle of the team of Russians in Hawkins, a Badass Normal and Determinator modelled after the Terminator himself.
    • Vecna, being a send-up of horror movie baddies like Freddy Krueger, Pinhead, and Pennywise, does a great job of it. He looks like an undead monster made of Upside-Down vines, speaks with a creepy voice, has powerful psychic powers, and is an expert manipulator. He makes for a great follow-up antagonist to the Mind Flayer.
  • Squid Game has two:
    • The Front Man has a badass mask and coat, a cool voice, wields a 1911, is extremely clever, and a Consummate Professional. His mask, black attire, and general attitude of no-nonsense evil evokes Evil Is Cool mascot Darth Vader.
    • Il-nam drew in lots of viewers at first because he's an endearing old man who somehow manages to survive the deadly games and even gives genuinely helpful tips like in the Tug-of-War game, which makes him look badass. But when they reached The Reveal that he's actually the founder of the games, most people stopped loving him. That said, there's definitely a contingent of fans who still liked Il-nam even after the revelation of his true nature due to how clever he is, not to mention a love of both the twist and the good reception of his actor's performance.
  • Supernatural:
    • Crowley, snarky, sophisticated, and always well-dressed, the demon always keeps his promises. If you're going to sell your soul to a demon, he's the one to deal with.
    • Meg. In both her iterations, the Demon Meg embraces her darkness. She's straight-up unambiguously evil and enjoys it in her first run. In her second, she gradually undergoes a Heel–Face Turn thanks to her attraction to Castiel with whom she enjoys heavy-duty Foe Romance Subtext.
    • Lucifer. In Season 5 especially, Lucifer is cold both literally and figuratively and that makes him both terrifying and cool. The cool fact amps up when he manages to occupy his true vessel, Sam Winchester.
    • Castiel during his stint as God!steil. He loses his social awkwardness, punishes religious hypocrites and goes gloriously power-mad. It can't last, and he falls hard, but it's fun while it does last.
  • Any good Super Sentai villain should embody this, by being hammy, fearsome or likeable enough to keep up the flow of action and energy.
    • Any fan of Denshi Sentai Denziman will attest that even though she's evil, Queen Hedrian is one of the coolest bosses in the franchise. Her minions, the honorable General Hedrer and cute duo Keller and Mirror, are also rather popular.
    • Most members of the Armed Brain Army Volt in Choujuu Sentai Liveman, but Doctor Ashura in particular for how tough, boisterous and cunning he is. Great Professor Bias is also well liked for being a departure from the typical Sentai Evil Overlord, playing on his minions' egos and desire to outcompete one another in order to manipulate them into fulfilling his master plan. Even Guardnoid Gash, who in most episodes is just a Satellite Character who exists to enlarge the monster, has his fans for the surprisingly human moment he gets towards the end.
    • First Captain Chevalier of Chikyuu Sentai Fiveman. He should be detestable, but with how affable and sophisticated he is, how much of a threat he poses to the Fivemen (in contrast to his buffoonish predecessor Garoa) and how generously he treats his subordinates, he's a surprisingly likeable guy for a planet-marauding warlord.
    • Each of the Seven Dark Spears in Ninpuu Sentai Hurricaneger has their fans, but Sandaaru especially is fun to watch for being a badass One-Man Army who routinely bests and outplays both the heroes and his fellow villains.
    • Mikoto Nakadai/Abarekiller from Bakuryuu Sentai Abaranger is notable for being a Ranger who spends the majority of his time as a villain. Among Western fans, he is a fan favorite for being a charismatic, competent and powerful antagonist who uses an awesome suit and mecha to boot.
    • Yaiba of Darkness in GoGo Sentai Boukenger. Even though he's not a player in the Big Bad Ensemble for most of the series he's well-liked for how stoic and formidable he is, and how much of a challenge he posits to the Boukengers whenever he appears.
    • Another prime example is Samurai Sentai Shinkenger's Big Bad Dokouku. He's taken on the titular heroes more than once and flattened them. He manages to reduce an apparent Dragon-in-Chief Akomaru to Big Bad Wannabe when he appears.
    • Brajira of the Messiah in Tensou Sentai Goseiger for being a ruthless and manipulative Satanic Archetype.
    • In Kaizoku Sentai Gokaiger, the Gormin have become some of the best Mooks ever in a Sentai series, especially after the poker game in episode 10. It helps that they're portrayed as not quite as mindless as many of the grunts before and after them.
    • Wiserue and Kleon in Kishiryu Sentai Ryusoulger. Wiserue is showy and Laughably Evil yet surprisingly competent, while Kleon is basically an immature yet well-meaning kid who joins Wiserue in his schemes. Together they form a very entertaining duo, to the point of even overshadowing the protagonists at times.
  • Malcolm Tucker from The Thick of It, possibly the only political satire character ever to have been likened to Darth Vader.
  • Captain John Hart of Torchwood. Kills someone and then says, totally bored, "Thirsty now". Casually admits he killed someone, apologises for the mess, clears a bar of all he considers ugly, and orders one shot of every drink in the bar. Then drinks what appears to be a bottle of Vodka. In one go. With no noticeable side effects. Comes out with regular quips. The only person who really gets the better of him is Gwen Cooper. It helps the same actor played Spike in Buffy, and there is a definite similarity between the two.
  • True Blood:
    • Russell motherf*cking Edgington. Especially aided by Denis O'Hare's performance.
    • His husband Talbot could count as well, although he's not quite as evil.
    • Maryann kind of broke the base on whether she was this trope, or just plain tedious.
    • Lilith. Even in-universe.
  • The Ultra Series kaiju tend to be this, especially Zetton, Alien Baltan, and Red King. Gomora averts this by changing sides in Ultra Galaxy.
    • The standout example is Ultraman Zero's main villain Ultraman Belial, who's been brought back many times as a result of this trope and Joker Immunity.
    • Alien Empera is awesome to the point of commanding the respect of other Big Bads in the franchise. He doesn't appear nearly as much as Belial and lacks his Joker Immunity, but perhaps because of that he leaves quite the lasting impression when he takes center stage in Ultraman Mebius.
  • Watchmen (2019) has two:
    • Lady Trieu's Mad Scientist, The Wonka, and Deadpan Snarker tendencies all coupled with Hong Chau's fantastic performance result in her stealing virtually every scene she's in.
    • Ozymandias is arguably even more despicable this time around, but he’s still an ingenious man with razor sharp wit. Even in his old age, he manages to pull off feats that are extremely impressive on both intellectual and physical levels.
  • Young Sheldon: In-Universe in "Seven Deadly Sins and a Small Carl Sagan". The main reason Mary and Mr. Lundy butt heads is because Lundy thinks this, playing Satan as a charming jokester and the Seven Deadly Sins as full-blown attractions, which earns a lot of fundraising money but means nobody is disgusted enough to seek salvation (at least until Veronica checks out the attraction).

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