Doom is such a considerate host. The last bit, though...
"I'm the bon vivant of violence, a licensed psychiatrist
Who dines on highest society to the sound of violins!"
Who dines on highest society to the sound of violins!"
It's not that Evil Is Cool. Rather, this is more like "Evil is Intellectual". Evil is smart, wicked, sarcastic with a biting sense of humor. Evil is smooth and eloquent, if not outright suave. Evil dresses well, has a polysyllabic lexicon, quotes William Shakespeare, sips fine wine, listens to his favorite opera on his downtime (almost always Don Giovanni), and in general is shown to be cultured if not necessarily civilized. This can apply to any villain, Anti-Villain, or associated character types.
May overlap with Dumb Is Good, but it doesn't have to. The hero of the story can easily be a more rugged intellectual, or he reads/writes poetry, which is almost never perceived as an "evil" form of culture (cf. the Warrior Poet trope). Closely related to the Magnificent Bastard, whose sheer tactical and strategic brilliance often sets him inside the trappings of Wicked Cultured (particularly when he catches you and then explains which strategic genius first invented that trap). Faux Affably Evil is a similar overlap of highbrow manners and vicious actions. Villains who try to be this and fail are Wicked Pretentious.
A villain, interestingly, can be both this and Wicked Pretentious. Usually showing genuine class or knowledge of things, but also using it as a smokescreen to hide misquotes, unflattering personality traits, or overstepping their knowledge base.
When Aristocrats Are Evil, they almost always follow this trope; when enough of them do, you get a Decadent Court. They are likely to practice Brains and Bondage without any trace of Safe, Sane, and Consensual. Likely to be a Villain in a White Suit as well. If there's a pair of Wicked Cultured villains, they'll often be Bantering Baddie Buddies.
A Wicked Cultured villain will naturally be associated with equally cultured music, with their most likely Genre Motif being classical music. Their Mood Motifs tend to be either harpsichords or, for more grandiose variants of this trope, Ominous Pipe Organs. Villains that are particularly passionate about music would probably enjoy Conducting the Carnage.
This trope often carries some implication of Slobs Versus Snobs: people who enjoy pop culture are average joes and probably the protagonists, but those who like "high" culture are a bit weird, "other", and more likely to be antagonists.
Compare the less sinister Villains Out Shopping, Villainous Fashion Sense, Nerd in Evil's Helmet, and Man of Wealth and Taste. Contrast with Lower-Class Lout (for an uneducated and uncultured villain) and Pop-Cultured Badass (usually but not always heroic). The exact opposite of this is a Gentleman and a Scholar (unless he is Affably Evil). The pastimes of a Wicked Cultured character will always be Snobby Hobbies. Someone who keeps trying to be this but whose plans end up less clear, simple, and effective may have a Complexity Addiction, or might only be Wicked Pretentious.
Not to be confused with Sophisticated as Hell, although overlap is possible.
Examples:
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Anime & Manga
- Black Butler's Sebastian Michaelis is the perfect butler: he can cook the finest cuisine from any country, perform beautifully on the violin, and recite quotes from virtually any body of literature. Oh, by the way, he's a demon.
- Since this is from manga and anime, to be clear: drag-your-soul-to-Hell demon, not "generic supernatural creature" demon.
- Creed from Black Cat is definitely shown to be one of the more "cultured" characters in the series. He appears to be the only character in the series that bothers taking a bath (which is filled with rose petals, no less), dresses in sleek, black leather, drinks A Glass of Chianti (with a rose in it), speaks in a much more formal manner, plays the organ well, is skilled with large scale oil painting, carving gold statues, etc.
- Aizen of Bleach uses very long words, even longer plans and as a scientist is second only to Urahara (which continuously annoys him, and somewhat justified too, as Urahara plays a vital role in his defeat). As well, during his time in Soul Society, he was an instructor in calligraphy.
- The Falling Devil from Chainsaw Man. She conducts herself with elegance and class, concerned with her appearance and impeccable manners. Her entire motif is themed around cooking, of all things, and she behaves like one would expect of a high-class chef at a Michelin star restaurant.
- In Cute High Earth Defense Club LOVE!, the Absurdly Powerful Student Council embrace this trope. They like elegant surroundings - right there in the school - and fancy teas. Kinshirou goes in for lots of long words, while Akoya goes in for being beauty and grace incarnate. Arima, the only one of the three confirmed as being from a noble family, gets to play butler. They drop the "Wicked" part post-Heel–Face Turn, though.
- Light Yagami of Death Note can sometimes come across this way, as a sharply-dressed, well-educated Person of Mass Destruction, with a tongue so silver it convinced a god of death to kill herself and evil so faux-affable it sucked good folks into his madness. Another character even comments that Light looks and acts "like he's been groomed for success his whole life," but this mature and intellectual exterior actually masks a childish genius who wants to watch heads roll and doesn't know what it means to be wrong.
- Goku Black from Dragon Ball Super. He is impeccably polite, intelligent, drinks tea, and is a psychopathic mass murderer.
- Izaya Orihara from Durarara!! wears fur-lined coats, speaks Russian, reads Oscar Wilde and throws around psychology terms like "misattribution of arousal". He's also Japan's biggest troll.
- Solf J. Kimblee of Fullmetal Alchemist has got this down pat. Immaculate white suit? Check. Nice, calming voice? Check. An interest in the alchemical arts, as well as a seeming passion for music? Check. Oh, and he's a psychopath who has made it his life's work to blow up anything and everything for the heck of it. And he can turn people into living bombs.
- Proist, the eventual Big Bad of Gaiking: Legend of Daiku Maryu. She has a thing for Antonin Dvorak's New World Symphony—spoken of its 2nd movement: “While the culture of the Earth is barbaric, this song by that composer Dvorak is magnificent.” When things get serious, she acknowledges that this movement is no longer adequately suited to the moment, and starts up the more dramatic 4th movement. Her personal Eldritch Abomination is even named after the composer himself. Also, she arranges meetings with rebellious subordinates during teatime and coolly responds to having a reckless (and unexpected) guest draw a sword on her by asking him how many sugars he wants in his tea.
- The Major from Hellsing is a textbook example: he dresses immaculately, always ready for A Glass of Chianti, is well-read, refined, eloquent, frighteningly intelligent, but... He's insane and has "EVIL" written on him in two-foot letters. In blood.
- Hunter × Hunter: Prince Tserriednich of the Kakin Empire's royal family has this as his Establishing Character Moment: he invites two women to his luxurious hotel room simply to keep in touch with the outside world and strike a friendly conversation, which is then followed by him complaining to a subordinate of his that the guests weren't up to his intellectual standards and listing off some of the many topics he unsuccessfully tried discussing with them, such as theoretical physics, modern philosophy, biology, sports and mathematics... all of this while washing off their blood.
- JoJo's Bizarre Adventure:
- In between various dog-kicking acts (and occasionally dog-burning acts too) and sending his Ax-Crazy minions after the heroes, Dio Brando enjoys literature, music, and classic art.
