Laughably Evil

An laughably evil character is a purely comedic type of villain/antagonist that is evil and intimidating in-universe, yet they are diabolical characters whose antics & shticks are done in the form of comedy/entertainment that makes tons of viewers find them enjoyable and entertaining.

The definitive "Laughably Evil" villain is a silly and threatening villain who is funny in appearance or behavior, but their actions are taken seriously in the story compared to a comic-relief villain, who while they can share similar qualities of Laughably Evil villains with having their evil, intimidating or nasty moments, but they are typically meant to be seen unthreatening and humorous for the audience and the characters, to laugh at them in relief (ex. Professor Monkey-For-A-Head from Earthworm Jim and Robbie Rotten from the LazyTown show).

NOTE: This trope should never be confused with a comic-relief villain. These kinds of antagonists have a wide range, the list ranges from ruthless villains that are taken seriously in the story and treated as a threat to be reckoned with, but have funny moments like having a cruel or witty sense of humor that, not only makes the viewer entertained, but also makes them more heinous, twisted, 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 throughout the story despite their goofy and campy presence that makes viewers not take them seriously (ex. Plankton from SpongeBob SquarePants and The Red Guy from Cow and Chicken).

See more about the trope on its own following page

Why This Trope Rocks

They solely exist for providing tons of amusement value to their continual acts of villainy, and many of their humorous and comic traits are downright perfect for the entertainment value. Some of these villains' shticks can reach 'comic relief levels of being fun and charming to watch!
They tend to have a strong sadistic sense of humor, which brings a level of charm to their nefarious traits while doing both; posing a threat and partaking in villainous actions all while making you laugh at the same time.
Even when there are shows, games, or movies where the protagonists (or side characters) aren't viewed as the most interesting, compelling, or funny, several of 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).
- 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.
Despite most of them being rather laughable, it's a great detail for making the viewer remember that their actions are still taken seriously in the story while having comical traits & moments, especially with having the right amount of balance to their traits of being formidable and humorous.

Bad Qualities

Even though comedy is subjective, there are viewers that can find some of these villains' comedic traits rather tiresome, too mean-spirited/sadistic, unfunny, poorly written, or forced.
Since these types of villains have so many comedic moments to count, it often confuses the rules on how to make villains a genuine threat and what even is a "comic-relief villain" since they're similar in terms of being comedic villains, but are very diverse by purpose.
- 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 the territory of flanderization and/or character derailment with making them become incompetent shells of their former selves, hence making them fall into Villain Wannabe territory. Especially when trying to make them more "funny" or "ridiculous" was meant to make them lovable and entertaining to the audience (or even in-universe as well) when this kind of change happens most of the time; it usually doesn't make them any better in terms of executing their traits, and it just makes them more of a joke than necessary. There are exceptions, however.

Examples of well-written "Laughably Evil" villains

Aku (Samurai Jack)
Al McWhiggin (Toy Story 2)
Agatha Harkness (WandaVision)
Agatha Trunchbull (Matilda)
Angelus (Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Angel)
Baron von Sheldgoose (Legend of The Three Caballeros)
Bill Cipher (Gravity Falls)
Bluto (Popeye the Sailor)
Butch the Irish Dog (Droopy/Tex Avery MGM Cartoons)
Buzz Buzzard (Woody Woodpecker)
Captain Hook and Mr. Smee (Peter Pan (1953); the latter especially)
Constantine (Muppets Most Wanted)
Crash Bernstein (Disney XD's Pranksgiving)
Dan (Dan Vs.)
Dan Backslide (Looney Tunes)
Mr. Crocker (The Fairly OddParents, seasons 1-8)
Dimentio (Super Paper Mario)
Dr. Drakken (Kim Possible)
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)
Dr. Jacques von Hamsterviel (Lilo & Stitch sequel media)
Dr. Weird (Aqua Teen Hunger Force Colon Movie Film for Theaters; getting this treatment where in the show, he is comic-relief)
Eric Cartman
Evil the Cat (Earthworm Jim)
Elmer Fudd (Looney Tunes)
Felonious Gru (Despicable Me franchise)
Freddy Krueger (A Nightmare on Elm Street)
Giroro (Sgt. Frog)
Gantu (Lilo & Stitch franchise)
Glory (Buffy the Vampire Slayer)
The Green Goblin (Spider-Man)
Hades (Hercules)
Horace and Jasper Badun (101 Dalmatians (1961))
Pennywise the Dancing Clown (IT)
Great Mighty Poo (Conkers Bad Fur Day)
Grey the Rat (Larva)
Gilgamesh (Fate franchise)
Harry and Marv (Home Alone 1 & 2)
Heinz Doofenshmirtz
Invader Zim
Jessie, James and Meowth (Pokemon, Seasons 1-13, 16-present)
The Joker (Batman)
Kaa (The Jungle Book (1967))
Katz (Courage the Cowardly Dog)
Kenny Ackerman (Attack on Titan)
Keroro (Sgt. Frog)
Kichimura Washuu/Nimura Furuta (Tokyo Ghoul :re)
Kururu (Sgt. Frog)
Layton T Montgomery (The Bee Movie)
Lex Luthor (Superman: The Movie)
LeFou (Beauty and the Beast (1991))
Light Yagami (Death Note)
Lord Dominator (Wander Over Yonder)
Lord Hater (Wander Over Yonder)
Loki (The Super Hero Squad Show)
Lucifer (Cinderella (1950))
The Master (Doctor Who)
Maleficent's Goons (Sleeping Beauty (1959))
Mayor Richard Wilkins III (Buffy the Vampire Slayer)
Mephisto (Marvel)
Mojo Jojo (The Powerpuff Girls)
Mortimer Mouse (Disney)
The Minions (Despicable Me franchise, excluding Minions and Despicable Me 3)
Mr. Burns (The Simpsons)
Dr. Nefario (Despicable Me franchise)
The Nerdlucks/The Monstars (Space Jam)
Oogie Boogie (The Nightmare Before Christmas)
Pain and Panic (Hercules)
Peg-Leg Pete (Disney)
Queen of Hearts (Alice in Wonderland (1951))
Ralph Wolf (Looney Tunes)
Red Skull (The Super Hero Squad Show)
Robbie Rotten (Especially his original stage play incarnation, Glanni Glaepur)
Roger Smith (American Dad)
Ryuk (Death Note)
Sheldon J. Plankton
The Red Guy (Cow and Chicken)
Sideshow Bob (The Simpsons)
Scar and the Hyenas (The Lion King; the latter especially)
Scratch and Grounder (Adventures of Sonic the Hedgehog)
Shaw (Open Season)
Shredder (Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles; 1990s)
Skeletor (He-Man franchise)
Slick Wolf (Droopy/Tex Avery MGM Cartoons)
Syndrome (The Incredibles)
Sylvester (Looney Tunes)
Joey, Marky and Dee Dee (Oggy and the Cockroaches, seasons 1-4, 6-7, Next Generation)
Taurus Bulba (Darkwing Duck)
Thanos (The Super Hero Squad Show)
Takeshi "Gian" Goda (Doraemon)
Taz (Looney Tunes)
Tobi (Naruto)
Tom Cat (Tom and Jerry)
Tweaky the Lackey (The New Woody Woodpecker Show)
Vector (Despicable Me)
Vicky (The Fairly OddParents, seasons 1-5)
Viper (Sgt. Frog)
Wile E. Coyote (Looney Tunes)
Yosemite Sam (Looney Tunes)
Yzma and Kronk (The Emperor's New Groove; the latter especially)

