Fake Tragic

A Fake Tragic is a Pure Evil who either faked their own tragedy or actually has a tragic past and a seemingly reasonable Freudian Excuse, but cannot qualify as truly tragic due to their motivation having little if anything to do with their so-called tragedy. The reason why their tragic past doesn't prevent them from being Pure Evil is due to how it doesn't affect them, with some using it as a flimsy excuse for their actions. This category can also include villains intended to be tragic by the author(s) but are not reflected as such in-story.

In some instances, these Pure Evils may have been former heroes, given the circumstances of their tragedy leading to them becoming the complete opposite of admirable. In a number of cases, Fake Tragic villains also fall under Wholly Debased if they possessed genuine redeeming qualities before becoming Pure Evil.

For the sake of Pure Evil, they usually fall under psychopaths/sociopaths due to the fact that they can never be portrayed sympathetically and are overall the evil opposites of sympathetic characters, but exceptions exist if they have different mental illnesses.

Villains in this category include:

• Villains whose "tragedies" are self-serving and petty excuses for their villainy or are holding a grudge over a minor slight that they should have moved on from (e.g. Alex, Arthur Watts, Eobard Thawne, Big Jack Horner, Father, Infinite, Jack, Lionel Starkweather, Manfred von Karma, Mysterio, Sentinel Prime (One), Future Mr. Ross, Soundblaster, and Syndrome).
• Villains who brought their misery onto themselves while blaming others for the consequences (e.g. Alonzo Harris, Donald Love, Douche, Emperor Belos, Father Elijah, Femto, Jang Deok-su, Judge Claude Frollo, Lizbeth Sargant, Rasputin, Ultraman Belial, Valak, and Zhan Tiri).
• Villains who felt unloved or unappreciated due to the nature of their actions but brought it on themselves, did not make an effort to change for the better, or had others try to help them but rejected it for their own selfish goals (e.g. Ego (Marvel Cinematic Universe), Jill Roberts, Kanade Otonokoji, Kurt Kunkle, Makuta Teridax, Michael, Income Tax Return Document, Patrick Bateman, Ramsay Bolton, Lots-o'-Huggin' Bear, Randall Boggs, and Sir Miles Axlerod).
• Villains who experienced genuine tragedies (e.g. losing their family or loved ones, experiencing prejudice, being bullied/abused, abandoned, tortured, rejected by society, living in poverty or an extremely toxic environment, losing friends, having major health issues such as diseases, disorders, disabilities, etc.), but exaggerate how badly it affected them and use it as an excuse to do whatever they want or to hurt people they know don't deserve it, or claiming that their tragedy is the only one that matters to boost their ego or are simply no longer affected by what happened to them (e.g. AM, Big Bad Wolf, Bill Cipher, Captain Vidal, Dio Brando, Drago Bludvist, Emperor Ganishka, Frank Underwood, Hoyt Volker, Isaac Ray Peram Westcott, Kilgrave, Lady Van Tassel, The Killer, Scarecrow (Arkhamverse), The Plutonian, Roman Bridger, Sentinel Prime (Bayverse), and Zoom).
• 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 for their villainy (e.g. Albert Wesker, The Batman Who Laughs, Count Dracula, Diana Walter, The Debate Demon, Flect Turn, Kraang Prime, Light Yagami, Lord Commander, Funtime Freddy, Maestro, Muzan Kibutsuji, Norman Osborn, Scar and Venom).
• Villains whose excuse sounds good enough, but there's no in-universe proof it actually happened or if they're even affected by it, or it is completely made-up and never actually happened (e.g. Adrian Griffin, Catalina, Constance Hatchaway, Frieza, Gary Smith, multiple versions of the Joker, Jeff the Killer (Pastra), Junko Enoshima, Nemesis (Mark Millar), Norman Daniels and William Afton).
• 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. Carnage (Marvel), Cassandra Nova, Count Orlok (2024), Donquixote Doflamingo, Emperor Palpatine, Ethan Roark, Jr., Isshiki Ōtsutsuki, King Boo, King Edward V, Mason Verger, Princess Shroob, Tom Cooper, and Wallace Breen).

Mere speculations or implications of a tragic past are not enough to qualify a character for this category (e.g. Agatha Trunchbull, Desert Tumbler, Dr. Facilier, Moff Gideon, Nui Harime, The Lich, and William Afton); they must have an established backstory which must come from an official and trustworthy source. This rule, however, does not apply to villains speculated or implied to have a tragic past but still have one of the fake tragic qualities listed above (e.g. Junko Enoshima, Syndrome, Venom).

It is the opposite of Tragic Pure Good heroes and its far less evil counterpart, Tragic villains.