Most morally incomprehensible character in fiction?

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ExtraDebit

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Sean Hollyman said:
Does Dio Brando count? Is there anything else behind his actions apart from
'I'M GOING TO BE THE BIGGEST ASSHOLE POSSIBLE AND WILL RUIN EVERYONE'S LIVES'?
It is comprehensible, the world can only fuck you so much before you want to fuck it back. It's like the joker, "some people just want to see the world burns" how hard is that to fathom?
 

Relish in Chaos

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Ubiquitous Duck said:
I'm assuming you mean morally 'reprehensible' not 'incomprehensible'.

The Joker from Batman has got to be pretty high on these lists.

I think it is his awareness of what he is doing and subsequent lack of caring that make him so (This aspect is dependent on the iteration of The Joker you are considering though, because I believe he has been marketed as an out-and-out psychopath with no awareness, but at other times as a man thoroughly in control of what he is doing and well aware. So the latter would surely be regarded as more morally reprehensible).
No, I do mean "incomprehensible"; as in, you can't understand why the hell they do certain things based on their crazy beliefs about the world. "Reprehensible" just means really, really bad. Like, someone earlier mentioned Dio Brando, but - aside from what we learn his ultimate goal is in Part 6 - he's doing all this nasty shit to JoJo so he can crush his spirit and overtake him as the heir of the Joestar fortune. Of course, shit happens, Dio changes, and...yeah, I won't spoil anymore for those who haven't read or seen JoJo's Bizarre Adventure, but ironically, even though he's the least developed in his introductory arc, his motives make more sense than the bullshit "Heaven" stuff in Part 3 and 6.

So you answering with the Joker still makes sense, because of all the orderly yet disorderly plots he constructs purely to push Batman over the edge and kill him (even though, if the Joker got Batman to kill him, he wouldn't even be alive to celebrate that fact).
 

Relish in Chaos

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Sorry for the double post.

I forgot to mention Percy Wetmore from The Green Mile. Especially how he treated Eduard Delacroix, starting from a simple misunderstanding over nothing.

Pluvia said:
Surprised no one has said the bad guy from No Country For Old Men yet.
He's a hitman. His backstory is largely unknown, but unlike the others, he's quite consistent in what he does and carries out his murders for money.

(Christ, that was a damn good film; I feel like watching it again now.)

McMindflayer said:
As for OP's question of Walter's reasons

So, Walter was this big badass vampire hunter. He worked with Alucard and Integra's father to go kill nazi vampires and probably did a whole ton of other missions. As a big badass vampire hunter he spent some time wondering if he could take out Alucard. But Alucard was A) working for Walter's employer, and B) never had his full potential unlocked. So killing him underpowered wouldn't be a true test of skills. Gotta understand, Walter is a warrior, spent his time being the best badass vampire hunter and here was the king of vampires right next to him.

Skip ahead a couple of decades, Integra is a little girl, Walter is old and serving as a butler to her uncle, and Alucard is sealed up in his cage until Integra, a hellsing, is old enough to let him out. Recognize that this might be never.
So, The vampire nazi's who Walter didn't kill show up, and are like "HEy Walter, you wanna kill Alucard? We can totally help." And Walter's like "DO I! but he's sealed up and I'm old" So they offer him vampire powers to give him his young reflexes again, if he works for them in releasing alucard and setting up a scenario where he would get all his powers. Walter agrees because he totally wants to see if he could have taken on the best vampire ever.

Full motivation and storyline of Walter. It's silly, but then it's the same motivation everyone else went after Alucard for except the original Hellsing, Van Hellsing.

As a side note: Van Hellsing is, while getting almost no screen time, shown to be the best vampire hunter ever because he took down Alucard when he was at the height of his powers. All the stuff you saw him doing at the end of the series. Van Hellsing had to face that down to defeat Alucard.
OK, that makes a little bit more sense...but as you said, it's silly because I don't see why Walter would put his desire to fulfil his curiosity of whether or not he could kill the greatest vampire over the safety of the family he'd been serving for at least fifty years. And there was just no hint that he felt this way about Alucard; they even seemed like quite good friends.
 

Belaam

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The Erudite community in Divergent

Their whole plan is to exterminate the pacifists by making the military hallucinate that they're in a training exercise. Not only is it a ridiculously stupid plan that depends on no one else in the community caring that you committed genocide, but it's completely unnecessary. You're up against a group whose whole reason for existing is making personal sacrifices to protect eveyone and it doesn't occur to anyone in the "super-intelligent" group to just tell the super meek pacifists that, "unless you quit being sole rulers of this society, we will have an armed rebellion and people will die"?