- Dio's Dragon Ascendant Enrico Pucci, too. Being a priest, he holds himself up to high cultural standards, and of note, he's well-researched of the composing process of George Frederic Handel's Messiah and the various recordings people have made of it over the centuries.
- Ryomen Sukuna from Ju Jutsu Kaisen. Despite having absolute zero regard for human life, Sukuna seems to have a genuine respect for art and customs, presenting him as a sort of foil to Jogo in their battle over who gets to be the "true humans" once the dust has settled. Sukuna consistently speaks in a very lofty, almost poetic manner, dislikes cheap food and drink like popcorn and cola while comparing his Worthy Opponents to delicious feasts. When Yorozu gives him her deranged marriage proposal before they fight, he brushes off everything except the fact that she flubbed her Haiku by not using a Kigo
.
- Adolf K. Weissman from K, wears fancy-looking clothes and waltzes with an inanimate woman wearing a fox mask. The few glimpses we get of him suggest he is quite unhinged and malevolent. Subverted- he's actually the hero and Big Good - when he was acting crazy, it's because he was Possessed. When his memories return, he still has the nice suits, he can still waltz, and of course, the elegant wine moment at the beginning of episode 12 was from before he got body-snatched.
- The Hikari Club members from Lychee Light Club. Elagabalus is not generally mentioned in middle school curriculum. That's before taking into account their Putting on the Reich dress code and elegant behaviour.
- M'Quve from Mobile Suit Gundam is a ruthless Smug Snake under the orders of Princess Kycilia Zabi, whom he's fiercely devoted to. He's also an extremely cultured, polite, soft-spoken man who adores art and souvenirs. His last thoughts as he died in battle were of both his Princess and an old porcelain vase that he wanted to offer to her as a gift.
- Backstory claims the same about Gihren Zabi, who apparently enjoys dancing, opera, horticulture, and various other types of arts and sciences. For a guy who fancied himself as Hitler's reincarnation, Gihren was as cultured as he was (supposedly) intellectual.
- Paptimus Scirocco of Mobile Suit Zeta Gundam carries himself this way, being well mannered and courteous to all those around him (even those he despises). He also has a thing for old traditions, such as signing contracts in blood (not that he finds them binding, unlike his superior Jamitov Hymen).
- Mashemyre Cello of Mobile Suit Gundam ZZ thinks of himself as this but in reality, he's a bumbling idiot with a thing for roses and an obsession with Haman Karn.
- Treize Kushrenada of Mobile Suit Gundam Wing was the poster child of this trope during his time as a villain. His cultured elements are covered in the Cultured Badass section, while his wicked elements constitute his leading the Specials (essentially the State Security of Wing) in subjugating the colonies and parts of the Earth, his indirectly assassinating the UESA leadership when they were on the verge of a peace settlement and then leading OZ in conquering the Earthsphere in the name of their Romefellar masters. Naturally he has a Heel–Face Turn later on, when he realizes that his actions only made the world turn for the worst, but for a time Treize was a particularly ruthless Gundam villain.
- Monster (1994): Johan Liebert, the title character, is always perfectly dressed, eloquent, blends in perfectly with high society, and is an intellectual. He is fluent in many languages and is an expert on law, business, economics, and psychology.
- William of Moriarty the Patriot. The man quotes Shakespeare while stepping out the darkness to murder people and threatening the life of a man in court. If he can find a way to do so before stabbing you, he will.
- Crocodile from One Piece. Drinks wine while the Straw Hats are imprisoned (in addition to a No, Mr. Bond, I Expect You to Dine scene with Vivi), names his criminal organization after Renaissance architecture, and dresses in a fashion akin to a mafia ringleader.
- Donquixote Doflamingo, as well. He might be evil, but Doflamingo is refined and elegant with a deep knowledge of history and an appreciation for Dressrosa's passionate culture.
- Rocks D. Xebec. Rocks was a pirate so dangerous Roger and Garp didn't hesitate to team up to fight him, but he was also fascinated by forbidden knowledge and unraveled many of the World Government's secrets. His big get rich scheme shows some cunning and understanding of worldwide events. The island known as Hachinosu was discovered to have a massive deposit of gold, with the criminals already there swarming anyone who dares go near. Rocks will ask the government how much they would pay him to get the island back for them, get the payment for doing so, and then take the island for himself. Using that island as a base, he'll crush the navy and the holy land, going on to conquer the world. Even how he got the funds to form his crew for this plan shows his wicked cultured side. He stole a huge tribute heading to the Holy Land and destroyed some Gates of Justice.
- Marshall D. Teach, the former's son, follows suit. Teach, even as a child, was well educated in the world and Devil Fruits, specifically memorizing every detail of the Dark-Dark Fruit. He has a major interest in historical research and learning every detail he can of the world so he can best manipulate it.
- Shogo Makishima, the sociopathic villain from Psycho-Pass, is seen reading Shakespeare and Nineteen Eighty-Four in his spare time; and he's very knowledgeable in philosophy, music, and literature.
- Makishima's lieutenant Choe Gu-Sung, as well. Always polite and composed, and no less well-read than Makishima, to the point of knowledgeable discussion of century-old Cyberpunk literature.
- In The Movie, Desmond Rutaganda is a ruthless mercenary who will do anything, no matter how destructive, for money. He also discusses postcolonial philosophy with a captive Togami.
- Seraph of the End: The vampire noble Ferid is graceful and refined; he wants to be a painter; his swordplay style is that of royalty (to quote the novel: “It was a style that Crowley had never seen before. The movements were extremely refined. Like some sort of ceremonial fencing taught to royalty.”); He also likes to wear his long hair in ribbons and enjoys drinking blood in a wine glass in his mansion. As for the 'evil' part, he's the manga's resident Hate Sink, a power-hungry sadist with a disturbing fixation on children.
- Invoked by Yahiro Saiga of Special A. He's not actually that bad and that much aóf a jerk, he just pulls a Zero-Approval Gambit. With his love of opera, fine clothing and dining, he certainly looks like an example.
- Shuu Tsukiyama from Tokyo Ghoul is the son of a wealthy Ghoul family that is fully entrenched in human society. He enjoys classical music, literature, fine art, fashion, and gourmet meals. In particular, he is a fan of the works of Jean Anthelme Brillat-Savarin and is influenced to seek the finest experiences in cuisine. Of course, this usually means ripping out and sauteing the eyes of beautiful women or stalking Kaneki in order to find the perfect setting for devouring his Ultimate Meal. Other Ghouls mock him for his obsession with human High Culture, considering it pathetic.
- Umineko: When They Cry: "Madame, your laugh lacks elegance."
- Lord Orkham from Wolf's Rain. From what little we see of him, his home is decked out with finery.
Asian Animation
- Mechamato: Paintasso dons a grey fedora and trenchcoat, speaks in a French accent and steals artwork. When he gets sprayed with paint, he is overjoyed to have become a living masterpiece and doesn't mind being imprisoned with a mirror to look upon himself in his cell.
Comic Books
- Batman: Ra's al Ghul is always portrayed as this. The Riddler and the Scarecrow often are as well, although they're more Depending on the Writer. The Penguin is sometimes this, but is just as often shown as Wicked Pretentious.
