“ | All it takes is one bad day to reduce the sanest man alive to lunacy. That's how far the world is from where I am. Just one bad day. | „ |
~ The Joker. |
“ | I have all the characteristics of a human being: flesh, blood, skin, hair. But not a single, clear, identifiable emotion, except for greed and disgust. Something horrible is happening inside of me and I don't know why. My nightly bloodlust has overflown into my days. I feel lethal, on the verge of frenzy. I think my mask of sanity is about to slip. | „ |
~ Patrick Bateman. |
Characters who suffer from extreme psychosis (not at all to be confused with psychopathy, which are, in fact, opposites). Psychosis itself is not an actual condition but rather a symptom of many other illnesses, the most common conditions associated with high-levels of psychosis include dissociative disorders and schizophrenia. Psychosis can also be caused by drug or alcohol abuse, brain injury or trauma. People who suffer from psychotic conditions often become more violent, unstable or ill if they engage in drug and/or alcohol misuse.
Psychotics are very insane, having little to no understanding of what they are exactly doing or the severity of their actions; to qualify as a psychotic, a character must be shown to have the following patterns in most media they appear in:
- False beliefs: Psychotics will hold false beliefs that are nevertheless seen as fact, this means they often see the world in a very different manner to others and may hallucinate a wide array of phenomena. This makes them often appear to exist in their own world.
- Unpredictable behavior: Due to lacking an understanding of reality versus fiction, many psychotics will have extremely unpredictable behavior, this can be seen as one of the key differences between psychosis and psychopathy. While psychopaths can control their behaviors, a psychotic can not, thus they are much more notably ill or unstable and would be classed as "insane" in most settings.
IMPORTANT: Do not use this category for any and all "mentally ill" villains, only use it for characters who display all the signs and symptoms of someone who is suffering extreme psychosis, for any ill-defined or otherwise questionable behaviors that do not fall under extreme psychosis, use "Mentally Ill". In fact, do not add the psychopath, mentally ill or dissociative categories on the same villain as the three categories are different types of mental illnesses and adding them all on the same page would be redundant.
Psychotic villains can be tragic since horrible experiences from the past at any age can also drive these villains insane and push them away from reality as it is too painful to grasp (e.g. Joker (2019), Tomura Shigaraki, Josh Washington, Teru Mikami, Jinx and Michael Myers (remake)). Since some of these types of characters are suffering from immense psychosis on a daily basis it can be considered a sympathetic factor if these villains suffer with mental health more than the average mentally ill villain.
Despite how chaotic and incredibly deranged these villains are, they still have a slight chance to be Pure Evil if they are able to control their actions well enough and decide to be evil enough regardless of their illness.
A psychopath/sociopath will never fall under this category because they are always aware of reality, are in control of their own actions and are extremely calculating while a psychotic is most often in very poor control of their own actions and have a twisted perception of reality (though psychotics can’t be judged by our systems much like barbarians or ferals and as the formers may also be intelligent enough to hit the Mastermind category).
Examples are Kefka Palazzo, most versions of The Joker, Enmu, Junko Enoshima, Sal, William Wharton, Frank Booth, Jeff the Killer, Yuno Gasai, Carnage, Eddie Low, Psycho, Zazz, Himiko Toga, Quackerjack, Annie Wilkes, The Batman Who Laughs, Trevor Philips, Patrick Bateman, Tuco Salamanca, Art the Clown, Spamton G. Spamton, Norman Osborn (2017), and Quentin McNeil.