Among the dumbest bad guys in recent literary history who are somehow known as the smartest group. Which makes their reprehensible morality incomprehensible. :p
 

Johnny Novgorod

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Quintley said:
Johnny Novgorod said:
He thinks he's sleeping or used to sleep? Because Othello's marrying Desdemona and nothing seems to indicate an unhappy couple. Also, when in the play does Iago conjecture his wife's infidelity, more specifically with Othello?
(Jumps in)

Iago's monologue at the end of Act one, last scene 3'
(about Othello) " I hate the Moor, And it is thought abroad that 'twixt my sheets He?s done my office." ie theres a rumour that he slept with Iago's wife.

(jumps out)
But why phrase it like that? He says "I hate the Moor", then follows with an AND about him and his wife. Wouldn't he hate him BECAUSE he cheated on him, rather than simply tack that reason at the end of a statement? Besides I don't buy that excuse at all. I don't think Othello would betray Iago's friendship, and I don't think Iago would believe such hearsay at all. It feels more like Iago is trying to justify his actions with ridiculous incriminations. Of Cassio he later says "He hath a daily beauty in his life that makes me ugly", again as if trying to justify throwing him into the plot as well.
 

Zontar

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Rellik San said:
Q... seriously Q.

A man who will go into any extremes to test humanity but yet seems to love it's capacity for endless growth, granted Voyager kinda ruined him, but in TNG Q is willing to bet all and then throw infinite odds against humanity for the lulz, the way the series ended though clearly shows despite this, Q is rooting for us to become more than we can be.

So we have a god power who is actively working against us whilst secretly wanting us to win.

If Q was a DnD alignment, he'd be Chaotic Dick.
I wouldn't say he's actively working against us, more that he's trying to push us in the right direction.

Humans where arrogant, so he bloodied our nose with the Borg. Picard first talked about how calm, cool and collected humanity was when they first met, he set in motion the chain of events which let do "NO! NOOOOOOOOO" (smashing of the ship case window). He's pushing humanity in the direction he wants them to go in.

Though then again, there is a fan theory that he's self aware, and his antics are simply to allow his universe to go on since once the "true gods" are no longer entertained the universe comes to an end. Actually quite horrifying if you think about it.
 

Neverhoodian

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shootthebandit said:
Neverhoodian said:
Anakin Skywalker's reasoning behind joining the dark side was pretty stupid.

"I'm going to betray my friends and colleagues, join the obviously evil Sith, destroy the Jedi Order, slaughter a bunch of children and plunge the entire galaxy into darkness because my wife might die if I don't! It's the right thing to do! I'm a good person!"

And then he goes and tries to kill Padme (who's still pregnant) in a fit of rage anyway. Brilliant.

It's made all the sillier when stuff like the CGI Clone Wars series tries to retcon him into a wise and noble mentor figure. It's like he's a completely different person.
Its not incomprehensible. Yes its fucking dumb but he was kind of (in the loosest sense) justified. He was very much manipulated by the emperor and he was far to irrational (from the offset) to be a jedi anyway so it was inevitable.
You have a point. I guess I just find it hard to believe that he'd go to such extremes at the drop of a hat. Then again, Anakin was always a defiant little git who never listened to reason.

shootthebandit said:
Are the CGI clone wars actually canon?
It is according to the LucasFilm Story Group. It's one of the few things besides the films that survived the Great Canon Purge.

http://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/Canon
Rellik San said:
Q... seriously Q.

A man who will go into any extremes to test humanity but yet seems to love it's capacity for endless growth, granted Voyager kinda ruined him, but in TNG Q is willing to bet all and then throw infinite odds against humanity for the lulz, the way the series ended though clearly shows despite this, Q is rooting for us to become more than we can be.

So we have a god power who is actively working against us whilst secretly wanting us to win.

If Q was a DnD alignment, he'd be Chaotic Dick.
From what I've seen of him in TNG (never watched Voyager), Q started off as an antagonist, then gradually shifted to the role of enigmatic mentor and even occasional ally. While initially contemptuous of humanity, he eventually started to harbor a grudging respect thanks to his encounters with Picard. A major turning point was his temporary banishment by the rest of the Q Continuum. Being stripped of his powers was nothing short of terrifying for him, and he was at one point willing to take his own life were it not for the crew of the Enterprise. Eventually Q came to appreciate humanity and even indirectly help them in his own eccentric way, dropping hints for Picard or nudging him towards some revelation.
 

