Charismatic villains are a common type of villain whose skills go further than Master Manipulators or Master Orators, at times going even further than Liars. They happen to be charmers who fully control their ability to hold sway over others with their smooth-talk and charming manners, to the point they don't only make people believe in their causes, but actually use their charisma to get others to trust, like, or perhaps even admire them (although this may vary depending on how strong their charisma is).

Usually, these villains first appear to be good, likable or at least sympathetic towards the heroes (and thus the audiences) until their true natures are revealed (e.g. Norvirus Raccoon, Zobek, Gil Yepes, Lots-o'-Huggin' Bear, Chelsea Van Der Zee, Julius, Emeraude, High-T, Riley Hicks, Warp Darkmatter, Dr. Facilier, General Lunaris, Alejandro Burromuerto, Ernesto de la Cruz, Dawn Bellwether, The Beldam, Diane Simmons, Kip Snip, Prince Hans and Yokai). In some cases to add suspense, other villains (e.g. Plankton, Chester V, Mother Gothel, The Coachman, William Afton and Tromus) make their audiences know they are obviously lying, but the heroes don't know this until later.

They should not be frequently mixed nor confused with Sophisticated villains, who are openly cruel but still have good manners and styles. Charismatic villains are basically wolves in sheep's clothing, and are very similar to Faux Affably Evil villains in general. They are willing to fake friendship and sometimes love to get what they want. They are also well-known for being capable of rounding up a great deal of followers due to their latent charm. Of course, this can sometimes (if not, rarely) overlap with high-functioning psychopathy as some charismatic villains use other people or even the heroes (sometimes including heroic charmers themselves) as tools to manipulate them into getting what they want out of them, go further than lying or even using a facade to blend into society for their own selfish and/or pragmatic needs.

Additionally, this category should not be confused with Affably Evil villains, as those villains are genuinely kind, thoughtful and polite in manner or decisions despite being villains and committing crimes. Whereas the Charismatic ones, as mentioned above, are more akin to the Faux Affably Evil villains who exercise insincere charm and likability to the public in order to manipulate others without anyone knowing.

They can be very disturbing characters as their eloquent exterior (both in terms of personality and appearance) definitely do not match with the horrendous crimes they commit against others. This twisted inversion often causes the hero (and the audience) to feel emotionally violated, especially when they have related, empathized or even trusted them for so long prior to the reveal of their true nature. They are such good actors that it is sometimes very hard to figure out how they truly feel about people they lie to, whether they are genuinely friendly or not. A villain can also qualify as having charisma if they are admired by their followers or have fans, regardless of what the protagonists and audience think of them. Examples include the Beldam and generally characters who are serial killers, dictators, etc. due to their desires to continue their crimes yet ironically "survive" in a society they wish to thrive in.