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"Mature Content Warning!" |
| “ | You can't fight fate. | „ |
| ~ Clarence most famous catchphrase. |
Clarence James Darby is the overarching antagonist of the 2009 film Law Abiding Citizen.
He is a psychopathic criminal responsible for the murders of Clyde Shelton's wife and daughter, and got away with it by pleading out for a sentence of three years in jail rather than life imprisonment or death, which was the main cause for why Clyde became a murderous vigilante in the first place.
He was portrayed by Christian Stolte.
What Makes Him Pure Evil?[]
- He broke into the Shelton family household to burglarize it alongside his accomplice, whacking Clyde in the head with a baseball bat.
- He stabbed Clyde in the chest even though he was already tied up.
- He fatally stabbed Clyde's wife before raping her right in front of him, telling Ames to "shut the f*ck up" when he told him he was going way too far, before taking Clyde's daughter away to kill her as well.
- It's also heavily implied that he raped Clyde’s daughter too, if his "Kids like me." line is any indication upon seeing her.
- He framed Ames for the murders by committing perjury, chuckling after finding out his execution was painful on TV a decade later, showing he possesses zero loyalty whatsoever.
- He made a sly remark about Nick's wife before signing his plea bargain, which could be interpreted as a threat.
- He shot at the cops while running away, even trying to needlessly execute one before discovering it to be Clyde in disguise.
- Although his death at Clyde's hands was explicitly gruesome and torturous, it's in fact well-deserved and justified due to how vile of a human being he was in life, with not even Nick or Sarah expressing any sympathy for Darby upon discovering his carcass, admitting that the world is better off without him.
- Even though Clyde does worse by killing 45 innocent people and attempting to bomb City Hall despite knowing hundreds of people could have died, Clarence stands out due to having way fewer resources due to just being a thug whereas Clyde has vast wealth and resources from the CIA and his engineering job, and he also serves as Clyde's most personal antagonist and has the unique rapsheet of being a rapist, a pedophile and a child murderer unlike him.
- While it certainly wasn't his intention, his actions caused Clyde to become a mass-murdering vigilante, meaning Darby is indirectly responsible for the murders that occur throughout the rest of the film. If he was still alive, he most certainly wouldn't care about the consequences of his actions, or he would've been proud that he created someone almost as bad as him.
External Links[]
- Clarence Darby on the Villains Wiki
- Clarence Darby on the Hate Sink Wiki