Dave (Penguins of Madagascar)

Inconsistently Heinous

Octopus
Human

Full Name

David Styroker Brine

Alias

Dave
Dr. Octavius Brine
Dave the Octopus
David the Octopus
Darryl
Dennis
Dexter
Dan
Dirk
Darren
Derek
Derv
Doris
Debbie
Ramirez
That Beast
The Monster

Origin

Penguins of Madagascar

Allies

The Octopi

Powers / Skills

Genius-level intelligence

Mechanical engineering
Inventing skills
Human disguising
Communication with humans
Immense intagability
Charisma
Leadership
Manipulation
Intimidation
Physical strength
High-level fighting skills
Agility

Goals

Get revenge on the penguin species for stealing all the glory and attention from him by turning them into monsters, unleashing them on mankind, and getting them exterminated by humans (failed).

Worst Actions

Turning a random cricket into a mutated monster for kicks.

Turning the penguins into mutated monsters and unleashing them on mankind to get them exterminated, planning on doing the same thing to even more animals like kittens, puppies, bunnies and pandas.

Kill Count

Billions (attempted)

Crimes

Attempted mass genocide

Attempted mass murder
Mass mutation
Brainwashing
Public endangerment
Mass kidnapping
Wrongful imprisonment
Unethical experimentation

Type of IH

Vengeful Mastermind

“	The humans know me as Dr. Octavius Brine: renowned geneticist, cheese enthusiast, and frequent donor to NPR pledge drives. But you know me by a different, much older name. A name perhaps you'd hoped you'd never hear again. A phantom! A shadow of a former life! I... AM... DAVE!	„
	~ Dave introducing himself to the penguins

Dr. David Styroker "Dave" Brine, also known as Dr. Octavius Brine, is the main antagonist of DreamWorks' 30th full-length animated feature film Penguins of Madagascar, a spinoff of their Madagascar franchise.

He is a vengeful giant Pacific octopus who seeks revenge on Skipper, Kowalski, Rico and Private's penguin species for taking away all the attention from him and causing him to get abandoned in the dark by any means necessary, even if it means getting them exterminated by humans.

He was voiced by John Malkovich.

His Evil Ranking[]

What Makes Him Heinous?[]

He kidnapped all of the penguins under the guise of a human scientist named Dr. Octavius Brine and imprisoned them in cages in his submarine.
He kidnapped the penguins to reveal his plan to them, using a vending machine to do so, and after they escaped, he ordered his octopi to get them.
He sadistically turned a random cricket into a monster just for an experiment, taking joy in the results.
He sadistically revealed to the penguins that he planned to turn them into monsters, explicitly telling them that he finds it to be much, much worse than simply killing them.
After capturing Skipper, Kowalski, and Rico, he sadistically attempted to turn Private into a monster in front of them, even pointlessly stalling the attempt just for kicks.
When he seemingly disintegrated Private, he showed no remorse over how he might have killed him, brushing it off and telling his octopi that that is why they test things.
He had one of his octopi try to brutally kill the four North Wind Agents by sending them through his weaponized roller coaster.
He admitted that he is aware that making penguins uglier won't make anyone like him, but rather will make everyone despise the penguins, which he admitted that he would love to see.
He had his octopi turn all of the penguins into mutant monsters upon arriving at the city.
He unleashed the penguins on New York as mutated monsters, thus causing havoc throughout the city, before tricking the humans into calling the exterminators in order to get all the penguins exterminated, which could've led to the penguins' extinction, making it an attempted systematic genocide.
Upon realizing that he still did not feel satisfied even after getting his revenge on the penguins and humans, he decided to take things further by attempting to get revenge on other animals like kittens and puppies, indicating that he intended to do the same thing he did to the penguins to them.
When he saw the penguins trying to reverse the effects, he threw Skipper, Rico, and Kowalski into the exterminator trucks before trying to sadistically attack Private himself.
He tried to attack the penguins one more time only to realize that the Medusa Ray had turned him small and adorable and gotten him trapped inside a snow globe.
Despite the penguins stealing his spotlight causing him to be a villain, it doesn't excuse his actions as he mutated all of the penguins, even though most of them are innocents and they never did anything wrong to him intentionally, and even after he got revenge on them, he decided to go on to mutate other animals that didn't even do anything to him just because he could.
While he eventually found happiness and peace, he never feels remorse for his actions and there is no implication he truly redeemed himself.

What Makes Him Inconsistent?[]

His backstory of being forgotten and attention starved, while not justifying his actions, is still played for sympathy, as shown when Private felt sorry for him, who also felt insecure and ignored by his allies.
- His defeat seals this, with him being shrunk and ending trapped on a snowball, he’s found by a little girl who shows him affection, which leads him to be fulfilled and find peace. Even Skipper, one of his worst enemies wishes him to find happiness. While the scene later turns into a gag, this doesn’t subvert the pathos, as Dave is still shown to have found peace. This is portrayed as an uplifting moment for him, which is too humanizing for NPE.