Faux Affably Evil

Faux Affably Evil is a term referring to villains who, at a glance, are similar to those who are the Affably Evil type, but with a lack of sincerity to their affable and sympathetic nature. Such villains are rarely, if ever wrathful or patronizing in front of the heroes, but they do not actually show genuine empathy towards others. As such, they are sounding polite but not actually so, which causes their villainy to stand out more rather than less.

In some works, Faux Affably Evil villains break the Fourth Wall and reveal their true nature to the audience, while pretending to be nice in front of the protagonists. Arrogant villains who give a sarcastic apology to their foes also fall under this category. However, the characters of the story and audience alike might not be aware of the Faux Affably Evil villain's true colors until they reveal them. They could appear very much as a friend or ally before betraying the heroes. Good examples include Syndrome, Lots-o'-Huggin' Bear, Stinky Pete, Ernesto de la Cruz, Sir Miles Axlerod, Evelyn Deavor, Dawn Bellwether, Prince Hans, Ego, Mysterio, Rex Dangervest, Chef Saltbaker, The Beldam, Malty S. Melromarc, Commander Rourke, Frank Fontaine, King Zenoheld, Piella Bakewell, and Professor Marmalade. These kinds of villains are commonly regarded as twist villains who can even have the audience fooled by their flattery and "friendly" attitudes.

Despite their lack of sincerity, some of these villains can actually be remorseful due to the fact that sometimes the hero can reach them in heart (e.g. Anti-Pops and Bryce Walker). They also can be insecure, tragic, redeemable and/or honorable (e.g. Darth Vader, Gus Fring, King Andrias, Davy Jones, Erik Killmonger, Silco, Jinx, Lord Business, Dutch van der Linde, Lex Luthor, and Soldier Boy). In fact, some Faux Affably Evil villains can even be heroic in some cases (e.g. Eric Cartman, Peter Griffin, Mr. Krabs, Roger Smith, Chloé Bourgeois, Dan Mandel, A-Train, and Kokichi Oma).

Note: Just because a villain is extremely evil and lacks any affable traits doesn't mean that they automatically fall under this category if they're violent and hostile towards everyone without showing any false politeness (e.g. Biff Tannen, Dabi, Montgomery de la Cruz, Shao Kahn, Ercole Visconti, Randall, Craster, Karl Tanner, Kalmaar, Yoon Gwi-nam, Horned King, Kash D. Langford, Kid Buu, White Dragon, William Wharton, Evil Ash, Victor Krane, Ryker Grimborn, Kaigaku, Badger, José Castillo, Evelyn Claythorne and Randall Boggs).

• However, this rule does not apply to villains like Zhan Tiri, Lord Commander, and Edwin Epps, who are hostile to almost everyone yet they are superficially polite to at least one person.
• Also, if a villain is truly affable only to the people they care about, but not genuinely affable to anyone else (e.g. Obito Uchiha, Walter White, Tywin Lannister, Lalo Salamanca, Yuno Gasai, Dan Tae Joo, Jinx, Ultron, Silco, Himiko Toga, Herrscher of the Void, Kars, Hiro Shishigami, and Roadhog), then they still fall under this category.