Awesome Ego
You all know the narcissist right? That arrogant S.O.B that is constantly pissing us off by ranting about how absolutely wonderful he is.
This is not that character.
This is the type of narcissist who constantly rants and raves about how mindblowingly awesome he is, and the fans agree with him.
Maybe it's because he backs up his bragging with frequent genuine Crowning Moments Of Awesome, or maybe it's because he's just so damn entertaining in his rants. But whatever the reason, it's this character's Ego that makes him so charismatic..
Often a trait of the Byronic Hero, the Magnificent Bastard, the Insufferable Genius and the Deadpan Snarker. Contrast the Smug Snake, who may have an ego but in his case it's more annoying than entertaining.
Anime & Manga
- The fandom of Mahou Sensei Negima does not appear to mind Jack Rakan's self-aggrandizing statements about his power and abilities (To quote him, "I have no weaknesses!") - probably because he more or less lives up to his claims, and then some. It eventually takes using the power of a veritably-Reality Warping MacGuffin to put him down by "rewriting" him out of existence outright... and he still manages to come back from that.
- Prussia from Axis Powers Hetalia actually has an Image Song called "My Song That is Written By Me, For Me" that is as much of an ego trip as it sounds. He's one of the biggest Ensemble Darkhorses in the fandom.
- Black Star from Soul Eater in all his hammy glory.
- Sesshomaru from Inuyasha is this to most of the fans.
- Vegeta, who possesses almost legendary amounts of arrogance, manages to be this, rather than insufferable or annoying. From the way he mocks and belittles his foes, to the way he's always ready to fight guys much stronger than him, it all combines to make him a fan favorite.
- Roronoa Zoro from One Piece. He's stated to be "more arrogant than God", pretty much speaks in trash-talk whenever he fights an opponent (even when his sword is in his mouth), and once fought a guy he couldn't cut, declaring he would by the end of the fight. He did.
- Code Geass has Lelouch Lamperouge. At the time of writing, he provides the page image for the Smug Smiler trope, and quite justifiably. He (quite ostentatiously) proclaims himself "the man who makes miracles", and that he (pretty much single-handedly) will "destroy the world and make it anew". Why does he come across as a Magnificent Bastard rather than a suicidally overconfident Smug Snake? Because his arrogance is, to a large extent, justified.
- "OIOIOIOIOI! Who the hell do you think you're forgetting to add?!"
Comic Books
- Lobo.
- Tony Stark from Iron Man.
- Doctor Doom
- Lex Luthor
- Guy Gardner - THE Greatest Green Lantern, and we don't care what that Hal idiot says.
Fan Fics
- Chaos from the Tamers Forever Series is outrageously cocky but he's so damn charismatic and funny, that this only serves to enhance his appeal
- Harry from Harry Potter and the Methods of Rationality is this trope in spades.
Hermione: I'm getting tired of hearing people talk about the Boy-Who-Lived like you're - like you're some kind of god or something.
Harry: Same here, I must say. It's sad how people keep underestimating me.
Film -- Animated
- Gaston, from Beauty and the Beast, was written to seem incredibly egotistical and self-absorbed. The viewers loved this. (See also the Memetic Badass status of Gaston, especially in YouTube Poop.)
Film -- Live Action
- M. Bison as played by Raul Julia in the Street Fighter movie.
- Miranda Priestly as played by Meryl Streep in The Devil Wears Prada.
Literature
- James Bond would have to be the poster boy for this trope.
- Sherlock Holmes is probably equal to Bond.
- Zaphod Beeblebrox of The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy (all versions except the movie). It's how he survives the Total Perspective Vortex.
- Lord Voldemort from Harry Potter.
- Most of Ayn Rand's good characters. The author herself could also qualify.
- Jace Wayland in The Mortal Instruments by Cassandra Clare.
- Skulduggery Pleasant.
Live Action TV
- Dr. Cox from Scrubs is the absolute epitome of this trope, each and every one of his bragging rants is a Crowning Moment of Awesome.
- Barney Stinson from How I Met Your Mother runs a close second, if not on par.