- The eponymous protagonist of Diabolik is a merciless murderer and an Impossible Thief, but is also a collector of fine arts, has created a collection from his most beautiful loot, and took offense at Ginko thinking he'd steal a priceless but objectively horrible golden statue.
- Thanos is presented this way in Eternals (2021). When he attacks Lemuria and confronts Thena's lover, the Deviant artist Tolau the Delirious, he takes a moment to appreciate and criticise Tolau's latest statue, acknowledging the artistry.
- Fantastic Four: Doctor Doom has four Rembrandts. He used to have five, until he burned one because it offended him.
- The Flash's Rogues Gallery:
- The Top is an incredible genius who is, among other things, a wine connoisseur. This has made him a pariah among the other, more blue-collar Rogues.
- The Fiddler, as well, was a classically trained violinist and musical virtuoso. This was lampshaded once when Deadshot asks him why, if he's classically trained and had a genuine Strad violin, he calls himself the Fiddler, like "...an inbred hick".
- Weather Wizard also fancies himself something of an intellectual.
- The Shade is a Victorian-era gentleman who has stopped aging thanks to his darkness superpowers, he is droll, well-dressed, cultivates roses, and enjoys fine art and food. However, he only pursued a life of crime because he was bored with immortality, and eventually did a Heel–Face Turn.
- Say what you want about Bob from Get Jiro!, but he clearly has an appreciation for the foreign cuisine he specializes in. His first scene shows him preparing Blanquette de veau as a demonstration to his staff, practices proper sushi etiquette at Jiro's establishment (which has been established as Serious Business to Jiro) and bemoans to him that it's the kitschy establishments that keep his businesses stable.
- In many Legion of Super-Heroes continuities, Brainiac 5's unfathomable intelligence causes him to start out as an Insufferable Genius, then slowly become more and more sinister.
- While the Evronians from Paperinik New Adventures are introduced as a race of ruthless and brutal Emotion Eater aliens, Branch Leader Gorthan is one: unlike others, he has developed emotions (though not to the extent of humans) and a deep fascination with Earth culture. He's introduced quoting Shakespeare to his confused underlings, in his second appearance he quotes the Little Prince as he's about to crash on Earth and, after revealing that his time is limited, asks for a good book. In the reboot he's a connoisseur of Evronian culture, even going as far as losing himself in a simulation machine which makes him the hero of an ancient Evronian saga. That being said, he's still an evil conqueror from an alien planet.
[about Earth] "An extremely interesting planet. Too bad we have to destroy it."
- Sin City: Manute speaks in a very polite and eloquent manner. He seems to have little regard for hookers and "the dregs of Sin City". When Dwight implies Manute's only serving the Big Bad because she slept with him (her usual M.O.), Manute finds the suggestion vulgar and insulting. Mere sex is no reason to follow anyone.
- Tarn of The Transformers: More than Meets the Eye is described thusly: "music lover, classical scholar, and mass murderer." One of his favorite methods of execution is reading poetry while altering his voice's frequency to make the victim's spark explode.
- Magneto in Ultimate X-Men (2001), despite his disdain for humanity, has his minions steal all of the greatest works of art that they can before he begins a scheme intended to wipe out the entire human race, reasoning that humanity's only worthwhile creations (to paraphrase his terminology) deserve better than to be destroyed with their makers.
- Vandal Savage is an astute intellectual who is thousands of years old. He also hunts down his descendants so he can eat them.
- V for Vendetta: V is a Villain Protagonist with a good cause, and he applies this trope to himself, quoting the line, "Please allow me to introduce myself, I'm a man of wealth and taste," from the Rolling Stones's "Sympathy for the Devil" (making him a Pop-Cultured Badass as well). He plays the piano, writes his own songs, grows roses, has an enormous vocabulary (most of it starting with "V")... He has a reason— his art collection is 'rescued' from the Culture Police, and his over-eloquent theatrics are meant to be a contrast to the bland and menacing fascist government.
- In the novelization of the movie, Creedy has shades of this.
- Lord Cedric from W.I.T.C.H. has two passions: ancient books and deception. Fittingly, his home on Earth doubles as a bookshop with a preference for ancient books and he has many contacts among booksellers, and has deceived people from the very first story until his death, with one victim falling for his deception in spite of being forewarned to not trust him (Cedric even described exactly what the poor victim was thinking).
- Wonder Woman Vol 1: Countess Draska Nishki is a high-class woman with expensive tastes that chose to turn to a life of blackmail and spy wrangling in order to continue to be able to afford her lifestyle.
Fan Works
- In the Temeraire fanfic Black Wings, Black Sails, William Laurence, as befitting a man who has come to be called the Gentleman Pirate, still does his best to dress respectably, down to wearing a neckcloth and coat, and maintains the polite manner of speech befitting his noble birth. All while ruthlessly plundering and trying to destroy the Atlantic slave trade.
- Child of the Storm has a number, most prominent being Lucius Malfoy, who enjoys fine wines and tends to bemoan the staining of his expensive robes.
- Baron Von Strucker, though he tends to give off the vibe of a man trying desperately to live in the past.
- Gravemoss, weirdly, has a little bit of this despite being an Ax-Crazy Omnicidal Maniac, with a surprisingly snazzy Elaborate Underground Base and offering his guests wine. It's suggested to be a façade to lull his victims into a false sense of security.
- Sinister is an intellectual who uses quotes from people like T. S. Eliot and Alfred, Lord Tennyson as Trigger Phrases for his brainwashed Tyke-Bomb.
- "Copper & Wine" basically reinvents Maura Isles (Rizzoli & Isles) as this; she is basically the same as in canon, save for the fact that she is a secret serial killer who serves her victims up at dinner parties (although she mostly declines to offer her victims to those she genuinely cares for, such as the Rizzolis).
- Callidus Dominus from the Cynical Classicist Doctor Who fanfic series. In Devotee of Augustus he shows a liking for speaking Latin and Wagner's Operas.
- Emperor 626 from the Lilo & Stitch fanfic Empire of the Pacific is shown to have an elegant taste in Earth culture despite being an Ax-Crazy tyrant from literally another planet. Throughout the fic, he's shown to enjoy listening to classical music, his palace contains various sculptures and fine arts from across the world, and he consumes lavish alcohol (including a bottle of 1811 Chateau d'Yquem, one of the world's most expensive wines). Interestingly, he doesn't seem to possess anything pertaining to Hawaiian culture, which is where the story is set in.
- Hivefled's portrayal of the Grand Highblood has him as this trope; he's far more eloquent and less foul-mouthed than Gamzee, capable of carrying out elaborate plans, deeply religious, always very polite when Leaning on the Fourth Wall, and a great painter. His best work was painted in the blood of a lover he murdered, and when speaking to the readers he implies he plans to rape and torture them to death in the same way he did two and a half thousand teenage trolls and attempted to do to his own children.
- Jewel of Darkness: At the climax of the Jump City Arc, Midnight takes the time before initiating her master plan to toast it with her minions. And a later flashback shows her attending a production of "Faust" with Slade and reading "The Count of Monte Cristo" while waiting for it to start.
