Karma Houdinis

“	He wafts his hat and the lunar dome of his skull passes palely under the lamps and he swings about and takes possession of one of the fiddles and he pirouettes and makes a pass, two passes, dancing and fiddling at once. His feet are light and nimble. He never sleeps. He says that he will never die. He dances in light and in shadow and he is a great favorite. He never sleeps, the judge. He is dancing, dancing. He says that he will never die.	„
	~ The end of the Blood Meridian making clear that Judge Holden got away with all his crimes and will continue commiting heinous actions.

“	That's the sound of me getting away with it. Works every time. (steals Kat's phone and records) I'm a psycho. (deletes recording) That's fun to say. Too bad no one will ever hear that.	„
	~ Emma Grossman right before Kat succumbs to Emma's poisoned chocolate milk, and Emma burns down the house, killing Kat, Angela, and Robert, and falsely telling the police it was all Kat's fault.

Karma Houdinis are Pure Evils who have gotten away with their crimes, either by outright winning or escaping before they can be punished. This is uncommon for Pure Evils due to the severity of their crimes, though it still sometimes occurs.

This category also includes villains who were defeated and imprisoned in the past (e.g. Taurus Bulba, Randall Boggs), or killed (e.g. Frieza and Chucky) but they somehow managed to get back and continue their bad ways.

When a Pure Evil who is a Karma Houdini is also considered a Hate Sink, then their status as a Karma Houdini will make the villain much more hated, as Pure Evil Hate Sinks are wished the worst by most of the audience/fans.

They are the opposite of Pure Goods who are falsely blamed for actions they never committed.

Deceased and Presumed Deceased villains usually do not count as Karma Houdinis; the only way for such a character to count is if their death/presumed death is of natural causes (e.g. Noah Cross, Donald Love, Fritz and Warren T. Rat), if there is a higher chance that they survived and escaped rather than died (e.g. Rasmin Yelkov and Ego) or if their Karma Houdini is status dependent on version where they escape punishment in one ending but are defeated in another (e.g. Napoleon and Ai Magase). In addition, villains who are truly Imprisoned with no way to escape should not count either (e.g. Porky Minch). Villains who took their own lives (e.g. Samuel Norton) cannot count. If the villain is killed by another villain or a neutral character before they can be punished by the heroes, they CANNOT count even if they didn't get caught by a more powerful character (e.g. Yashiro's Brother). Pure Evil villains who were defeated without being killed off or imprisoned do not necessitate as Karma Houdinis if their humiliating defeats are played for satisfaction and they are no longer perceived as threats afterwards (e.g. Thumper, Mad Dog, Gary Smith, Courtney Gears). Furthermore, villains in cancelled media can count if the story prematurely ends without them being punished (e.g. Saruman from Ralph Bakshi's adaptation of The Lord of the Rings and Green Goblin from The Spectacular Spider-Man).

If a Pure Evil villain is still alive and not yet killed off and/or imprisoned yet because their story arc is currently ongoing, it's best to wait for their final outcome on whether or not they are ultimately killed, imprisoned, or if their defeat is played with satisfaction.

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