All items (1565)
- Aarti Kaushik
- Abeloth
- Abraham Van Helsing (Hotel Transylvania)
- Abusive Father
- Abyss Order
- Ada Mason
- Adam Bahri
- Adam Barker
- Adam Jackson
- Adam Jones
- Adam Rain
- Adam the Clown
- Adolf Hitler (Literally Hitler)
- Adolf Hitler (Looney Tunes)
- Adrian Forrester
- Adriana Petrescu
- Aemond Targaryen
- Aerion Targaryen
- Aerys II Targaryen
- Agent Kruger
- Agnes Mary Winstead
- Aigaron
- Ajax (Into the Badlands)
- Akakabuto
- Akemi Hinazuki
- Akito Sohma (Fruits Basket)
- Akumaro Sujigarano
- Alan Cunningham
- Alaskan Base Offficer
- Albedo (Overlord)
- Albert King
- Albie Kinsella
- Aldon Webber
- Alex Swinton
- Alexander Strizhov
- Alexis Reeves
- Alfredo Grossi
- Aliastair Smythe (Marvel)
- Alice (Arrowverse)
- Alice (Murder Drones)
- Alice Jenkins
- Alisa Jones (Marvel Cinematic Universe)
- Alison DiLaurentis (Literary)
- Alli (Hatching 2022)
- Alpha Series (BioShock)
- Alternate Reality Mr. Turner
- Alvin and the Chipmunks (Disaster Movie)
- Amaru
- Amilyn
- Amygdala (DC)
- An Jiahe
- Andou Midori
- Andrew Landon
- Andromeda
- Andy Hunter
- Angel of Light and Shadow
- Angelina Mason
- Angor Rot
- Angstrom Levy
- Angus Oldfield
- Anna (Hands of the Ripper)
- Anna Manni
- Anna Samuels
- Anne Meredith
- Annie Wilkes
- Ansem Weems
- Anthony (The Strangler of Blackmoor Castle)
- Antisepticeye
- Antoine Thomas
- Antonio Cayetan
- Apollo (One Punch Man)
- AR-D
- Arak'Taral
- Aran Ryan
- Arcade (Marvel)
- Archie Mitchell
- Aria (Akame ga Kill!)
- Arianna Peterson
- Arjuna Alter
- Ark
- Arlecchino (Genshin Impact)
- Arlecchino (Lies of P)
- Armando (Elite)
- Army of One
- Art the Clown
- Arthur (Wreck-It Ralph)
- Arturo Roman
- Arty Alligator
- Asami Yamazaki
- Ash Graven
- Ashley Graves
- Audrey Pressler
- Avery Marx
- Ayaha and Otoha
- Ba'al (UQ Holder)
- Baal Lukor
- Baby Bonnie Hood
- Baby Firefly
- Bad Blood Predator
- Bad Girl
- Badgey
- Banbaleena
-
- Bane (Batman: The Brave and the Bold)
- Bara Hacker
- Baraka (Legacy)
- Barasuisho
- Barb Payne
- Barbara (Nothing Underneath)
- Baron Quinn
- Baron Zemo (Marvel)
- Baroness Von Bon Bon (The Cuphead Show!)
- Baroness Von Gunther
- Barry the Chopper (Fullmetal Alchemist 2003)
- Barry the Chopper (Fullmetal Alchemist)
- Bart Hamilton
- Barton George Dawes
- Beard Hunter
- Beetlejuice (Beetlejuice)
- Bel and Genesis
- Bela Dimitrescu
- Belial Bradley
- Ben (The Walking Dead comics)
- Ben Chang
- Benjamin Ragguch
- Berserker (History's Mightiest Disciple Kenichi)
- Beth Eagleton
- Bicine
- Big Bull Crocker
- Big Long Driller
- Bill Hodges
- Bill the Butcher (There's a Butcher Around)
- Billy (Black Christmas)
- Billy (Feed Me Billy)
- Billy Barker
- Billy Kincaid (HBO Series)
- Billy Kincaid (Spawn)
- Bishop Mozgus
- Bitch Ass
- Black Battler
- Black Hand (DC)
- Black Noir (comics)
- Black Noir (TV Series)
- Black Skulls
- Blag
- Blair
- Blair Sullivan
- Bloody Mary (Twisted Metal)
- Blue Cat
- Bob Velseb
- Bon
- Bonezai
- Bonnie (The End of the F***ing World)
- Boommaster Flark
- Bossman Hero
- Bowser (The Software Toolworks)
- Bowyer
- Boys of Silence
- Bozo
- Breather (Welcome to the Game)
- Breda McQueen
- Brent "Slappy" Ernst
- Brian Irons
- Brigadier General Jack D. Ripper
- Broly (Dragon Ball)
- Brother Spider
- Bryce Jarvis
- Bubak
- Bubba Jenkins
- Bud (Leatherface)
- Buddy Bacon
- Buffalo Bill
- Buford Tannen
- Buggs (Kindergarten)
- Building Bricks Man
- Bullseye (MAX)
- Bunnicula's Bride
- Bunnyman
- Buppido
- Bushworld Adventures Rick
- Butch Bowers