- One scene in Mortality deliberately invoked this trope for Professor Moriarty, with a glass of wine in hand (which he fractures because of his angry grip on it). Overall, the fic paints him as very upper-class and as intellectual as he is meant to be.
- Colonel Moran gets his moments as well, particularly at the Tankerville Club.
- In The New Adventures of Invader Zim, Norlock puts on airs of this, with the fine suit he always wears, and his insistence on always acting as melodramatically polite as possible.
- Night's Favored Child: The Inquisitor has a collection of fine art, and in his downtime he likes listening to classical music and reading.
- In Old West, the snake-hunter for hire Mon Hellsing often quotes The Bible to show his disdain toward snakes, naming exactly the sections he's quoting.
- Konotegashiwa of Tales of the Undiscovered Swords is a samurai-tongue-speaking waka poetry enthusiast who has beautiful penmanship and can doll himself up in Kimono Fanservice when need too, but is also a self-righteous Straw Vegetarian, a bully and a Manipulative Bastard.
- Tarkin's Fist: Moff Kuantus Kuat is noted to have two pieces of art from Earth, one by Picasso and the other by Salvador Dali, hanging on the wall in his office. This is less a case of admiring and appropriating another culture's cultural artifacts and more an assertion of dominance, as the two paintings are noted to be considered inferior when compared to the two art pieces from the Home Galaxy the Picasso and the Dali pieces are hung next to.
Films — Animation
- Aladdin (1992, Disney): Up until the climax, Jafar tended to act subtle with how he felt about others, so it comes off as him being a gentleman while hypnotizing the sultan, talking to Jasmine, and drowning Aladdin as Prince Ali. He was also the royal advisor to the sultan which gave him authority over some.
- An American Tail: Fievel Goes West: Cat R. Waul is a cultured, well mannered "gentlecat" who lures New York mice out west in order to turn them all into "mouseburgers" because simply chasing and eating them is an "unnecessary expenditure of calories".
- Cinderella (1950): Lady Tremaine acts regal, lives in a mansion with her daughters, and wears expensive dresses while being an Abusive Parent to Cinderella.
- The Great Mouse Detective: Professor Ratigan presents himself as a man of intelligence and culture, which actually enhances his villainy, as it's all a cover for his feral and untamed — "rat" — nature. Being voiced by the great Vincent Price certainly helps.
- The Jungle Book (1967): Shere Khan hates humans (simply referred to as 'man') and tries to kill Mowgli, but rarely acts feral about it. In fact he acts pretty civil with Mowgli, and only really gets angry when Baloo shows up. Being voiced by the aristocratic tones of George Sanders helps.
- The Lion King (1994): Scar is the brother of a king, so of course he'll act like one. Though killing your brother and trying to kill your nephew makes you less of a royal.
- Peter Pan (1953): Captain Hook wears quite the dapper coat and hat, acts quite gentlemanly (until he gets angry) and can play the piano even with his hook.
- The Grand Duke in Rock-A-Doodle is not just an evil owl who spits black magic and wears a Dracula cape; he also enjoys embroidery and plays a demonic organ that controls the weather. Being voiced by the urbane Christopher Plummer helps.
- Sleeping Beauty (1959): Maleficent acts quite elegant and treats the royals with respect.
- In The Super Mario Bros. Movie, Bowser has a hobby of playing the piano and is seen playing it during his Villain Love Song "Peaches", and afterwards when he and Kamek are talking about his plans to force Peach into being in a wedding with him.
Professional Wrestling
- Gorgeous George first started playing up the gimmick in the 1940s. Okay, so he was more of a Sissy Villain, but he did wear perfume and employ a butler, and entered rings to Elgar's Pomp and Circumstance.
- Many British wrestlers, especially British wrestlers wrestling in other parts of the world, from Sir Alan Garfield to Wade Barrett.
- Triple H, during his early years in WWE. He'll still lapse into it a bit on occasion, such as when he recently quoted H. P. Lovecraft.
- Angel Orsini, Prodigette, prefers to wind down with polite company in a well-tailored suit with a cigar dipped in cognac. When that isn't possible though, she'll settle for working off stress on any hapless victims within arm's reach.
- Done in a subtle way with John Morrison when he was a heel: ostensibly a Hollywood "cool dude" with shades and long hair, but occasionally known to speak of his "palace of wisdom" (an image from the poetry of William Blake). Morrison's gimmick/character is a No Celebrities Were Harmed Expy of Jim Morrison, who used that line himself.
- Cody Rhodes used this as his gimmick between 2010 and 2013. It's really more of a "metrosexual" gimmick (perfect teeth and fingernails, etc.), but he's also known for his rather snobbish New England accent (despite being from Texas!) and occasional Sesquipedalian Loquaciousness.
- Aaron "The Idol" Stevens, ladies man, is gone. Damien Sandow's entire gimmick, the "Intellectual Savior of the Unwashed Masses" is this. When he and Cody Rhodes formed a tag team, it was called the Rhodes Scholars.
- Wonder Ring Stardom wrestler Act Yasukawa drinks rum because it has a strong smell that let's alcohol lovers know it and Yasukawa herself, are from the south side of Shin-Kiba. Somewhat subverted though because even though she's supposed to be a bad guy, practices such as this seem to get her wild cheers.
- The Precious One Gilbert indulges in fine wines, fine clothes and fine high-performance vehicles for when he feels like harassing members of Orland Colon's family. And he seems to speak many languages, which makes them relatively easy to find even outside of Puerto Rico.
Radio
- In the Alien Worlds episode "Resurrectionists of Lethe", the villain Simon Toddmaster demonstrates an appreciation for classic literature. He expresses annoyance at one of his henchmen not understanding a reference he makes to the works of William Shakespeare and later quotes The Picture of Dorian Gray while conversing with Maura Cassidy.
Roleplay
- Dawn of a New Age: Oldport Blues:
- The ambitious vampire Daigo was raised in the upper-class, and his hobbies reflect this. He paints in his spare time, practices yoga, and treats his consumption of blood like it's wine tasting.
- One of Daigo's lackeys, Devin, comes from a political family and enjoys reading and classical music.
- Inverted with Simon and his Superpowered Evil Side Dark Dragon. Simon is a formal bookworm with an interest in Shakespeare, while the Dark Dragon is rowdy, coarse, and lewd.
Tabletop Games
- Pathfinder:
- In the Curse of the Crimson Throne adventure path, Laori Vaus is an art lover; if asked if she plans to kill the character the party is trying to find, she says no, he's an artist, she just wants to ask about his inspiration admittedly because it ties into an attempt to resurrect an evil dragon, but she also seems to like art in and of itself. She's also an Affably Lawful Evil follower of the god of torture and pain, and is noted for talking in an extremely chipper and upbeat way about how it feels to flay a man alive.
- This is also the hat of the syrinx, artsy and philosophical owl people who want to enslave all of the other humanoid races for their own good.
- Ragadahn the Water Lord is a tyrannical, ruthless and murderous beast, and Chaotic Evil to the core, but he's also deeply learned and an accomplished scholar, and one of the greatest sages among the dragons and the fey.
