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 comic-relief villains. These kinds of antagonists range from villains that are taken seriously in the show but still have funny moments here and there due to having a sadistic and cruel sense of humor that makes them more heinous and threatening (ex. Hades from Hercules and Shaw from Open Season), to being depicted as utterly hilarious villains who have committed serious misdeeds despite their goofy and comical presence that makes viewers not take them seriously (ex. Plankton from SpongeBob SquarePants).

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 doing villainous actions at the same time.
 * 3) Even if there are shows where the protagonists aren't the most interesting or funny, these villains can 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 (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 being laughable, they can still be taken seriously given the right amount of balance to their traits between being competent, formidable, and humorous.

The Only Bad Quality

 * 1) Even though comedy is subjective, some of these villains' comedic traits can come off as tiresome, unfunny, poorly written, or forced.
 * 2) * If they're not treated as a threat or have too many humorous moments, this typically makes them fall into Flanderization and/or Character derailment territory. 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. Because a 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, who may have their evil or nasty moments, are typically treated as unthreatening and humorous to make the audience laugh in relief.

Examples of well-written laughably evil villains

 * Aku (Samurai Jack)
 * 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)
 * Mojo Jojo (The Powerpuff Girls)
 * Mr. Burns (The Simpsons)
 * Oogie Boogie (The Nightmare Before Christmas)
 * Pain and Panic (Hercules)
 * Robbie Rotten
 * 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)
 * Vector (Despicable Me)

Examples of poorly-written laughably evil villains

 * Evelyn Claythorne (Meta Runner)
 * Lord Betrayus (Pac-Man and the Ghostly Adventures)
 * Mr. Greene (Norm Of The North)
 * The Storm King (My Little Pony: The Movie)