Villains by Proxy (Also know as Punch Clock Villains) are a subset of Amoral villains who have absolutely NO wish to be evil, but are pushed into it either by circumstance or as a result of the story's unique angle; in other words, they are villains despite themselves. Their opposites are Heroes by Proxy.

Villains by Proxy include several kind of characters:

• The Pawn: Those who are tricked, blackmailed or forced into becoming regular threats to the forces of good against their better judgment. Often they don't even want to fight the heroes, but more powerful villains have forced them to cooperate with them. (e.g. Zorthes, Dr. Doktor and Blackrabbit)
• The Antagonist Hero: Contrasted to the Protagonist Villain whenever it is not a case of Evil Vs. Evil. More than a few games feature villain protagonists who fight non-evil antagonists.
• The Incidental Villain: Villains who are only precisely as evil as they need to be to reach their goals, which are for the greater good. They commit evil acts for purely practical means to an end, similar to Extremists and often overlapping with Rivals, except that it is never personal. (e. g. Ominous)
• The Hungry Predator: Carnivorous animals or monsters that are only hostile out of hunger or survival instinct. They often have no true hatred or dislike for the protagonists; they simply want to eat them, like any real-life wild animal views its prey. (e. g. Scourge the Spinoraptor)
• The Unaware: Characters who are simply completely unaware of the circumstances surrounding what they are doing. Often, they are heroic characters who simply don't know any better in that situation. These villains nearly always redeem themselves after realizing what they are doing. (e. g. JubJub Boopkins)
• Possessed/Brainwashed: Individuals who became antagonists due to hypnotism, brainwashing, or possession. Regardless of how cruel or unnecessary are their acts, it is never of their fault.
• The Mentally Ill Scapegoat: Characters who lived absolutely horrific events and perpetual abuse, which completely shattered their sanity. (e. g. Jeff the Killer and SMG4 Mario)

Whether blackmailed, tricked, a hired hand, amoral, ill, enslaved, or a villain simply by merit of being in the protagonist's way, just about all Villains by Proxy are only antagonists because they need to be and not by their own design.

Notes[]

• All characters must still function as antagonists. Please do not use this category to try to pass off antagonist heroes or some antiheroes as villains; antagonists MUST either have at least have some malicious intent to them or must cause conflict in order to apply.
• Unless they were tricked into committing atrocities they didn't intend to do, Mercenaries and Assassins are not Villains by Proxy since they willingly choose to work under a villain's orders for some kind of profit or monetary gain.
• Villains that were forced into being evil by circumstance but ”wish” to be evil just as they were forced to (e.g. The Tortured One, Lieutenant Obsidian and Niles) do not count. A Villain by Proxy has to wish that they didn't have to be evil.
• Due to their very nature, it is nearly impossible for Psychopaths to be villains by proxy, because they have the willingness to choose to be evil and lack empathy, guilt and/or emotional connections towards their actions. Even if a proxy villain does have psychopathic traits, those should go under Mentally Ill, Dissociative, Psychotic and/or Paranoid instead.
• Even though Villains by Proxy never meant to be become villains, some of them can still be sadistic if they at least partly enjoy their villainous deeds (e.g. NeedleMouse)
• NONE of these characters are Complete Monsters nor Near Pure Evils since it applies to intentional evildoing. Same applies to villains who commit reprehensible actions and their crimes were warranted, even if they are not close to being Complete Monsters. In the cases of Mentally Ill and Delusional, they can count if they do understand the difference between and wrong and meet all of the criteria.

For more information on villains by proxy, see here.

Sliding Scale of Villainy[]

• Complete Monster - The worst of the worst. They clear the Heinous Standard, have no redeeming qualities (or they did, but lost them later), they know what they're doing and their deeds are played for horror.
• Near Pure Evils - They are almost about as bad as Complete Monsters, but they may have at least one or two or even three preventions that prevent them from truly qualifying. However, they still can stand out and be nearly as bad.
• Inconsistently Heinous - Whilst these villains are as heinous as Complete Monsters, they also have too many inconsistencies/redeeming qualities to count as either Near Pure Evil or a Complete Monster.
• Standard/Outright - These are villains who still have lines that they will not cross. They are better than CMs, but not by much.
• Affably Evil - These are villains who can be nice even through they're doing evil things. And they aren't just pretend friendly, they are genuinely friendly.
• Villains by Proxy - The best of the worst. These villains don't even want to be evil, but for some reason, they are evil.