- Arts and culture in Nidal have developed uninterrupted over 10,000 Years of peace, making the nation famous for the quality of its luxury goods and the depth of its libraries. Unfortunately, it owes that peace to a pact with an evil Patron God who also considers torture and self-mutilation to be high arts.
- The Gunstar version of the Magnus in Shards of the Exalted Dream, as a sort of motonic physics Expy of Hannibal Lecter, revels in this trope. When people come in to ask him questions about Primordial metaphysics (which, when you're engaged in reshaping one into a war engine, is sort of a big deal), he tends to provide less unpleasant unforeseen consequences when advising people who discuss philosophy with him or sing him an aria from the latest opera.
- In Vampire: The Requiem, most Invictus vampires are presented this way, as are the Ordo Dracul and Clan Mekhet; just how evil they are depends on the individual and one's point of view. In the previous edition, Clans Ventrue and Toreador were even more cultured, and the classier Lasombra and Tzmisice really reveled in the Wicked Cultured part.
- Warhammer 40,000
- Dark Eldar, carry themselves with the same sophistication and grace of their good counterparts the Craftworld Eldar, but they're also soul-sucking monsters who consider torture, rape, and violence to be fun pastimes.
- A number of fallen Primarchs were remarkably well-educated - Horus, Fulgrim, Magnus, Lorgar, and even Perturabo qualified in different ways, with Fulgrim and Horus as patrons of the arts, Magnus as a remarkably erudite Warp-scholar, Lorgar as a theologian of two (very) different religions, and Perturabo as an architect and classical scholar. Of all five, Horus was the only one whose corruption came about without involving it - Fulgrim's art was corrupted into a lust for sensation, leading to the Emperor's Children devolving from artists and musicians into drug-addicts and hedonists; Magnus delved too deep into the Warp and succumbed to Pride, ultimately being deceived and stranded on the tender mercies of Tzeentch; Lorgar learning the Emperor he worshiped actually hated worship caused him to be an overzealous follower of a different creed; and Perturabo's resentment at being continually thwarted in his desire to build something out of marble and graceful curves rather than stone and razorwire led him to loathe most of his brethren and ultimately fall to Chaos.
- World Tree (RPG): Nendrai, large reptilian monsters greatly feared by primes, thoroughly enjoy the benefits of civilization and surround themselves with the best creature comforts that they can. Their floors are covered by fine rugs, their libraries hold all the classics, and their cellars are stocked with rare vintages. They're personable and educated as well, and can be engaged in perfectly pleasant conversation, as long as the other party can convince the Nendrai that it wants a chat more than it wants lunch or a new slave.
Theater
- In Sonic: Live in Sydney, when not trying to destroy Sonic or woo Sally, Robotnik enjoys listening to opera, specifically Largo al Factotum from The Barber of Seville.
Video Games
- Conrad Marburg, The Dragon in Alpha Protocol. One mission requires the protagonist to infiltrate his villa, which is decorated from floor to ceiling in neoclassic art and has classical music playing loudly in a number of the rooms.
- Rodin of the Bayonetta games is an example. He's a demon of Inferno, and also a well-dressed weaponsmith who makes all myriad of mystical weapons, weapons powered by capturing the souls of powerful live demons within them. His background info explains that he's been crafting weapons his entire life, having done so since his existence began as an angel of Paradiso. Besides his love of creating destructive armaments, he also enjoys classical music, fine food, mixing drinks, and is shown to be quite knowledgeable about the supernatural elements of the setting. The second game reveals that he has a soft spot for Japanese culture also. Luka actually uses this to his advantage, trading Rodin a stash of Shinshu sake for a pair of glasses that let him see into Purgatorio. The secret Chain Chomp weapon from the second game actually describes in its info card how Rodin secretly acquired it during a trip to Tokyo.
- Mad artist Sander Cohen of BioShock covers dead bodies (and sometimes living Splicers) in plaster and poses them as statues, chains poor Fitzpatrick to a piano rigged with dynamite and makes him play until he blows up, sends you on a quest to kill his fellow artists and take pictures of their corpses to add to his latest masterpiece, and in one spontaneous fit of rage sics multiple waves of Splicers on you to Tchaikovsky's "Waltz of the Flowers". His artistic success amounts largely to riding the wave of Ryan's current moods, but that is a surprisingly good number he has Fitzpatrick playing (until Fitzpatrick misses too many notes).
- Andrew Ryan too, with his pursuit of objectivist philosophy as an end unto itself, and his beliefs that all artists should be free to express their dreams without fear of censorship. Even his passion for Art Deco architecture is obvious in the appearance of Rapture, despite being built thirty years after Art Deco was all the rage.
- Relius Clover from BlazBlue, while utterly ruthless, conducts himself with extreme suave style, dresses very well, enjoys opera as a hobby, and the things he dislikes are just 'disorganized book shelves'. He doesn't use crude language to show off how depraved and evil he is, in contrast with Hazama.
- All three of the villains in Far Cry 3, to varying levels.
- Vaas Montenegro is fond of delivering a speech on "the definition of insanity" commonly attributed to Benjamin Franklin, and while not precisely canon, he prepares a dinner with first-class presentation for his captives in the live-action promotional videos, and briefly philosophizes on whether all men are brothers.
- Hoyt Volker, Vaas' boss, famously blows up a boat full of hostages while playing a recording of Ride of the Valkyries. He states, "See, I prefer the European recordings. The brass sections in American orchestras are too bombastic." The last part is rather hypocritical, however, since Hoyt is pretty bombastic himself.
- Bambi "Buck" Hughes, the Depraved Homosexual crass Australian Psycho for Hire, goes on massive lectures about the history of the ancient Chinese colonists who brought a rare knife that he's after to the Rook Islands whenever he's about to send Jason to find that knife, knows the poetry of Robert Frost ("I know the woods are lovely, dark and deep, mate... but get the fuck up!"), and is pretty cunning as well as brutal. He also gets shirty with Jason whenever he refers to that rare Chinese knife as a knife, because he considers it to be a piece of art.
Buck: You've gotta hand it to the Chinese. When they disemboweled you, they did it in bloody style. Can you imagine being shivved by this thing? Like Shakespeare stabbing you with his quill.
- President Shinra of Final Fantasy VII is seen listening to classical music while the Sector 7 Slums are destroyed. Also, Genesis of Crisis Core quotes incessantly from the play Loveless.
- Ultimecia of Final Fantasy VIII has a definite sense of luxury and style, even if her fashion sense is a bit odd. Her castle has a large chandelier, a pipe organ, an impressive wine cellar, and an art gallery with pieces she either collected or painted herself.
- Kuja of Final Fantasy IX, as evidenced by his ridiculously luxurious desert mansion decorated with pristine statuary and wall-to-wall stained-glass windows. He's also got an extensive knowledge of theater, particularly Lord Avon's "I Want To Be Your Canary".
- General Viggo in Fur Fighters tries to come across like this, he succeeds right up until the end when he cracks.
