ā | 2nd Dimension Doofenshmirtz: You see, when I was a small boy back in Gimmelshtump, I had a toy train. Then one day I lost it. 1st Dimension Doofenshmirtz: That's... That's it? 2nd Dimension Doofenshmirtz: What do you mean? 1st Dimension Doofenshmirtz: That's your emotionally scarring backstory? That's your great tragedy? |
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~ Heinz Doofenshmirtz's reaction to his 2nd Dimension counterpart's laughable motive for villainy. |
Villainous Benchmarks who either faked their own tragedy or actually presents a tragic past or an alleged Freudian Excuse but cannot qualify as truly tragic due to their motivation having nothing to do with their so-called tragedy. The reason why their tragic past doesn't prevent them from being a villain is due to how it doesn't affect them, with some using it as a flimsy excuse for their actions. In a number of cases, Fake Tragic villains also fall under Debased if they possessed redeeming qualities before becoming villains.
Villains in this category include:
- Villains whose "tragedies" are really petty excuses for villainy (e.g. 2nd Dimension Heinz Doofenshmirtz, Princess Morbucks, Starlight Glimmer, and Patrick Hockstetter).
- Villains who brought their misery onto themselves while blaming it on someone, or worse, everyone else (e.g. Byeong-gi, Brian Griffin and Maxime Le Mal).
- Villains who felt unloved or unappreciated but became unsympathetic due to the nature of their actions (e.g. Heather, Mimic the Octopus, Ms. Stevenson, and Wes Gardner).
- Villains who experienced genuine tragedies (e.g. losing their family or loved ones, experiencing prejudice, being bullied/abused, being abandoned, tortured, rejected by society, forced to live in poverty, having major health issues such as disabilities, etc.), but exaggerate how badly it affected them to make a false excuse for themselves or simply arenāt affected by what happened to them (e.g. Erin Voss, Arvo, Risotto Nero, Jafar, ChloĆ© Bourgeois, Sumi and Taka, Seryu Ubiquitous, and Mojo Jojo).
- Villains who were exposed to evil forces which brought out their darkest qualities, toxins that were slowly killing them, given powers that were difficult to appropriately use, etc. but instead of searching for help, seeking a proper way to incorporate their powers, or learning self-control, they used it as an excuse to take up villainy (e.g. Shadow Weaver).
- Villains whose excuse sounds good enough, but there's no in-universe proof it actually happened, or it is completely made-up and never happened (e.g. Black Yoshi, Velvet, and Does Bad Things Guy).
- Villains who were already cruel and vile people to begin with before experiencing any form of trauma, whether it was genuine or not. As such, their tragedy is prevented from being a legitimate Freudian excuse in the first place (e.g. Magica De Spell, Lord Tirek and Roy Rakoon).
Mere speculations or implications of a tragic past are not enough to qualify a character for this category (e.g. Alcina Dimitrescu and Oogie Boogie). They must have an established backstory which must come from an official and trustworthy source.
NOTE: This category is different from Tragic because that category is for villains who have sympathetic backstories that still hold up in spite of all they have done, while the Fake Tragic category is for villains who have backstories that are completely faked or have nothing to do with their actions.
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Thanos (Squid Game) -
ChloƩ Bourgeois -
Jafar -
Sumi and Taka -
Tirek -
Byeong-gi -
Maxime Le Mal -
Moon (Five Nights at Freddy's)
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