“ | ...What are you doing? Do you really think I've learned anything from this? No. If you let me live... I'll come back. I'll kill you. I'll kill everyone. I'll kill everyone you love! ...Why? ...Why are you being... so nice to me? I can't understand... I can't understand... I just can't understand... | „ |
~ Flowey being spared by Frisk. |
“ | I think you are confused, all your life you used fear to control people, like your friends Mai and Ty Lee. | „ |
~ A hallucination of Ursa analyzing Azula's insecurities. |
Villains who are insecure sometimes lack self-esteem or confidence. This may range from believing that they are monsters or thinking that they don't have what it takes to be successful. These villains may not actually be evil as much as they lash out to assert themselves and find their place. They are similar to the tragic villains, but the defining characteristics of an insecure villain is that they are lying to both themselves and others. Alternatively, they might act in a deranged and/or homicidal manner due to severe pain inflicted upon them and can sometimes be victims of abuse or neglect (e.g. Crona, Spinel, Zuko, Thaddeus Sivana, Ash Graven, Catra, Yuno Gasai, Andrew Detmer, Mikan Tsumiki, Credence Barebone, Cassandra, Moxxie, New Goblin, Jin Seon, Joker, Mutant Gang, Tyler Down, Eren Yeager, Kylo Ren, and The Phantom). Furthermore, not all insecure villains are tragic in nature. Some use their lack of confidence as an excuse to lash out or make themselves look like more of a victim than they are. The same applies to villains who bring any poor treatment they experience onto themselves.
Usually, these villains just need those who understand them or acceptance, yet it is also common for insecure villains to be too far gone and too absorbed in their own troubles to want or accept help. In some cases, they can be psychopaths if their insecurities prevent them from feeling genuine empathy for others (e.g. Eric Cartman, Prince Hans, Nigel, Penguin, Montgomery de la Cruz, Otto, Cecil Terwilliger, Monaca Towa, Emperor of Darkness Z, Scaramouche, Makima, Pitch Black, Ellen, and Hiro Shishigami).
Ironically, many also qualify as arrogant and/or egotistical as they often delude themselves into thinking that they deserve more respect. These villains suffer from a superiority complex where they feign grandeur and self-righteousness to hide their flaws from others and themselves (e.g. Walter White, Tai Lung, Darth Vader, Plankton, Zim, Azula, Lord Shen, Blitzo, Count Bleck, The Grinch, Homelander, Rick Sanchez, Dr. Eggman, Rob, Heinz Doofenshmirtz, Herrscher of the Void, Roxanne Wolf, Shadow the Hedgehog, Loki Laufeyson, Ken, Dracula, The Once-Ler, and Megamind).
Not to be confused with Hypocrites, who pretend to have beliefs that they don't really have simply because they believe they are above other people. This is specifically for villains who tell lies to themselves and others in an attempt to hide their flaws and are therefore not completely evil, though the two can overlap.
HIGHLY IMPORTANT: If a Pure Evil villain has insecurities, then they can NEVER be played for sympathy in universe. This is a prevention because it would present the villain in a sympathetic and positive way, whereas Pure Evil villains are absolutely without any sympathy to their characters. They also cannot be played for comedy either, as it detracts from the required seriousness that is necessary for a Pure Evil villain. Also, they never seek anything positive (e.g. love, friendship, acceptance) from any possible pain they had suffered (e.g. Lots-o'-Huggin' Bear, Infinite, Peter Pettigrew, Lucifer, General Vex, Roman Bridger, Donquixote Doflamingo, Enter, Tetta Kisaki, Yoon Gwi-nam, Riddler (Arkhamverse), Mysterio, The Lady, Patrick Bateman, Shouichi Shinkawa, Alex, Hwang Kyung-il, Kurt Kunkle, Syndrome, and Ego). They should go under Paranoid, Xenophobes, Outcasts, Cowards, Pawns and/or Envious instead of this category. Also, not every villain who is insecure can fall under here as some are not portrayed sympathetically and are mostly "insecure" due to egotism and/or greed (e.g. Ercole Visconti, Doma, Kaigaku, Tighten, Gruntilda, Mr. Krabs, Envy (2003), Bowser (The Super Mario Bros. Movie), Gaston LeGume (Disney), and Starscream). They should go under the Hypocrites, Egotists, Greedy and Arrogant categories instead.
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