- Grand Theft Auto:
- No other mafia family in the 3D Universe fits the Wicked Cultured stereotype better than the Leones and the Forellis from GTA: San Andreas, Liberty City Stories, and III. Unlike the Sindaccos, who seem to have a greaser style from the 50's and 60's, both the Leone and Forelli families are impeccably well-dressed most of the time, drive luxury cars (the Mafia/Leone Sentinel for the Leones and the Forelli ExSess for the Forellis, respectively), and their favorite radio station (the Double Clef FM) plays Classical Music. Although in GTA: San Andreas they dress more casually—unless you activate a cheat—you can still see some Leone and Forelli members on the streets wearing semiformal attire. Even so, they are much more sophisticated than the other gangs in terms of style, clothing, vehicles, and even weapons: they drive luxury cars like Admirals, Sentinels, and Feltzers, and carry Desert Eagles, one of the most powerful weapons in the game.
- Tommy Vercetti from Grand Theft Auto: Vice City. Being a ruthless mob boss, killer, and cocaine trafficker doesn’t exempt him from being impeccably well-dressed in stylish and flashy 80s suits, owning a luxurious mansion, and being a highly skilled strategist. Even compared to CJ, he seems to be more articulate most of the time.
- The Gravemind from Halo always speaks in trochaic heptameter. He explains to Cortana in Human Weakness that he simply grew fond of poetry after he consumed enough poets from different races and cultures. You could say he developed a taste for it.
- A few of Agent 47's targets in Hitman fall under this heading, though they are particularly rare. The most obvious is Don Fernando Delgado from Blood Money, a drug baron who also produces several highly regarded wines, plays the cello as a hobby, and collects rare butterflies.
- Queen Sectonia from Kirby: Triple Deluxe is unlike most other Kirby villains in that her, backstory, behavior, and design imply royal elegance. She even uses Royal Rapiers, and has both electric guitar and organ music in her boss theme. When she goes One-Winged Angel, she becomes a Botanical Abomination that resembles a gigantic, beautiful flower.
- The Legend of Zelda's Big Bad Ganondorf is frequently portrayed as having a taste for the finer things in life, first shown in The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time where Link confronts him playing a pipe organ in the his sanctum, which itself features a gargoyle statue on each corner and stained glass windows lining each wall. In The Wind Waker Ganondorf is dressed in an ornately detailed kimono, and is noticeably more refined in his speech and mannerisms as best shown in his Motive Rants near the climax, standing in stark contrast with his more brutish minions. The antechamber at the top of his tower follows in suit with his previous tower's sanctum, greatly resembling a traditional Chinese opera house, tying in with the theatrical theming of his transformation into Puppet Ganon.
- Lunar Lotus Festival: Ryu Yosai is a highly learned nobleman who has traveled much of the content, founded an elite ninja organization called the Ombra Guild, and plays music and meditates in his spare time when not advising the empress of Houjin. He’s also a power-hungry villain who seeks to resurrect a god in order to rule the entire world.
- Mass Effect:
- The Illusive Man of Mass Effect 2 drinks well, dresses well, is infallibly polite even in the face of setbacks.
- Donovan Hock from the "Kasumi's Stolen Memories" DLC is also an example, being a ruthless criminal who owns several rare sculptures, including the Lady Liberty's head and Michelangelo's David. Hock even shouts a Big "NO!" if Shepard shoots one of his precious sculptures.
- Myst IV: Revelation: Sirrus is a chess player (albeit a patzer), and a brilliant engineer. Who plans to commit Grand Theft Me on his sister through sorcery.
- Dark Oppressors in Nexus War are supposed to be like this. It doesn't exactly get reflected well in their skillset, but the sort of players that get attracted to the game mean that it gets played straight anyway.
- Yōko from Onmyōji (2016) is a scholar, says that he has "many hobbies", and even teaches a cute yōkai girl how to dance... only to later abduct her.
- Emperor Zinyak of Saints Row IV has an affinity for wine, Shakespeare, Edgar Allan Poe, and opera, and even DJs the Steelport simulation's classical music radio station, where he can be heard both reading the opening chapter of Pride and Prejudice and threatening his underlings with summary execution for calling Bach's Toccata and Fugue in D Minor "the Dracula music".
- The Boss him/herself is a ruthless gang leader who is also a big fan of Jane Austen, though this seems to be the only bit of culture in their life as they don't know one bit about anything listed above. Zinyak is an Austen fan as well, so much so that he used time travel to abduct her for his personal collection.
- Unlike the other more monstrous and/or comical villains in the Serious Sam series, Lord Achriman from Serious Sam 4 is a sophisticated and intellectual public speaker who is well-versed in human culture and philosophy. He is also a sadistic Hope Crusher and one of the vilest villains in the series.
- Doctor Killjoy of The Suffering takes great delight in reciting Shakespearean soliloquies.
- Played with in Super Robot Wars: Original Generation 2. Archibald Grims, Smug Snake and card-carrying terrorist without a cause, invites his most cultured subordinate for a spot of tea. He takes this time to explain that he doesn't actually like tea, but he likes to drink red tea because it kind of looks like blood. Meanwhile, his subordinate notices that he's using a teabag, so he can't even get the "cultured" part right.
- The Spy from Team Fortress 2 initially appears this way, especially in his Meet the Spy video. It kind of falls apart in-game, though, when he winds up shouting insults like a 12-year-old and laughing until he snorts.
- Heavy, meanwhile, definitely counts. He has a Ph.D. in Russian lit. and enjoys himself a nice peach bellini. This, in-between screaming at the top of his lungs, chewing through people with a giant minigun, and telling stories about choking an Engineer with his own wrench as if it were some kind of bawdy anecdote.
- Between bouts of administering "accidental" not-medicine and blowing up hearts For Science!, Medic's a violinist, and based on naming one of his pet doves Archimedes, also has some historical knowledge.
- The Engineer, to Blutarch Mann's personal care attendant, regarding a painting in Blutarch's mansion: "Say, ain't that an original Kicasso?" He also has eleven doctorates to explain his building skills.
- Warframe has Grineer scientist Tyl Regor. Creator of the Grineer Manics, he proves to be a rather erudite speaker thanks to his self-experiments, and also proves to have quite the snarky side to himself. What helps in this regard is the smooth, sinister drawl in his voice. Seriously, have a listen to him.
- Also subverted with Chatterbox, the clown-faced Soho mob boss in the video game version of The Warriors. He fancies himself a great artist (so much so that he kills anyone besides himself who tries to create anything resembling art in his neighborhood) - but he's grotesquely fat, foul-mouthed, cruel to his own men, and on the whole obnoxious and buffoonish.
- Zenless Zone Zero: Hugo Vlad, while not a villain, is a Gentleman Thief who acts outside the law and admits himself as selfish and highly manipulative. He's a lover of fine art and artifacts, prides himself as a collector, and constantly acts to fight the corrupt upper-class members of New Eridu, with Magnificent Bastard-level cunning. He's also a warrior who wields a cybernetic ice-scythe with lethal grace and precision.
