http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/PsychopathicManchild

very in touch with my inner child." Sundowner, Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance "Like I said, kids are cruel , Jack. And I'min touch with my inner child."

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A dangerous or at least unsettling villain with a childlike nature, which creates a dissonance between innocence and savagery. Such characters can become rich sources of Nightmare Fuel, especially if their childishness is never explained. Contrary to the term, many examples are not necessarily psychopaths in the clinical sense. Misaimed Fandom may not be out of the question, either; sometimes the character's more "Moe" attributes will be picked up on and subjected to Flanderization.

The exact extent of the character's childishness will vary, and in general Psychopathic Manchildren can come in several varieties, with possible overlap. Such a character may:

What makes this character stand out is that he is The Sociopath in that he is mostly incapable of feeling empathy, shame or remorse but unlike other sociopaths, his mental immaturity prevents him from imitating emotions or indeed even realizing why he takes his desires for granted and fails to even superficially consider why others would disagree or why he isn't entitled to everything. Type C is excepted from this, of course. Whichever version these types of characters qualify as, often they are not fully aware of how nasty their actions actually are. In some cases (though not all), a Heel Realization may cause the character to develop into a better person. A more innocent or well-intentioned Psychopathic Manchild may be a Noble Demon.

One way to use this character is to face him off against a jaded, cynical, or shady Anti-Hero, to play with traditional hero-villain relationships by making the villain more innocent than the hero (at least in theory). (Easier if he's a major villain in his own right.) Another interesting twist is to make this character the Designated Hero and match him with an Affably Evil villain.

When one of these is running a country or occupying a similar position of authority, you have The Caligula.

The grown-up equivalent of Creepy Child and the near-inversion of Enfante Terrible. Often an enemy of a Sociopathic Hero though the two aren't mutually exclusive (and tend to overlap quite a bit) and contrast with the typically more benign Manchild. See also Cute and Psycho and Ping-Pong Naïveté. Related to, but distinct from, Kids Are Cruel.

Examples:

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Music

The main character of the Thomas Fersen song and music video "Hyacinth".

"Hyacinth". Maxwell Edison qualifies as Type C on The Beatles song "Maxwell's Silver Hammer".

Eminem's Slim Shady persona is this, considering his Ax-Crazy behavior and juvenile sense of humor.

Mythology and Religion

Professional Wrestling

Tabletop Games

Theatre

Poison in Dracula: A Love Stronger Than Death is a female example, a fully-grown vampire woman who affects an infantile attitude and carries around an identically-dressed doll while wearing babydoll dresses herself, and takes childish delight in the evil that comes with being a vampire.

Some productions of Shakespeare's Richard III will portray the titular character as one of these—despite his ruthlessness and willingness to kill everyone who might keep him from the throne, Richard is really just an emotionally stunted man who is jealous of his more popular brothers and wants to play with their toy (the "toy" being the throne of England).

The title character from Lizzie is in her thirties, but often acts like a teenager, being prone to fits of temper and having a rather immature and simplistic outlook on the world. This is partially because of her sheltered upbringing, and partially because she's been abused and raped by her father since childhood. His control over her is the only life she's ever known. When she finally reaches her Rage Breaking Point, the consequences are... messy. To say the least.

Some of the actors playing The Phantom of the Opera play him as this, especially during the final confrontation — Norm Lewis actually does a horse dance while singing "Order your fine horses now!", as a means of taunting the imprisoned Raoul and Christine.

Visual Novels

Webcomics

Web Original