“ | Scar: Simba, Simba. Please. Please have mercy. I beg you. Simba: You don't deserve to live. Scar: But, Simba, I am... ah... family. It's the hyenas who are the real enemy. It was their fault — it was their idea! |
„ |
~ Scar begging Simba for mercy and blaming the hyenas for his crimes. |
“ | Tighten: No! Not in the face, man! Please! "Metro Man": If you know what's good for you, Tighten, you'll stay out of Metrocity! Tighten: You got it! "Metro Man": For good! |
„ |
~ Tighten being frightened and duped by Megamind (under his Metro Man form) to leave Metro City. |
“ | Let me go. Let me go. Please, don't hurt me. I'll do anything. Anything! | „ |
~ Gaston begging the Beast to spare his life, moments before stabbing him in the back. |
Villains who are cowards. These types of villains do not confront the enemy themselves, beg for mercy, target those who are unable to fight back, and/or are prone to run away from their problems rather than face them head on.
Examples of cowardice include:
- Villains who endanger others to save their own skin, which is even worse if it involves a loved one (e.g. Alan Yates, Peter Pettigrew, King Runeard, Blackbeard, Syndrome, Starscream, Sir Miles Axlerod, Napoleon, Matt Engarde, Creek, Queen Ingrith, Lord Business, Preston Northwest, Pythor P. Chumsworth, Gallaxhar, Courtney, The Director, Ernesto de la Cruz, Mayor Shelbourne, and Kyler Park).
- Villains who have the nerve to ask someone they badly hurt for help or mercy, and often betray them immediately after they do or have at least the intention to do it (e.g. Peter Stegman, Henry Evans, Dolores Umbridge, Lotso, Bertron, Chester V, Chelsea Van Der Zee, Kludd, Dallas Grimes, the movie version of Bowser, Dr. Nefarious, Curator Ponds, Lilly, Gaston LeGume, Mr. Burns, Sedusa, and Princess Morbucks).
- Villains who act all smug when the odds are in their favor, but then panic or retreat as soon as they're in actual personal danger (e.g. Pennywise, Samuel Norton, Andy Evans, Dag, Joffrey Baratheon, the manga version of Light Yagami, Agatha Trunchbull, King Magnifico, Professor Zündapp, Thumper, PAL, Zhao, Rumpelstiltskin, Dawn Bellwether, Dr. Eggman, Eric Cartman, Peter Griffin, Chris McLean, Percy Wetmore, Vector, Chick Hicks, and Femme Fatale).
- Villains who simply lack any real bravery, only targeting people who are at a disadvantage (e.g. Bob Ewell, William Afton's Fazbear Frights incarnation, Commodus, Yashiro's Brother, Ramsay Bolton, and Jimmy Crystal).
- Villains who show a combination of the above factors (e.g. Muzak Kibutsuji, Hadrian, the 1994 version of Scar, Dick Hardly, Tighten, Major Man, and Bradford Buzzard).
NOTE: Not everyone who shows fear is automatically cowardly. In some cases (e.g. Katz, Judge Claude Frollo, Dr. Facilier, Judge Doom, Bill Cipher, William Wharton, Steele, Joker (DCAU), William Afton and his 2023 counterpart, Roman Bridger, General Mandible, Randall Boggs, Hopper, Lord Shen, Rattlesnake Jake, Jack Welker, Cat R. Waul, Cyclops, Drex Stinklebaum, Walter White, Gus Fring, Tai Lung, the video game version of Bowser, Hector Barbossa, Jafar, Sid Phillips, Nightmare Moon, and the 2019 version of Scar), the villain reacts reasonably to being faced with a genuine threat, and they may even have moments showing them to be brave otherwise.
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