Laughably Evil

An laughably evil character is a purely comedic type of villain/antagonist that is evil yet they are downright enjoyable and entertaining as diabolical characters whose antics & shticks are done in the form of comedy/entertainment.

NOTE: This trope should not be confused with a comic-relief villain. These kinds of antagonists range from ruthless villains that are taken seriously in the show as a threat to be reckoned with, but still have funny moments like having a sadistic/cruel or witty sense of humor that makes them more heinous and threatening than before (ex. Hades from Hercules and Shaw from Open Season), to being depicted as bombastic and ridiculous-looking villains who have committed serious misdeeds despite their goofy and campy presence that makes viewers not take them seriously (ex. Plankton from SpongeBob SquarePants).

See more about the trope on it's own following page

Why This Trope Rocks

 * 1) They solely exist for providing tons of amusement value to their continual acts of villainy, and their humorous and comical traits are downright perfect for the entertainment value, sometimes reaching to the point of providing 'comic relief' levels of being fun to watch!
 * 2) They tend to have a strong sense of humor, which brings a level of charm to their nefarious traits while doing both; posing a threat or partaking in villainous actions while making you laugh at the same time.
 * 3) Even if there are shows, games, or movies where the protagonists aren't the most interesting or funny, these villains tend to be such a riot that viewers get hyped to see the villains for their hilarious and entertaining antics that can make a show or movie much more exciting and rewatchable just for them stealing the show (or it makes video games replayable).
 * 4) * Likewise, some of these villains' antics can potentially redeem a bad episode or a bad scene from a good episode that took place given the right amount of timing and writing for that episode.
 * 5) Despite most of them being rather laughable, they can still be taken seriously given the right amount of balance to their traits between being formidable and humorous.

Bad Qualities

 * 1) Even though comedy is subjective, there are viewers that can find these villains' comedic traits rather tiresome, unfunny, poorly written, or forced.
 * 2) * If they're not treated as a threat or have too many humorous moments even though they're meant to be intimidating, this typically makes them fall into Flanderization and/or Character derailment territory of being incompetent shells of their former selves. Especially if making them more "funny" or "ridiculous" was meant to make them lovable when it didn't make them any better and just makes them more of a joke than necessary.
 * 3) The way this trope is used often confuses the rules on how to make villains a genuine threat if they're meant to be threatening.
 * 4) * Because the definitive "Laughably Evil" villain is a villain who is funny in appearance or behavior, but their villainous actions are taken seriously in their universe in comparison to a comic-relief villain, while they can share similar qualities of Laughably Evil villains with their evil or nasty moments, but they are typically meant to be unthreatening and humorous to make the audience laugh in relief (ex. Dr. Weird from Aqua Teen Hunger Force, Professor Monkey-For-A-Head from Earthworm Jim and Robbie Rotten from the LazyTown show).

Examples of well-written laughably evil villains

 * Aku (Samurai Jack)
 * Bill Cipher (Gravity Falls)
 * Constantine (Muppets Most Wanted)
 * Dan (Dan Vs.)
 * Mr. Crocker (The Fairly OddParents)
 * Dimentio (Super Paper Mario)
 * Dr. Evil (Austin Powers)
 * Dr. Ivo Robotnik "Eggman"
 * Dr. Ivo Robotnik (Adventures of Sonic the Hedgehog; This incarnation has often been considered to be easily a fan-favorite outside of internet memes)
 * Eric Cartman
 * Hades (Hercules)
 * Harry and Marv (Home Alone 1 & 2)
 * Heinz Doofenshmirtz
 * Invader Zim
 * The Joker (Batman)
 * Lex Luthor (Superman: The Movie)
 * Mojo Jojo (The Powerpuff Girls)
 * Mr. Burns (The Simpsons)
 * Light Yagami (Death Note)
 * Kichimura Washuu/Nimura Furuta (Tokyo Ghoul :re)
 * Oogie Boogie (The Nightmare Before Christmas)
 * Pain and Panic (Hercules)
 * Robbie Rotten (Especially his original stage play incarnation, Glanni Glaepur)
 * Roger Smith (American Dad)
 * Sheldon J. Plankton
 * The Red Guy (Cow and Chicken)
 * Sideshow Bob (The Simpsons)
 * Scar & The Hyenas (The Lion King; the latter especially)
 * Scratch and Grounder (Adventures of Sonic the Hedgehog)
 * Shaw (Open Season)
 * Skeletor (He-Man franchise)
 * Vector (Despicable Me)
 * Vicky ((The Fairly OddParents, seasons 1-5)
 * Yosemite Sam (Looney Tunes)

Examples of poorly-written laughably evil villains

 * Aiden (Minecraft Story Mode)
 * Ally Cassandra, Bozwell "Boz" Buzzard and Sid "Sidney" the Vicious Shrew (Bubsy)
 * Aloysius O'Hare (The Lorax, 2012)
 * Amanda Banshee (The Wacky World of Tex Avery)
 * Carl (Talking Tom & Friends)
 * Dingle Kringle (Elf Bowling The Movie: The Great North Pole Elf Strike)
 * Evelyn Claythorne (Meta Runner)
 * Lord Betrayus (Pac-Man and the Ghostly Adventures)
 * Lex Luthor (Superman: Brainiac Attacks)
 * Mr. Greene (Norm Of The North)
 * The Storm King (My Little Pony: The Movie)
 * Skeletor (Masters of the Universe: Revelation)
 * Shuji Ikutsuki (Persona 3)
 * Sir Rothbart (The Swan Princess Christmas)