Why are mad scientists such great villains?

Why are mad scientists such great villains?

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because they can pull whatever bullshit plan, invention with no need of explaining.

You can totally relate to them finally snapping after one more "Uh, in english, Einstein!".

>always chewing the scenery
>always has something cool to do
>if not the main villain, usually has their own agenda instead of blindly following the main (even if it doesn't impact the plot, it's adds nuance)
>even the bare minimum motivation ("for science!") is more engaging than simple lust for power or destruction

We do what we must, because we can. For the good of all of us, except the ones who are dead.

Can do anything, whatever it is, and most of the time what they are doing is fucked up and wreaks havoc, that's why heroes go out to stop them. It's a plot device you can't get tired of, because whatever it is that they are creating requires ingenuity and creativity from the writter. Unless you are writter for r&m then you are just writting a boring person who acts smart

Who's the best mad scientist of all time? Sivanna? Pre-Crisis Luthor? Dr. Frankenstein? Hugo Strange?

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Farmsworth

They usually see their deeds as a ‘ends justify the means’ kind of deal, making them more compelling.

It’s even better when at the end of their run they look back on it and justify their actions with minor regrets.

"I suppose I could part with one and still be feared"

Hank Pym.

Dr. Eggman
He exemplifies everything great about mad scientists. he is one of the few that has the perfect mix of silly and intimidating. Sometimes he is so silly and bumbling, that it is freaky as all hell when he does something especially cruel.

Also has a kick ass theme song.

Every mad scientist requires a theme song, or else they are just mad grad students.

>Why are mad scientists such great heroes
ftfy

Mad scientists in general are god-tier characters.

Brainiac.

Personally I think Dr. Jekyll (the original novella version) is up there as one the best. Many don't know that Mr. Hyde was actually created in purpose by Jekyll so he could do evil stuff without facing consequences. All movie/comic adaptations completely miss this characterization and make Jekyll less complex.

Yeah, the author being willing to have fun with their story instead of going 'lol my work is so groundbreaking and important' goes a long way.
Genres exist for a reason.

Hugo is more of a mad psychiatrist

I have to agree. Eggman can capture anything from ridiculous to relatable to even scary at any moment. His bots and machines are like that too, kind of like how you see an artist in their work. It's such a shame he's stuck in a sub-par world with terrible rivals.

C. A. Rotwang

Scifi version of evil wizard

To be fair though the new Jekyll did allow us to get the Dr. Jekyll And Mr. Hyde musical, can't hate that.
Also Jekyll was barely in the book honestly.

Herbert West
Not only is he a great mad scientist type, but he's also one of the hardest men Lovecraft ever wrote, think about it, just about every other character in a Lovecraft story will scream "too spooky!" when they see something and faint, but what does Herbert do when a massive ape like black zombie shows up at his doorstep holding a severed arm in his mouth? Fucker pulls out a revolver and mag dumps right into him

They make the world go round

>Why are mad scientists such great heroes?
FTFY

They make great heroes too.

Why don't more writers make mad scientists great heroes!

Heroic Mad Scientists ftw.

>Dr. Frankenstein
>Literally pussies out the moment the thing wakes up.

I tried reading Frankenstein and I had to stop because I fucking hated Victor Frankenstein so much.

He discovers the secret of bestowing life on inanimate matter and keeps it to himself, then spends two years neglecting his friends and family to throw together a dude in his attic. He does a shitty job and the man he creates looks weird, all goth lips and translucent skin (but gorgeous silky black hair for some reason) and does terrifying things like seeking his attention and smiling pleasantly. Victor runs away from it and leaves the house to hang out with his friend, when they go back to his house his thought is "oh man he'll see that dude I made and it'll get awkward" but he comes back to find out that his creation is gone and he literally goes "fuck yes problem solved" without any regard for what sort of shenanigans his creation might get up to.

Then when his creation seeks revenge for being created without ever asking to be by killing Victor's brother and framing his family friend, he says nothing to exonerate her because "oh they wouldn't believe me" and just lets her be executed.

Then the creature asks Victor to make him a waifu so they can fuck off to South America together and at least have someone to share existence with and does it but pussies out again because he doesn't want to make an entire race of people who look kinda weird but are incredibly intelligent, passionate, and articulate.

Victor Frankenstein is an asshole. He's the worst mad scientist ever.

The moral of the story is not "don't play God," it's "take some fucking responsibility for your actions."

Yeah he was barely in the book, but the final chapter does provide a very interesting character study as he monologues his thought-processes and motivations. Jekyll was kind of a selfish a-hole in the book too; RL Stevenson pretty much predicted anonymity making people become dicks.

Wtf I hate Dr. Frankenstein now. I read some of the abridged version in high school but didn't realize he was that retarded. Worse than Dr. Jekyll t b h.

Frankenstein. Out of all the old horror stories his is my favorite. Have you seen curse of frankenstein? Fucking perfect

The SUPERIOR mad scientist, of course!

Put them in a book and GIVE IT TO MEEEEEE! The Maker can be their enemy.

I mostly agree with your summation, though I feel there are *some* mitigating circumstances for Victor's behavior, such as the combination of stress, overwork, social isolation, and failing health leading to what essentially was a nervous breakdown upon first confrontation with his creation.

I will not imply that this excuses his actions in any way. But it does make them more understandable.

And yes, "responsibility" is also my take on the moral of the story.

