If a character in a story scares the hell out of you, chances are he’s a Chaotic Evil. From ax-crazy psychopaths to nightmarish clowns, from cold-hearted monsters to eldritch abominations, these guys are known for their complete lack of empathy, their nihilistic outlook on life, and their sick sense of humor.
From the easydamus character alignment page:
A chaotic evil character does whatever his greed, hatred, and lust for destruction drive him to do. He is hot-tempered, vicious, arbitrarily violent, and unpredictable. If he is simply out for whatever he can get, he is ruthless and brutal. If he is committed to the spread of evil and chaos, he is even worse…it represents the destruction not only of beauty and life but also of the order on which beauty and life depend.
According to tvtropes, characters who fall under this alignment can be categorized by five types, in decreasing order of redeemability:
- A Chaotic Good who took things a little too far and inadvertently fell into evil. Can usually be brought back with a heel realization if they haven’t already crossed the moral event horizon. Scar from Fullmetal Alchemist is a good example of this type (incidentally, he’s also my favorite character from that series).
- A character with a very feral nature who believes that everyone is out to get him and thus ends up killing everyone in order to protect himself. Often manipulated by the Big Bad to do his dirty work. He doesn’t really kill out of malice, though, so there may still be a possibility of redemption.
- Committed to chaos before evil. Can be convinced to team up with the heroes, if only because they happen to share the same enemy. For these characters, their freedom is the most important thing–though don’t trust them too much, or else you’re liable to end up with a knife in your back.
- Committed to evil before chaos. These guys will never team up with the heroes, but they may team up with the Big Bad, even becoming one of his mooks if it gives them more opportunities to unleash fiery mayhem of death on the world.
- True Chaotic Evil. These are the most dangerous, because they have absolutely no loyalties and absolutely no compunction. The best you can hope for is to kill them before they wipe out your entire civilization.
Fortunately, the Chaotic Evil’s weakness is his inability to put together a competent organization. If he has any plans, they’ll usually fizzle out because they’re too haphazard. When the Chaotic Evil overlaps with the Chessmaster, however, things can get really, really dangerous.
My favorite Chaotic Evil is definitely the Joker from the Dark Knight. He is, without a doubt, the most dangerous incarnation of this trope that I’ve ever seen. Running a close second is Kefka from Final Fantasy VI. Best final fantasy villain of all time, hands down–he totally owns Sephiroth.
I have to admit, I haven’t used this trope much in my own work yet. Gazan from Bringing Stella Home probably falls under this character alignment, but he’s more of the third type than a true Chaotic Evil. As a race, the Hameji initially fall under this trope, but they have reasons for everything they do, so once they overthrow the established order, they shift more to Chaotic Neutral.
One day, though, I’m going to write a character with this alignment. One day…