Visual Novels
- Kristoph Gavin, Big Bad of Apollo Justice: Ace Attorney, has a violin, an enormous bookshelf of important-looking books, and a china tea set in his prison cell. He’s also so prone to Purple Prose that he accidentally implicates himself in murders multiple times. While one of his crimes does fit this persona, gifting a girl with a habit of biting her nails an extremely expensive (and poisoned) nail polish, the one that actually gets him convicted doesn’t; he clubs an enemy with a wine bottle in the poker room of a seedy bar.
- Danganronpa V3: Korekiyo Shunguji, the Ultimate Anthropologist, studies culture: he’s soft-spoken and articulate, most of his Free Time talk is about various legends and curious pieces of history, and his Ultimate Lab resembles a museum. He considers BDSM practices just another aspect of culture, and is also interested in studying them. He’s also a depraved serial killer, and has murdered almost 100 girls so they can become friends with his dead sister, whom he was in an incestuous relationship with. The cast was already creeped out by him before, but nobody mourns him after they find out.
- Grisaia Series: Series villain Heath Oslo is the head of an international arms dealer/terrorist group, he might be a bit of a phedophile, and his nasty temper occasionally slips up, but otherwise he is well-mannered, soft-spoken, dressed in a stylish red suit and has an interest in art (even uses an antique telephone).
- The Hungry Lamb: Traveling in the Late Ming Dynasty: The Swine Demon is interested in shadow plays, claiming them to be rich in culture. The plan of Liang and Sui in the "Together in Death" conclusion worked precisely because of this, allowing them to assassinate the Swine Demon under the guise of a shadow play performance.
Webcomics
- Sam Starfall from Freefall is a chronic petty thief and general rogue. Despite this, he's extremely well-read and a skilled debater and orator, quoting the Bible and justifying his viewpoint to introduce a culture of crime to a perfectly innocent population with arguments from fields as widespread as psychology, mythology, biology, and politics.
- Doc Scratch of Homestuck is perpetually dressed in a white tuxedo, lives in an art deco apartment in a mansion, speaks with perfect grammar and near-unflappable politeness, enjoys playing pranks and board games with children, and is an excellent host to his guests. He just so happens to also be The Dragon to an Eldritch Abomination, with the stated objective of bringing about the end of his universe so that his master may feed on reality's corpse. He also kicked off the "Make her pay" subplot, which resulted in one person confined to a wheelchair, one dead, one blind, and one losing an arm and eye as well as being despised by everyone she ever liked.
- Lord Dante Fitzalan, from Midnight's War. An ancient and evil vampire who likes spending his time reading in his personal library, poring over scientific theses, and taking the young women who serve him to the opera as part of their education.
- John Henry Hunter of Next Town Over is quite suave, wearing a fancy white suit, playing the violin, and generally serenading people with his smoothness. The Deliberately Monochrome flashbacks also indicate that he performed publicly before turning outlaw.
- Nixvir/Ragnar: The Prelude to Nixvir: Ragnar may be a brutal tyrant and genocidal warlord, but he really adores drinking alcohol and listening to music.
- Julian from Sire was kind enough to pen a rather lovely note explaining that he had stolen research papers from the main character's suitcase (and they were such a delightful read!), though he would have felt cruel taking the bag. Hoping this letter finds you well.
Web Original
- In Tales of MU, Embries and The Man both qualify. The former has a gloriously-decorated office and snazzy attire, a silver tongue, and a tea set of which he is very fond. He is also an ancient dragon with a taste for human flesh. The Man is a demon who devours the hearts of virgins monthly to sustain himself and impregnated and abandoned the main character's mother twice. He wears a snazzy pinstriped suit and waxes philosophic (sometimes in High Draconic) when speaking with his daughter, however, and like Embries is a master of seduction.
- Both Dr. Diabolik and his daughter Jadis, in the Whateley Universe. Jadis Diabolik is only a high school sophomore and already feared throughout Whateley Academy. She quotes Shakespeare and Yeats and knows who is the finest butcher in all of New York City. However, do not make her mad at you.
Web Videos
- Matska Belmonde of Carmilla the Series is an elegant, sophisticated vampire who prefers to never be more than a four-hour flight from Paris if she can help it.
- Although Sanders Sides has no true villain, Deceit's Disney villain schtick plays off of this trope. He appears well-read in philosophy, plays the part of a play director in his first appearance, and also has a pretty neat costume.
- Double subverted in To Boldly Flee with Christopher Clodd/the Executor — he seems to be a connoisseur of the arts, but it's eventually revealed that he actually considers bad films, such as Manos: The Hands of Fate, or the filmography of Uwe Boll, to massively influential "good" films, believing that fame is fleeting, while infamy is forever.
Western Animation
- The Lich from Adventure Time is intelligent, polite, speaks formally, and has a great knowledge of how everything was before time and life.
The Lich: [to the King of Ooo] Stop. I have learned much from you. Thank you, my teachers. And now for your education. Before there was time, before there was anything, there was nothing. And before there was nothing, there were monsters. Here's your gold star!
- Beware the Batman: The recurring villain, Professor Pyg, dresses in a fine suit, talks with a sense of high culture, and drinks tea. He also listens to classical music in "Doppelganger" while he’s preparing to mutate the women he and Mr. Toad kidnapped.
- Blue Eye Samurai: Subverted. The Establishing Character Moment of Abijah Fowler has him putting the finishing touches on a masterfully painted image of a man disemboweled by a bull... and then responding to a compliment of his mastery by saying he hates painting and every other "useless" art he's mastered while unable to leave the castle he's been confined in for years thanks to the shogun's edit. He then throws the picture in the fire and a Reveal Shot shows he was using an actual disemboweled corpse as a model for his painting.
- Fowler's business partner, Heiji Shindo. He's been Fowler's guide to and teacher in Japanese culture for a decade, and while his tastes are strange and depraved, he appears to be almost as genuine a polymath as his disciple/business partner. Everything he has is of extremely high quality both aesthetically and functionally - he even made an elegant little Christian chapel for Fowler despite zero interest or input from the latter. Mizu discovers a route into his castle largely by noticing that some of the alcohol shipped there doesn't meet his obvious standards of quality, and digging into why that is, who it's for instead, and what they know.
- Castlevania (2017):
- Dracula is the Big Bad and is also well-educated in many fields that would classify him as a Renaissance Man.
- The Flyeyes Night Creature from seasons 3 & 4. He was a philosopher in his human life, before he went to Hell and became a demon. Even still, he's pretty clever and well-spoken when he converses with Isaac.
- Codename: Kids Next Door: The Delightful Children From Down the Lane, some of the time.
- Vlad Masters of Danny Phantom, invoked; his accent is very much cultured.
- DC Super Hero Girls (2019): When Barbara Gordon meets one Slade Wilson, she finds a well-dressed, well-spoken fellow serving dishes way over her head in an expensively decorated Big Fancy House... and he's a total ass about it at the first shadow of an excuse, even before they peg each other as the superhero and mercenary who fought a night ago.
- Monkey from Dexter's Laboratory faced a villain (a super-smart ape) who was very cultured. He did a Heel–Face Turn when Monkey convinced him to embrace his primate instincts.
