“ | I regret my life until now! Being poor when I was a child made me greedy! What I did was wrong. I tried to poison and rob the man who raised me! I come back to turn myself in. If I wanted to run, I could have gone anywhere! | „ |
~ Dio Brando's fake apology before trying to stab Jonathan Joestar with a knife. |
“ | My actions have hurt people? I had no idea. I’m dreadfully sorry. | „ |
~ Lord Brevon sarcastically "apologizing" for his crimes |
Pure Evils who, before their defeats or deaths, express apparent remorse for their actions, plead for mercy or claim redemption. However, given the irredeemably nature of these kind of villains, their remorse or redemption isn't genuine at all and they just insist that it's real to trick the heroes or escape punishment for their crimes. Often, these Remorse Fakers are psychopaths or have similar tendencies to psychopaths, pretending to be remorseful or redeemed just to take advantage of their victims (e.g. The Joker telling his doctor that he regrets his crimes only to then kill him and many more people, Scar pleading Simba for mercy only to then turn back and temporarily blind Simba to attack him or Ego assuring his son Peter Quill that he regrets having killed his mother but dismissing his act of killing her and the rest of his children).
Some are even cowards who feign remorse as a contemptible last-ditch attempt to save their own skins. Some even feign remorse to less evil characters in order to give off a false sense of professionalism or reasonability (e.g. Donald Love pretending to regret his worst crimes to Claude to make him look less bad than he really is).
These kind of villains can also regret something evil they did, but instead of being remorseful the way most people would be, it's because they feel they could have made it much worse (e.g. when Darkseid killed Dan Turpin, he later felt that he should have killed many more humans had he known how much Superman would have felt affected by it; Thrax taking pride at murdering a child, but was upset that he killed her slower than he intended).
This can also apply to villains who may have once been good or neutral people and regretted something good they made on their lives either by feeling forced to do so or by their own accord (e.g. David Banner regretting once caring for his son Bruce and feeling repulsed for once caring for him or Nizam saving his brother from a lioness when they were young but later bitterly realizing that if his brother had died he would have become king instead).
It can also apply to villains who technically "reform", but only due to brainwashing or other magical events removing their original personality altogether as in the case of Suguru Kamoshida and Darkrai. Other examples include villains who become genuinely emotionally moved for whatever reason, but remain unrepentant of all their atrocities and uncaring towards others, such as Muzan Kibutsuji and Azar.
This category can also apply to villains who DO feel guilt about their actions but repress it to the point where it doesn't affect them and double down on their villainy (e.g Bill Cipher, Light Yagami, Emperor Belos, Junko Enoshima, Scar, Isaac Ray Peram Westcott, Mysterio, Femto, Lacey's Uncle, Sheriff Graham Walker and Judge Claude Frollo).
These villains are usually under Faux Affably Evil.
It is the complete opposite of redeemed and remorseful villains. It is also a villainous opposite of remorseful Pure Goods.
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Josh (Megan Is Missing) -
Emperor Palpatine (Star Wars) -
Femto -
Absolute Solver -
Bill Cipher -
Sentinel Prime (Transformers One) -
Grand Moff Tarkin -
Aku
All items (387)
- Carl Buford
- Carlton Drake
- Carmine Falcone
- Carnage (Marvel)
- Carter J. Burke
- Casanova
- Casanova Frankenstein
- Cassandra Nova
- Cell
- Cell (Dragon Ball Rise)
- Chara (The Indie Game Movie)
- Charles Eborock
- Cheshire Cat (Alice Mare)
- Chikou
- Chucky
- Cioccolata
- Cipher (Fast & Furious)
- Clarence Darby
- Clive Burkitt
- Colonel Volgin
- Commander Lyle Rourke
- Corrine Dollanganger
- Cosmos
- Creeper (Animalia)
- Cruella de Vil
- Culverton Smith
- Cypher Reagan
- Dag
- Damon Killian
- Dandy Mott
- Dark Lugiel
- Darkrai (Pokémon Mystery Dungeon)
- Darkseid (DC Animated Universe)
- Darkseid (DC)
- David Banner
- David McCall
- Davros
- Deag Ranak
- Dean Armitage
- Dean Karny
- Demon King (The Seven Deadly Sins)
- Demon King Jackal
- Diavolo
- Dimentio (Man on the Internet)
- Dimentio (Paper Mario)
- Dimentio (Super Paper Mario 2: The Seven Sorcerers)
- Dimitri Rascalov
- Dio Brando
- Diodora Astaroth
- Dollface (2012)
- Don Eladio
- Donald Love
- Donquixote Doflamingo
- Dr. Angus Bumby
- Dr. Dean Reybold
- Dr. Emilia
- Dr. Henry Miller
- Dr. James Sheridan
- Dr. Meridian
- Dr. Persephone Trinh
- Dr. Robotnik (Archie Comics)
- Dr. Robotnik (SatAM)
- Dr. Terence Wynn (Theatrical Cut)
- Durand
- Edgar Fromware
- Edukof
- Edward Braddock
- Ego (Marvel Cinematic Universe)
- Eleventhree
- Eli Mills
- Emma Grossman
- Emperor Belos
- Emperor Ganishka
- Emperor Kans
- Emperor Nefarious
- Emperor Palpatine (Star Wars)
- Empress Siren
- Eobard Thawne (Arrowverse)
- Erazor Djinn
- Erik Visser
- Ethan (Solar Opposites)
- Evelyn Claythorne
- Evil Buzz Lightyear
- Evolt
- J. Geil
- Jack (The House That Jack Built)
- Jack the Ripper (Batman: Gotham by Gaslight)
- Jacques Schnee
- Jadis the White Witch
- Jagi
- Jake (Savage Streets)
- Jeffrey Dahmer
- Jerome Valeska
- Jill Roberts (Scream)
- John Ryder
- Joker (Arkhamverse)
- Joker (Burton and Schumacherverse)
- Joker (DC Animated Universe)
- Joker (DC)
- Joker (The Dark Knight Returns)
- Josh (Megan Is Missing)
- Josiane Sobral
- Judge Claude Frollo
- Julio Asuka Misurugi
- Junko Enoshima