In cases where an Overlord actually is a god, he is expanding his empire to attain more worshipers. Others just tend to hang behind the action.Ī particularly ambitious Overlord often declares himself a god, and starts a Religion of Evil with him as its heart.
Some overlords, however, rely more on magical power and may be frail and weak in battle, but world-bendingly powerful when they have time to scheme and prepare. He can be (and is quite often) a physical warrior decked in armor and usually fighting on the frontlines.
In battle, the Evil Overlord can be a variety of things, but he is generally the most powerful of his forces. What, exactly, he plans to do when he rules the world isn't always clear, but it's never anything good - slavery, misery and toil are the best fates waiting for heroes who fail to thwart him. If he isn't officially titled "Emperor" (and sometimes even when he is) he will instead adopt a grandiose title that openly declares exactly which side he's on, most often "Dark Lord" or "Demon King". In fact, The Emperor often courts aspects of this trope anyway, and a single character is likely to be both. Odds are the Overlord probably wants to establish, or already rules, The Empire. Some works also portray these characters as beautiful and radiant, in a subversion of both this trope's usual appearance and of the cultural associations of angelic appearances. Lewis's White Witch was draped in white, symbolic of joylessness, decay, and endless winter, and his Lady of the Green Kirtle was green, symbolic of snakes and venom. There are a few, more interesting exceptions: C. Their origins can vary, but they're most commonly a mortal sorcerer, tyrant or sorcerous tyrant turned terrible and inhuman by their arts, a demon or evil deity of some kind, or a living accumulation of the evil of the world. Appearance-wise, these characters are usually straight expies of Sauron, clad head to toe in imposing, spiked armor of black iron, or wizened necromancers clad in black robes and deathly pallor. For this and other reasons, they are generally male, because no woman would be a cruel tyrant who screws up her own realm. This character is often deployed as a Satanic Archetype and associated with eternal darkness, fire and brimstone, and Ominous Opera Capes.