- Played with in Exo Squad. Phaeton is highly articulate and literate enough to have a quote from Dante inscribed in the entrance to his bunker. On the other hand, he is NOT a fan of art, which he (quite passionately) declares to be "a useless Terran pastime". This leads to a hilarious moment where Exo Trooper Wolf Bronski, by no means cultured himself, is attempting to save paintings Phaeton has ordered destroyed. During the fights, he yells at the Neo Sapiens, calling them Philistines. Then he turns to the woman with him and asks "Hey, what's a Philistine?"
- Subverted for laughs with the Professor from the Felix the Cat (Joe Oriolo) cartoons. He pretends that he's going out to the opera while Felix is babysitting his nephew Poindexter, but Felix sees right through it and knows that he's really going to watch a wrestling match.
- Parodied in Freakazoid! with the villain Caveguy. He typically acts like a brutish neanderthal committing crimes...except he speaks with perfect grammar in a posh, snooty voice.
Joe the Narrator: His real name is Royce Mumphy. Police in five states know him as Caveguy. Yes, Caveguy. Hostile, powerful. But also, highly intelligent.
Caveguy: I subscribe to the New Yorker. (Chortles haughtily) - Gargoyles:
- David Xanatos, as a billionaire, enjoys the finer things in life, such as living in an authentic Scottish castle (that he had moved - brick by brick - to New York).
- Thailog, much like his "father", Xanatos. He takes the first name "Alexander" when indirectly posing as a reclusive financial wizard, after Alexander the Great, for whom he harbors admiration (something he has in common with David Xanatos, hence Alex's name). In the comics continuation, he takes this a step further by lounging in a toga. According to Word of God, he also speaks many languages, French included.
- Cobra Commander from G.I. Joe: Sigma 6. The man quotes Shakespeare as he reveals his years-long plan to escape from prison, right underneath our heroes' noses.
- Harley Quinn (2019) has Clayface, though he is a lesser example because he's genuinely one of the least evil things in the show, being almost lovably incompetent in the role of a villain. He does know his way around Shakespeare and narrative convention, even if his actual acting is Giftedly Bad, and seems to have a decent understanding of other cultures, suggesting he's had some worldly experience.
- Hazbin Hotel has Alastor, a well-dressed, well-spoken 1930s gentleman with a taste for jazz, who plays piano just as well as he terrorizes the other denizens of hell as a sadistic, cannibalistic overlord.
- Zestial. He's an elderly Overlord with a sophisticated talking style, is very laid-back, affable, and reasonable with his fellow Overlords, is shown to have a lot of intellect and wisdom, loves drinking tea and is implied to enjoy the fine arts.
- Jackie Chan Adventures: Though all the Demon Sorcerers with the exception of the street-smart Drago come off as relatively regal and sophisticated in their own ways, Tso Lan the Moon Demon in particular comes off as the most refined and dignified of the lot.
- Justice League:
- The Ultra-Humanite enjoys classical music, donates money to public television in "Injustice for All", and reprograms a children's toy to tell them the story of the Nutcracker in "Comfort and Joy". He's also a white talking gorilla and unrepentant supervillain.
PBS Announcer: This program was made possible by a grant from the Ultra-Humanite and Viewers Like You.
- Vandal Savage, as well. He's smart, but his level of culture varies from episode to episode; Wonder Woman certainly thinks that he's exactly as barbaric as the caveman he ultimately is. "Hereafter" confirms it when Superman looks over his library. "Self-help books? You don't seem like the type." By that point, however, Savage is nowhere near as wicked as he used to be.
- The Ultra-Humanite enjoys classical music, donates money to public television in "Injustice for All", and reprograms a children's toy to tell them the story of the Nutcracker in "Comfort and Joy". He's also a white talking gorilla and unrepentant supervillain.
- Zaheer from Season 3 of The Legend of Korra is well versed in Air Nomad history and lore, despite not being an Air Nomad himself. These philosophies help him greatly when he gains Airbending via Harmonic Convergence.
- One-off villain of My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic Doctor Caballeron is definitely this, since he's a very obvious expy of René Belloq.
- Captain Hook in Peter Pan & the Pirates as most versions of Hook, is incredibly cultured and voiced by Tim Curry.
- Megabyte from ReBoot, no question. He's voiced by Tony Jay, after all.
- V.V. Argost, the primary antagonist of The Secret Saturdays, embodies this. Essentially a cross between Doctor Doom and Vincent Price, this should come as no surprise.
- The Simpsons: Sideshow Bob and his brother Cecil Terwilliger from "Brother from Another Series".
Cecil: Perhaps a glass of Bordeaux? I have the '82 Chateau Latour and a rather indifferent Rauzan-Ségla.
Bob: I've been in prison, Cecil. I'll be happy just as long as it doesn't taste like orange drink fermented under a radiator.
Cecil: That would be the Latour, then. - Dr. Julian Robotnik from Sonic the Hedgehog (SatAM). Julian is eloquent, has a sharp wit, and can be very suave and persuasive. He used this to maneuver around the Mobian royalty and upper-class before his takeover. He also has a good grasp on linguistics and is something of a historian, as "Drood Henge" and "Super Sonic" show.
- Chairface Chippendale, nemesis of The Tick, dresses sharply, eats fine food, and is prone to sophisticated dialogue, despite having a chair for a head.
- Transformers:
- Beast Wars:
- All things considered, Megatron certainly fits the bill. From his aristocratic accent to his quoting Earth literature, one doesn't doubt that if it had been possible for him to sip a nice chilled glass of red, BW Megatron would have been. Perhaps while doing the Slouch of Villainy in his command chair or soaking in his energon hot tub. The fact that he bathes with a rubber ducky manages to reduce his cultured aura not one bit, impressively. Also he strokes his T-rex head arm while in his robot form, the same way James Bond villain Blofeld caresses his pet cat.
- Though he pulls a Heel–Face Turn in the very first episode, Dinobot never the less fits the bill as he was clearly like this before his defection and even as a Maximal he swerves between Token Evil Teammate and Reformed, but Not Tamed, being a Cultured Warrior whose highly educated and quotes poetry and philosophy. With his Last Words after his Heroic Sacrifice he even quotes William Shakespeare:
Dinobot: Tell my tale to those who ask. Tell it truly, the ill deeds along with the good, and let me be judged accordingly. The rest... is silence...
- The Megatron in Transformers: Animated was obviously inspired by his predecessor. He drinks oil out of a barrel crushed into the shape of a chalice. It also comes up that he's the Cybertronian equivalent of a vintner, brewing his own blends of oil in his off-hours.
- Beast Wars:
- Phantom Limb from The Venture Bros. is a definite example, once called out for having sold out his villainous principles for high culture accoutrements such as dealing in stolen art instead of 'the old stuff'. In the same episode, he laments how many of his clients want to own the Mona Lisa for no other reason than it's a famous painting, and not because they appreciate it as art.
- Where on Earth Is Carmen Sandiego?'s eponymous villain is a perfect example; if she doesn't undertake a theft because of the sheer challenge of it, she probably swiped it for sentimental cultural value. It's also the only way most of the clues she leaves behind could be deciphered.