- The Doctor of Doctor Who. The Master is an evil version of this trope.
- River Song qualifies.
- The titular character of House. "You can think I'm wrong but that's no reason to stop thinking."
- Gene Hunt of Life On Mars and Ashes to Ashes. "Anything you say or do will be torn up and rammed down your scrawny little neck until you choke. Gene Hunt, Chapter One, Verse One."
- Tom Haverford from Parks and Recreation.
- Gaius Baltar in Battlestar Galactica.
- This article wouldn't be complete without mention of Lord Flashheart from Blackadder. "Still worshipping God? Last I heard he'd started worshipping me!"
Professional Wrestling
- MIIISTEEEER!!!!!!! KENNEDY!!!!!!!: His gimmick of doing his own introductions was supposed to make the fans hate him, but he's just so damn charismatic that it's made him a fan favourite.
- .....Kennedy!!!
- CM Punk. Gets pops when he claims to be 'the best in the world.'
- IF YA SMEEEEELLLLLL!! WHAT THE ROCK! IS COOKING!
Video Games
- Duke Nukem is a self-centered, politically incorrect chauvinist bastard. And the fans love him for it, both in and out of universe. How narcissist is he? In multiple games, he doesn't have a Life Meter—he has an EGO meter. And looking at yourself in the mirror gives it a permanent boost.
- Street Fighter 2's Vega is about as Narcissist as you can get, but does have his fans.
- Groose starts out as a an amusing Jerk Jock, but through Character Development, becomes Link's Lancer after a particularly Funny Moment. Both of these combined made him both an Ensemble Darkhorse and a Memetic Badass.
- Kain rivals Vegeta in terms of his ambition, arrogance and (in his younger years) explosive temper, but because he combines it with genuine cunning and audacity (plus the fact that his enemies are even worse than him) he remains awesome. The Gambit Pileup plotline, excellent faux-Shakespearian script and truly spectacular voice acting play no small part in this.
- Sonic the Hedgehog. It can be easy to forget nowadays, but he's still quite the braggart and is proud of his Super Speed, and it was because of his "attitude" that made him a worldwide cultural icon in the first place.
- Mr. House and Caesar from Fallout: New Vegas
Web Original
- Seto Kaiba in Yu-Gi-Oh the Abridged Series:
- I am on a drug: its called SETO FREAKING KAIBA!!!
- Best. Badass Boast. Ever
- I am on a drug: its called SETO FREAKING KAIBA!!!
- Rayne from Least I Could Do.
- Mille Chanteau is nothing short of epicly Crazy Awesome, and she KNOWS this, and it's pretty much assured that she'll generate at least one Badass Boast a day.
- Grandmaster of Theft's titular Cassidy Cain
Western Animation
- Trixie is supposed to be looked down upon for her over-inflated Hubris and her bullying of anyone who tries to confront her on this. However, her hamminess has earned her plenty of unintended fans.
- Rainbow Dash and Rarity can both be arrogant and self-centered, too, although their respective abilities and ties to their friends make this an endearing trait, rather than a crippling inability.
- Azula from Avatar: The Last Airbender.
Real life
- Oscar "I have nothing to declare but my genius" Wilde.
- Coco Chanel who famously turned down the Duke of Westminster's proposal of marriage because "There have been many duchesses of Westminster but there will only ever be one Chanel."
- Ayn Rand, who considered Pride a virtue.
- Charlie Sheen.
- Winston Churchill.
- Salvador Dali once boasted "Dali is immortal and will live forever" and also "Every morning upon awakening, I experience a supreme pleasure: that of being Salvador Dali and as I lie there, wonderstruck, I ask myself 'By God, what astonishing things will he do today, this Salvador Dali?'"
- George Patton often boasted that his destiny was to be a great general. He was right
- Margaret Thatcher is this to her supporters.
- The pre-Renaissance poet laureate Francesco Petrarca, better known as Petrarch considered his poems the end of the Dark Ages and the beginning of the Enlightenment. Most modern scholars agree.
- Orson Welles.