The Big Bad Wannabe is a villain who is seen as a significant threat but can't back it up when it comes to the crunch. The absolute level of menace varies widely, from an Ineffectual Sympathetic Villain having a good day, to a villain who could legitimately be The Big Bad if the real Big Bad wasn't even more Badass than they are, but within a story they are (initially) presented as a big [...] [tvtropes.org]