Examples of poorly-written "Laughably Evil" villains

9 Egyptian Gods (JoJo's Bizarre Adventure: Part 3 - Stardust Crusaders)
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)
Beauty's sisters (Beauty and the Beast (Golden Films))
Berkeley Beetle (Thumbelina (1994))
Chilly Willy (Woody Woodpecker (2018))
Carl (Talking Tom & Friends)
Claude Cat (Looney Tunes, 1952-1962)
Daffy Duck (Looney Tunes, DePatie-Freleng, Format Films and Seven-Arts eras, 1964-1968)
Dan (The Wacky World of Tex Avery)
Derek Huff (Step Brothers)
Dingle Kringle (Elf Bowling The Movie: The Great North Pole Elf Strike)
Dr. Drakken (Kim Possible (2019))
Dr. Jacques von Hamsterviel (Stitch! anime)
Edgar (The AristoCats)
Evelyn Claythorne (Meta Runner)
Ferdinand (Tom and Jerry: The Movie (1992))
Ghenghis the Lion (The Wacky World of Tex Avery)
Gantu (Stitch! anime)
General Gross (Attack on Titan)
Giroro (Keroro (2014))
Grundel Toad (Thumbelina (1994))
Queen Gnorga and Llort (A Troll in Central Park)
Happosai (Ranma 1/2)
Henery Hawk (Looney Tunes)
Katnip (Herman and Katnip)
Keroro (Keroro (2014))
King Fritz (Attack on Titan)
LeFou (Beauty and the Beast (2017))
Lucifer (Cinderella (2015))
Lord Betrayus (Pac-Man and the Ghostly Adventures)
Lex Luthor (Superman: Brainiac Attacks)
Master Little (The King and I (1999))
Mark Thresher (Plumbers Don't Wear Ties)
Mr. Greene (Norm of the North)
Mr Freeze (Batman and Robin)
Mooch the Fox (The Wacky World of Tex Avery)
Otis (Son of the Mask)
The Minions (Minions)
Rasputia Latimore (Norbit)
Sagebrush Sid (The Wacky World of Tex Avery)
The Storm King (My Little Pony: The Movie)
Sarousch (The Hunchback of Notre Dame II)
Ryosuke (Oshi no Ko)
Skeletor (Masters of the Universe: Revelation)
Shinji Matou (Fate franchise)
Shuji Ikutsuki (Persona 3)
Sir Rothbart (The Swan Princess Christmas)
Spike Bulldog (The Tom and Jerry Show (2014))
Superboy Prime (DC Comics)
Jessie, James and Meowth (Pokemon, seasons 14-15)
Joey, Marky and Dee Dee (Oggy and the Cockroaches, season 5)
Wile E. Coyote (Looney Tunes, The Larriva Eleven)
Yzma and Kronk (Kronk's New Groove; the latter especially)
Zombie Devil (Chainsaw Man)

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