Colour Scientist

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Johnny Novgorod said:
But why phrase it like that? He says "I hate the Moor", then follows with an AND about him and his wife. Wouldn't he hate him BECAUSE he cheated on him, rather than simply tack that reason at the end of a statement? Besides I don't buy that excuse at all. I don't think Othello would betray Iago's friendship, and I don't think Iago would believe such hearsay at all. It feels more like Iago is trying to justify his actions with ridiculous incriminations. Of Cassio he later says "He hath a daily beauty in his life that makes me ugly", again as if trying to justify throwing him into the plot as well.
I think with Othello, you can only really speculate.
There's potential jealously over the promotion of Othello over Iago.
Potential jealous over his marriage, not necessarily because Iago covets Desdemona but because his own marriage has become stale and he envies their infatuation with each other, the newness and excitement of their relationship.

I was probably better equipped to discuss this a few years ago though, it's been a while.
Quintley said:
(Jumps in)

Iago's monologue at the end of Act one, last scene 3'
(about Othello) " I hate the Moor, And it is thought abroad that 'twixt my sheets He?s done my office." ie theres a rumour that he slept with Iago's wife.

(jumps out)
I always thought that was something to throw off the audience, justify his actions.
Iago tries to manipulate everyone in the play, including the audience.
 

Vault101

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Zontar said:
I wouldn't say he's actively working against us, more that he's trying to push us in the right direction.

Humans where arrogant, so he bloodied our nose with the Borg. Picard first talked about how calm, cool and collected humanity was when they first met, he set in motion the chain of events which let do "NO! NOOOOOOOOO" (smashing of the ship case window). He's pushing humanity in the direction he wants them to go in.

Though then again, there is a fan theory that he's self aware, and his antics are simply to allow his universe to go on since once the "true gods" are no longer entertained the universe comes to an end. Actually quite horrifying if you think about it.
I thought he was just fucking around....XD
Relish in Chaos said:
Sorry for the double post.

I forgot to mention Percy Wetmore from The Green Mile. Especially how he treated Eduard Delacroix, starting from a simple misunderstanding over nothing.
I got the impression Percy was just a spoiled kid with a sadistic streak, something about Delacroix just brought it out (probably his being "weak") interestingly it could be a similar effect to the "standford prison experiment"...some people are just cruel

the scene with the electric chair...I think Percy didn't actually know what was going to happen (the look his his face says that much), but he just wanted to see, it might not have even been about Delacroix in the end
 

TheRightToArmBears

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Isn't this pretty much the entire concept behind Lovecraftian horror? Terrifying beings that are too vast and alien for humans to understand.

Now, given that he might well have sound reasons (Fargo is the only Coen brothers movie I haven't seen yet and the series isn't done yet), but so far Malvo in Fargo seems to have very little motivation other than that he enjoys it. He didn't have to get involved with Lester, he didn't have to respond to Gus whe he was leaving Duluth police station and he didn't need to fuck with Stavros as dramatically as he has. Oh, and taking a shit in front of someone. Pretty strange.
 

LongAndShort

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Johnny Novgorod said:
Quintley said:
Johnny Novgorod said:
He thinks he's sleeping or used to sleep? Because Othello's marrying Desdemona and nothing seems to indicate an unhappy couple. Also, when in the play does Iago conjecture his wife's infidelity, more specifically with Othello?
(Jumps in)

Iago's monologue at the end of Act one, last scene 3'
(about Othello) " I hate the Moor, And it is thought abroad that 'twixt my sheets He?s done my office." ie theres a rumour that he slept with Iago's wife.

(jumps out)
But why phrase it like that? He says "I hate the Moor", then follows with an AND about him and his wife. Wouldn't he hate him BECAUSE he cheated on him, rather than simply tack that reason at the end of a statement? Besides I don't buy that excuse at all. I don't think Othello would betray Iago's friendship, and I don't think Iago would believe such hearsay at all. It feels more like Iago is trying to justify his actions with ridiculous incriminations. Of Cassio he later says "He hath a daily beauty in his life that makes me ugly", again as if trying to justify throwing him into the plot as well.
It's been about six or seven years since I read and discussed the play, but I recall hearing a pretty convincing argument that Iago is actually a closet racist. Iago believing the hearsay about Othello and his wife is more an attempt to convince himself that he is justified in his hate (I'm not racist! He slept with my wife!). I remember arguing this made sense given the context the play was written in and Shakespeare's own talent for subversive commentary on race relations. After all, if race wasn't a factor why would you make the title character a Moor?

Just my two cents. But hey, as I said, it's been fucking ages since I read the damn thing and I never had to put in as much effort into thinking about it as I did other plays like Hamlet, so I'm probably talking out my arse. Happens more often then not.
 

teebeeohh

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shootthebandit said:
Neverhoodian said:
Anakin Skywalker's reasoning behind joining the dark side was pretty stupid.

"I'm going to betray my friends and colleagues, join the obviously evil Sith, destroy the Jedi Order, slaughter a bunch of children and plunge the entire galaxy into darkness because my wife might die if I don't! It's the right thing to do! I'm a good person!"

