Basic Trope: Monkeys (and sometimes other nonhuman primates) are portrayed as evil, especially if they're also very intelligent.
- Straight: Mark the monkey is an Evil Genius and the main antagonist of the story.
- Exaggerated:
- Any nonhuman primate is Always Chaotic Evil.
- Mark is a Serial Killer bent on destroying the world, with no redeeming qualities whatsoever.
- Downplayed:
- Mark is simply unfriendly and can be rather antagonistic, but he's not necessarily evil.
- Mark is Affably Evil at the worst and has lines he won't cross.
- Mark is overall a good/neutral character, but he can be a force to reckoned with if he's angered.
- Justified:
- Can be Truth in Television; many species of monkeys are potentially dangerous.
- The story revolves around animals that monkeys eat, such as insects.
- Mark is aggressive because he was mistreated when he was younger.
- Inverted:
- Silly Simian
- Mark is a morally upright Science Hero who aims to save the world from disaster.
- Mark is a Kindhearted Simpleton.
- Subverted: Many characters are suspicious of Mark, but in the end, he reveals that he is Good All Along.
- Double Subverted:
- Which was simply an act.
- He becomes evil later.
- Parodied: A Purgatorius
is portrayed as evil. - Zig-Zagged: A monkey is in a Face–Heel Revolving Door.
- Averted: There aren't any monkeys.
- Enforced: "Monkeys are smart and dangerous, right? Let's have one be an Evil Genius, then!"
- Lampshaded: ???
- Invoked: ???
- Exploited: ???
- Defied: ???
- Discussed: "But I thought monkeys were friendly!"
- Conversed: "Monkeys... when they're not awesome and hilarious, they're scary!"
- Implied: A character mentions to watch out for monkeys.
- Played for Laughs: Mark combines this trope with Silly Simian / Mischief-Making Monkey and is Laughably Evil.
Back to Maniac Monkeys
