Finishing up my Anti-Villain lists, we come to the fifth and final kind of Anti-Villains, known at TV Tropes as "Ineffectual Sympathetic Villains". These are villains who try to be evil and dangerous but just kind of well...suck. Note that a villain failing is not necessarily this if they actually put up a fight. No, these are villains who are consistently and effortlessly beaten by the good guys and are really just kind of a joke. Expect to see a lot of lame villains.
Beginning the DC examples with the original Doctor Light, who was especially this in the Teen Titans Anime.
Was this before Geoff Johns reinvented him and made him a more dangerous threat. Green Arrow even refers to him as "one of Hal's old losers"
Like Black Hand, he was this before being made cool.
Widely considered one of the worst comic book villains ever conceived.
Seriously. The CONDIMENT KING. Well, at least if you want some ketchup for your hot dog or hamburger you know who to go to.
The DCAU version
When in the mainstream DC Universe, they find they are less effective and dangerous and are rather easily defeated by the Justice League. This is because in the Justice League's world, good is always destined to beat evil, resulting in the CSA becoming badly de-powered.
Do I really need to explain this one?
The DCAU version is laughably harmless
The Silver Age version. In the oldest Batman comics he was actually very similar to his portrayal in the Dark Knight, but then he got neutered in the fifties and was terrible in both that decade and the sixties. Than the seventies and eighties came along...
Pretty much the Rhino to Superman's Spider-Man
Except as Charaxes that is.
Another crappy villain from the Golden and Silver Ages.
The Young Justice version
Beginning the Marvel examples with Abe Jenkins as the Beetle
Though he started out as a dangerous foe to the Hulk, it eventually got to the point where he became little more than the Hulk's glorified punching bag.
In "Avengers Earth's Mightiest Heroes"
As Water Wizard
In "Avengers Earth's Mightiest Heroes"
Ditto
In my Marvel Universe. Though fairly competent as hitmen, against any kind of superhero, they're no threat. Both Spider-Man and Black Cat make fools out of them.
Also known as the Human Fly. He's stupid either way.
This extends to my Marvel Universe's version
Many of their rank and file goons are this. But of course they're meant to be expendable.
The movie version
He's usually this, but not always. There are times (such as in Kraven's Last Hunt) where he's surprisingly dangerous.
Yeah. They actually did this.
With a name like that it's pretty much invoked.
The classic version of the character.
In the movie due to being a phoney played by a drug addict actor.
Is usually this but not always
The Ultimate Marvel universe version
And acknowledged repeatedly in-universe
In "Wolverine and the X-Men" to the point that when he was captured one time Quicksilver had no intention of freeing him again because he knew how useless Toad was.
Though under Ed Brubaker he was made more dangerous and intimidating.
He's just not as good at using the Vulture's flight harness as Adrian Toomes.
Especially in "Avengers Earth's Mightiest Heroes" where he's the Wasp's punching bag.
Tries to be the Harley Quinn of the Marvel Universe but she's just not effective enough.
What they're frequently turned into
Beginning the Star Wars examples with the pathetic and hapless cannon fodder known as Battle Droids. Though having said that there are times in the Clone Wars show when they're surprisingly dangerous.
For most of the Clone Wars they were this though there were also times when they were surprisingly dangerous and effective.
Pretty much the classic Star Wars example, whether or not he shoots first.
The other classic Star Wars example
Most of the time
One of the less dangerous Dark Jedi around.
Beginning the Cartoon examples with Baxter Stockman, who is this in the 80s show and sometimes the 2012 show.
One of the poster boys of "Too Dumb To Live"
Along with their boss, they were this in the 80s cartoon.
In the 80s cartoon
Though he does have some good ideas, for the most part he's a fairly incompetent villain.
One of Hades' two grossly incompetent henchmen.
The other of Hades' two grossly incompetent henchmen.
Frequently turned into this
Like Bebop, he's completely bereft of anything resembling common sense.
In the 80s Cartoon
The classic cartoon example
Frequently. He's also always this in Megatron's eyes.
