I want to comprise a list (Of villains)...

[Naruzeldamaster]

Who didn't just 'go down'
They went down explicitly because they were how they say 'high on their own shit' .
I don't want to start with video games (Because we'd be here all day) But movies I'm curious, Books I'm especially curious.
Like there's getting your just due comeuppance
And then there's getting your comeuppance BECAUSE you were so cocky, not that you were cocky in and of itself. (Since Confidence / Cocky-ness on it's own isn't a bad thing for bad guys)

Note that it doesn't have to result in their death, although that is a common outcome.

 

[pmmg]

I am not sure what comeuppance has to do with creating a list.

Are you just wanting a list, like

Darth Vader,
Voldemort,
Sauron...

Or do you want something where comeuppance mattered?

 

[Naruzeldamaster]

I am not sure what comeuppance has to do with creating a list.

Are you just wanting a list, like

Darth Vader,
Voldemort,
Sauron...

Or do you want something where comeuppance mattered?

I mean a list of villains (like you just did) who's comeuppance and/or subsequent Death was the direct result of their own actions and/or getting too cocky. Usually both.

Like Clayton from Tarzan (Disney version) is a good one.
Or Cruella Devil In 101 Dalmatians'. (Again, the Disney version)
I'm aware my examples are from Disney, but that's the vibe.

 

[A. E. Lowan]

I mean a list of villains (like you just did) who's comeuppance and/or subsequent Death was the direct result of their own actions and/or getting too cocky. Usually both.

Like Clayton from Tarzan (Disney version) is a good one.
Or Cruella Devil In 101 Dalmatians'. (Again, the Disney version)
I'm aware my examples are from Disney, but that's the vibe.

Nothing wrong with using Disney references. They, and other studios like DreamWorks and Pixar, are masterful storytellers and often turn to the idea of the villain who destroys themselves with their own avarice.

One of my personal favorite shows is Faith/The Great Doctor. It's a K-drama portal fantasy about a great historic general kidnapping a modern day plastic surgeon because he needs her to save a princess, and the main villain definitely does it to himself. In fact, K-dramas may be the way to find new models of villainy.

 

[ThinkerX]

From my writings, that would be 'Silam the Sorcerer' from my 'Empire' series. Silam and his 'brother,' Li-Pang, were avatars of Lovecraftian entities. But while Li-Pang was calm and rational, Silam was a monumentally arrogant, homicidal showman. He attempted to 'artistically' assassinate the Emperor via proxies, then took a direct hand when that failed, only to have his 'shell' (body) killed. He did acquire another body, but still failed to learn from the experience.

 

[ThrillhoBaggins]

Yeah, I think almost all Disney and Pixar films end this way. Which is a shame because, to me, it is a really uninspired ending. You really only get three villains in every story that ever exists and I find that to be a waste. You really only get the villain who loses because he defeats himself which is this, the villain who is just so cartoonishly evil that there is no way the writer would let them win, and then you get the villain who is only a villain because the hero just doesn't like them.

There are rare stories where you get a villain who isn't evil, doesn't defeat themselves, and has a really compelling story. Those stories are, in my opinion, the best ones. Some of them get the love they rightfully deserve, but there just aren't that many stories like it.

 

[casval]

My mind went to Tom (of Tom & Jerry) and Wile E. Coyote, though they are both sort of villain protagonists.

 

[ThrillhoBaggins]

I was thinking like when the villain turns on their own allies and then loses either because they have no allies left or because they ally they turned on joined the other team and became important in defeating them.