Discussion: Does Nale have style

[Amon Star]

I was on the TV tropes wiki the other day & this thought suddenly came to me; is :nale: one of these (http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/MagnificentBastard)? Or one of these (http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/SmugSnake)?

Personally, I would say he is the former, though he has moments of the latter. However, I would like to hear the opinion of others on the matter. Also, I would like to discuss what everything thinks Rich intended him to be.

So, who wants to go first?

[Scatman]

He is stylized as the evil twin that is over-complicated and has an evil goatee, these things have attributed to his failure once or more. He's like the side villian that wants the spotlight long enough to further his plans to his greater goal beyond destroying the Order. He's a cliche.

[Taliesan]

Nope. He is a (intentionally) smug snake.

[Vargtass]

To quote from the linked page:

"A Magnificent Bastard becomes a Smug Snake the moment their ego overtakes their awesome. Part of being a Smug Snake is not only overestimating ones self, but also underestimating one's opponents."

So, smug snake it is, quite clearly, in my opinion.

[Querzis]

Hes my favorite character...but I thought it was quite obvious he was a Smug Snake. The whole point of Nale is to have the biggest ego ever and he know it!

...but of course I think thats what awesome about him: the fact that hes doing it on purpose and dont seems to care at all about being defeated because of it. Which would make him a magnificient bastard...or not :smallconfused: . Seriously, him and his brother are a lot more alike then they think. «Remember Elan, it doesnt matter if you win or lose, as long as you look really cool doing it». If they are cool or not is mainly a matter of taste but you gotta admit that both twins seems to live by that sentence.

Anyway, being a Smug Snake or a Magnificient bastard is pretty much just a matter of personnal opinions in the first place.

[Demented]

He's stylized, but not stylish, and his style could be quantified as a negative number.

[The Extinguisher]

I'd say it's more of an imaginary number :smallamused:

[Amon Star]

So the general consensus is that :nale:'s a Smug Smake & that was his intended role in the story. However, a lot of you think he's a lot more stylish then many of his breed, just not enough to make him a Magnificent Bastard. I would have to agree with this, even though I originally said he was a MB. Most because of what Vargtass quoted. However, I will disagree with what he said about Beardie underestimating his opponents. If anything, he overestimates them. As shown here (http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0362.html).

On a side note, out of the actual MBs that we have seen, who's the most Magnificent? :xykon: or Shojo?

[Halvormerlinaky]

I'd say it's more of an imaginary number :smallamused:

I see what you did there...

[EvilElitest]

Nale seems to be a smug snake struggling to over come his natural tendencies and become a true bastard. He certainly has the potential
from
EE

[David Argall]

He thinks he does.

[Bunlett]

:xykon: has got to be a magnificent bastard. The way he let Miko escape just for her to warn Azure city at the last moment was brilliant.

[TreesOfDeath]

Nale WANTS to be a magnifcent bastard, but plainly isn't smart enough. Hes just a pompous fool, and would therefore qualify as a smug snake

[stsasser]

C) University of Phoenix blonde?

[Lupy]

Smug Snake, but he wants to be a magnificant bastard.

[Amon Star]

:xykon: has got to be a magnificent bastard. The way he let Miko escape just for her to warn Azure city at the last moment was brilliant.

Well, the actual plan was so she would lead them The Gate (:mitd: "What Gate?"), but I see your point. However, I will say that is nothing compared to what :xykon: did at the end of Start of Darkness. Calculated evil at its finest. For someone with a self confessed short attention span, when he DOES bother to plan, old bony is up there with the best of them.
C) University of Phoenix blonde?

Is that a reference to Phoenix Wright or Legally Blond?

[Ancalagon]

Nale wants to be a "smart", "stylish" "evil" "mastermind" and also claims to have reached that goal.

I have to admit... he actually does moderately well on the "evil" part.

[zuzak]

I don't think Shojo or Xykon is a MB. While Shojo did manipulate things from behind the scenes, his knowledge of the gates was more important than his ability to come up with a plan. I mean, his plan was basically "find Xykon."

Xykon's intelligence and manipulation are very minimal. His plans are equally simple, "find the gates." One of the requirements, as I understand, for a MB, is that they at least should succeed. The only reasons they don't are bad luck, a miscalculation, or an unforseen detail. Xykon's plans (when they even exist) are pretty shallow. If it hadn't been for Redcloak, Xykon probably would have lost Azure City though carelessness. An MB does not fail because he did something stupid, reckless, or careless.

That said, I haven't read The Start of Darkness, so I probably don't know something about him.

BTW, Nale is a snake.

[Amon Star]

Nale wants to be a "smart", "stylish" "evil" "mastermind" and also claims to have reached that goal.

I have to admit... he actually does moderately well on the "evil" part.

Though I would agree that :nale: isn't quite a mastermind, he is reasonable intelligent & has a certain style about him. However, his biggest flaw is that he's a petty little lunatic. His only motivation seems to be revenge on people for minor slights. In fact, Rich has out & out said he is insane. Nonetheless, as :sabine: said [url=http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0062.html]Beardie has potential].
I don't think Shojo or Xykon is a MB. While Shojo did manipulate things from behind the scenes, his knowledge of the gates was more important than his ability to come up with a plan. I mean, his plan was basically "find Xykon."

Xykon's intelligence and manipulation are very minimal. His plans are equally simple, "find the gates." One of the requirements, as I understand, for a MB, is that they at least should succeed. The only reasons they don't are bad luck, a miscalculation, or an unforseen detail. Xykon's plans (when they even exist) are pretty shallow. If it hadn't been for Redcloak, Xykon probably would have lost Azure City though carelessness. An MB does not fail because he did something stupid, reckless, or careless.

That said, I haven't read The Start of Darkness, so I probably don't know something about him.

BTW, Nale is a snake.

Yeah, :xykon: is at his finest in Start of Darkness. However, I agree with you about Bony losing Azure City, but only because it is now irrelevant to his goals, which is using a Gate (:mitd: "Huh?"). Skull Face gets bored easily, so prefers the brute force approach to his problems. However, he can scheme when necessary, but that is mainly seen in SoD.