To say nothing of his persistence. Eggman endures more failures than any other mad scientist and still keeps grinding away with the same enthusiasm.

This. Best Futurama character.

>Forgetting one of the best mad scientist heroes of all time

>mad scientist thread
>no Doom
Are you folks crazy? He takes every iteration of the mad scientist and turns it up to 11. He lives in a castle, has futuristic gizmos, is a Sorcerer and clones and reanimated people all the time while talking in 3rd Person.

It's ironic that the Universal films tacked on and subsequently popularized that "Don't play God" moral to the bookends of the original Frankenstein films (presumably to skate around the Hayes Code), when even in their full context it's barely supported. At absolute best, the narrative merely concedes that it's not *advisable* to play god- but only because society itself is too stupid and reactionary to let outsiders thrive, because mobs leap at every opprotunity to persecute what they don't understand.

Which of course, doesn't apply to the actual book at all, and comes off sounding like some extremely biased Amish logic in regard to scientific progress.

To be fair, you must have an high IQ for people to say that to you.

Because comic authors are retarded humanities majors, who could never cut it in STEM.

If they could, they would be actual scientists.

Make a hole! Maddest Scientist Ever coming through!

Sivana is the best.

one could argue that half of the cast in the avengers are mad scientist whos objectives just happen to alling with the common good. Either they are people that think their inteligence gives them the right to make decissions for everybody. Richards, Tony, Hank. or they are the victims of they own science experiments, Banner.

>Shadman

Griffin
Why? Because unlike many other fictional mad scientists who are usually have some redeeming qualities Griffin is just a narcissistic piece of shit (in the original books at least, fuck the movies "the potion made me crazy" bullshit), a foul languaged albino who only wants to undo the potions effects because he realizes his invisibility doesn't work perfectly and it's inconvenient now that he lost interest in it. He insults basically everyone else in the book and constantly threatens to kill people while completely naked.

Because they are wizards with a different astetic

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... Is he not wearing pants in that image?

It gets hot doing science.

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You're right. Magic trumps science every time. I mean, there's a reason Stark's scared shitless of magic.

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this guy right here

>mad scientist
>no chad scientists
what went wrong?

>no chad scientists
Um, sweetie.

>Dr DOOM and some tony stark lokkin nigga
>chads
they're beta males, whens the last time dr dewm ever got some pussy?

>he doesn't know about Superior Tony
Where were you the last month user?

The pudding man

i dont read capekino, i just talk shit about characters i dont like, such as superman or the flash. shitposting about capeshit is more fun than reading capeshit

Sivana is on a whole other level from the rest.

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It's actually worth noting that Sivana codfied many tropes people usually associate with "mad scientists"
>Usually at least one trait: glasses, bald, or ugly
>Absolutely outlandish creations
>White lab coat (In all occasions)
>Desperate need to take over the world
>Usually a notable catchphrase (In Sivana's case "Curses, foiled again" if i recall correctly)

Sivana is truly the best.

The aftermath of the Fawcett vs DC case makes it easy to forget how absolutely huge Captain Marvel was at the time.

Well, you do you, but you do know that nobody's gonna take you seriously if you don't know what you're talking about, right?
By the way, what's with the picture of Stallone Cobra? Seems out of place.

>people wont take you seriously if you dont know shit
yes but only i know that i know nothing, others assume i know something, therefore they take me somewhat seriously and by using a few buzzwords and pretending to be a cuck/polkid i can ruse them

because of hiroshima.
Scientists are the closest we can go to gods/wizards.
Nuclear weapons gave them negative connotations.

>mad scientists
>rarely ever conducting experiments.
>more like mad engineer

This. Those guys trying to improve humankind through failed experiment after failed experiment are better suited for the term of scientists.

>shitposting about capeshit is more fun than reading capeshit
This is true, but Superman is great fuck you

yes this

>redditman is great

What about Wily?

cmon man you already played your hand by telling us you're the master ruseman.

time to slay pussy in another thread i guess

godspeed, user

>god

Do you think Lex Luthor has thousands of people hired solely to shitpost about superman

>he doesnt shill Lex Luthor (pbuh) for free

le god doesn't le exists morty

nigga just fucking opened up the console and noclip'd the fuck out

They are usually justified.

Those guys are small time

Humanity loves a good cautionary tale.

It's a familiar evil. An intellectual with pure intentions bring about catastrophe. Bernays, Skinner, Marx, etc.

Bonerdad is my favorite recent mad scientist villain.

> not evil, just disturbingly amoral and clinical
> goal oriented, but over time has drifted beyond the pale in what he has done to reach that goal
> cares for his creations, at least the successes
> has a radical battle with one of the protagonists mano a mano
> cool design
> turns children into living suitcases that deflect a debilitating curse and discards them once they have served their purpose

Mostly though, he just looks, acts, and speaks in a really fun manner.

The Chief is a bastard of the highest order, but I’ll be damned if he doesn’t have imagination.

Enthusiasm.

At least he feels enough gratitude to them to thank them by name before discarting them.
He also doesn´t hold grudges.

The difference between Wily and Eggman is Wily is classical and Eggman is eccentric.

I can't tell if this is a twist on that Rick & Morty copypasta or an actual reply. Memes have ruined me.

He would probably fund research into the cutting edge of AI just to create an anti-Superman shitpostbot.

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A little bit of both

has the thread already talked about Luthor as a mad scientist?