A Pure Evil Traitor is a villain who betrays their allies for personal gain. Treachery is often considered one of the most evil of traits in a villain due to the fact that a traitor is hard to trust; after all, any character who is ruthless enough to betray friends and allies is more than ruthless enough to be a threat to anyone else.

Traitors are similar to Usurpers, but do not always seek a position of power. Also, traitors can sometimes betray and kill other villains if it suits their purposes or are simply in the mood to do so. While traitors are meant to be the opposite of a betrayed villain, it is possible for a traitor be betrayed by others.

This is also made even worse when Pure Evils backstab on the heroes who saved them from mortal danger instead of ever expressing gratitude, and will even go as far as to leave the heroes to their own demise.