And then he goes and tries to kill Padme (who's still pregnant) in a fit of rage anyway. Brilliant.

It's made all the sillier when stuff like the CGI Clone Wars series tries to retcon him into a wise and noble mentor figure. It's like he's a completely different person.
Its not incomprehensible. Yes its fucking dumb but he was kind of (in the loosest sense) justified. He was very much manipulated by the emperor and he was far to irrational (from the offset) to be a jedi anyway so it was inevitable.

Are the CGI clone wars actually canon?
everything Lucas touched personally is blessed with being canon. this means that the Mandalorians are now pacifists and Jango Fett was never one of them, just a guy who stole a set of armor. Yes, the clone army makes even less sense now.

the things touched by lucas are also the only things not effected by the great purge.
 

Thyunda

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Kitsune Hunter said:
Sean Hollyman said:
Does Dio Brando count? Is there anything else behind his actions apart from
'I'M GOING TO BE THE BIGGEST ASSHOLE POSSIBLE AND WILL RUIN EVERYONE'S LIVES'?
This, first time me and friends watched JoJo, the second the first episode ended, we just said "Dio's a ****!"

OT: Would Tobi from Naruto count? I mean he set up the Akatsuki, started a war and planned to put everyone in an infinite genjutsu all because

The girl he liked died

*face palm*

It's so completely stupid
And here I thought Tobi's motivation was that he hated Naruto as much as I do.
 

Joseph Alexander

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Zac Jovanovic said:
I'm surprised no else mentioned him but...

cause Batman is easy to figure out, hes an emotionally dead 9-yr old in an adult body fulfilling a fantasy for vengeance over the random death of his parents which his own fear from something in a Zorro stand-in film caused.

he is trying to exert his will and order over a chaotic universe, and the Joker is the perfect nemesis for him because the Joker accepts and embodies that chaos.


granted that all changes when he makes his first(and only) actual friend, finally start to progress past a child screaming "vengeance" at the universe, and stop being an icon of fear.
and instead begins standing for justice.
 

sumanoskae

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Well, I can think of lots who are either inconsistently written or just plain stupid ("It is not a thing you can comprehend"), but I'm having trouble thinking of a character with motivations that I didn't at least comprehend, no matter how insane or illogical it was.

I would say... this guy.

Admittedly, I've yet to finish the game, but all of The HIV Wizard's (That's what I call him) dialogue sounds like he wrote a big philosophical speech on his way to confront Ryu, but he lost the notes on his way and just had to make things up as he went along.

Then, when his companions confronted him and asked "What the fuck was that?", he was to embarrassed to admit the truth so he just went with the flow and acted like these were his ideals all along. Now every time he runs into Ryu he tries to explain his motivations in a way that make sense, but he just keeps making everyone more confused.

TL;DR: This guys plans are a fine-ass madness
 

Thyunda

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I've noticed a fair few anime villains/anti-heroes getting mentioned whenever a discussion like this comes up, and while I don't watch much anime, I do have to listen to endless lectures on various characters and their bizarrely contrived motivation. I've come to the conclusion that...perhaps...anime is really not the bastion of excellent characterisation and writing that I have been informed it is, and that maybe it really is just cartoons with excessive gore.
In terms of those characters, it always comes down to a sense of scale, doesn't it? Batman fights criminals out of some sense of revenge for his dead parents, while Anime Villain wants to destroy the world because someone was mean to him one time. Also there's the old "let's take creepy things, apply them to usually non-creepy things, and create TEN YEAR OLD MURDERER-RAPIST TWINS!"
I forget which anime that is. Begins with an H, I think.

What I'm trying to say, I think, is that anime characters totally shouldn't count in this thread because their motivations are often far too contrived and forced to be legitimately, in-fiction incomprehensible, and are just plain silly.

On a more relevant note, and eerily similar to the whole complaint about anime up there, look at the villains from Modern Warfare 2 and 3. This character wanted war, for whatever reason, so they staged a massacre and RUSSIA STEAMROLLED OVER EUROPE AND INVADED THE US! (From a really strange entry point)
 

sumanoskae

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Gent said:
Trevor, in GTAV. All the scenes he was in were amazing, because the actor is great at voicing Trevor and the people who wrote the dialogue are good, but it feels like about 50 different people wrote those scenes. One moment I'm smashing a guy's nuts to a pulp with a wrench, and the other I'm hitting a bike thief with my car and commenting on how I never really liked bullies. It doesen't make sense. It's like a thousand differend chefs were ordered to make a small part of a meal, but they could not communicate with each other. As good as all the chefs are, it won't fit together.
I agree; Trevor acts like he has fucking Alzheimer's.