abstract
| - For some reason, capital E Evil and most villains just don't get humor. And we don't just mean in a "doesn't understand the joke" sense, they're usually completely humorless or they're cackling because they're complete lunatics and "Eeeeevil!" Maybe it's because of some implicit assumption that "laughter heals the soul", so someone who doesn't laugh or laughs at the wrong things can't be right in the head. Perhaps it's that humor requires perspective, which villains usually don't have in abundance. The point is, you'll never see a villain who moonlights as a successful standup comic in the Muggle world. This manifests in two different ways.
* Type 1: The first is as a complete lack of humor, the villain is either incapable of understanding humor (like an evil Tin Man) or can, but they're so stone hearted and taciturn they find nothing funny, never even cracking witty remarks or exchanging repartee with the hero. While there are plenty of stoic Anti Heroes, heroes as a whole can generally at least laugh at least once in a while. Understandably, they often get placed opposite a wise cracking hero who uses them as an unwitting Straight Man.
* Type 2: The second is as an especially sick and twisted sense of humor, where a "good joke" to them is either not funny to normal people at all, way past Dead Baby Comedy, or a horrifying torture to the pranked. At times so horrifying it drives them insane. These villains tend to have quite a bit of dark wit to them, and if they embrace a "prankster" motif may occasionally actually be funny, in a dark sort of way. You can expect these deranged comedians to face especially straight laced heroes who "never get the joke", say "You're Insane!", and get thanked for it. Contrast Affably Evil. Laughably Evil is this trope's polar opposite. Also see No Sense of Humor. Often, this may result in a Laugh with Me moment. Examples of Type 1
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