(NOTE: THE TERM "HAMMY" IS ACTUALLY ANOTHER WORLD FOR "LOUD")
Music for the articleThis villain trope is for people we love to hate.
"Love to hate" is a term we (and others) use to describe villains we enjoy. We love them for various reasons, such as excellent character development, being hilarious, possessing the best writing, having a memorable personality, or were lucky enough to have a top notch performance by their actor. (Of course, the fans still want to see the wretch get his comeuppance in the end, hopefully with a flamboyant Villainous Breakdown and delicious Humiliation sequence. This is still hatred, after all.) Also named Heel Hate.
Faux Affably Evil, Affably Evil, Laughably Evil, Magnificent Chessmaster, and Evil Villain are sub tropes for different reasons. Being a Large Ham definitely helps (see also Evil Is Hammy).
Some Anti-Villains are this due to the character development they often get, while the other ones are well liked by the aduence they have no hatred twords them.
Keep in mind a villain who is a Smug Snake or a character that the fans outright hate is typically not eligible for this trope as are some villains who cross the Line.
This is someone whom the fans enjoy and even maybe respect because of their unapologetic evilness. Their shamelessness is cathartic to us, and they retain their awesomeness as time goes by without Villain Threat Decay.
In order to be eligible, a villain must be generally well regarded/well liked by said fandom while the same fandom still acknowledges they're a cool villain being here means that said villain is part of the pantheon of great villains.
Basically they are liked for the jerkness, unabashed desire to use others and control the world, being Dangerously Genre Savvy, starting a memorable Memetic Mutation and being an all-around For the Evulz monstrous, yet cool villain who's repeated cruel and possibly pointless moments that make his eventual downfall that much more satisfying to witness.
Sat Dec 29, 2012 6:40 pm
