User blog comment:BigBadSquid/PE Proposal: Pirate Master/@comment-30634893-20200125214845

In the past I've been sort of iffy on whether or not Pirate Master should qualify, given the fact that, as mentioned previously, most of his worst acts occur off-screen and are only mentioned throughout the story. But still, considering the consequences his attempted genocide had, his torturing of Risky—in fact, as far as I know, he is the only villain in the series to intentionally torture someone for entirely sadistic reasons—and the fact that he is taken completely seriously, I'll say yes.

Of course, as you said, the low heinous standard of the franchise factors into my decision here. I mean, when considering the worst villains the games have to offer, the concept of Pirate's Curse itself proves that Risky obviously has clear limits towards how cruel and ruthless she can be, even with her repeated attempts to kill Shantae and take over Sequin Land; Ammo Baron, despite explicitly trying to murder everyone in Sequin Land Palace, is still mostly incompetent and comedic; and Techno Baron, who literally kidnapped dozens of young women and mermaids to sell as canned monster food while also enslaving the Mermaid Queen, isn't taken that seriously. In the end, Pirate Master is the only villain who has a chance of qualifying, and probably the only villain who ever will, given the franchise's comical nature.

Also, respect to that Sans reference.