8 Greatest Modern-Day Machiavellian Characters

In the town of South Park, Eric Cartman has terrorised friends and family alike for 18 seasons. As dark as he is funny, Cartman has continuously shown no ends to the extent of his actions - whether it is framing his mother for drug production and distribution in the hope of being fostered by a wealthier family, or mincing a boy's mother and father into some festival chilli con carne to exact revenge for previously feeding him pubes - Cartman has become a master of the dark arts necessary to his ambition.

Written five centuries ago, Machiavelli would have been hard-pressed to admit his work would have inspired such comedic, 2-D characters in a field far-removed from his own. Yet, Cartman offers a basic insight into the tactics advocated by 'The Prince'.

A talented manipulator, Cartman uses emotional blackmail and deceitful information to coerce his mother, his enemies, even Butters, to do as he pleases or lead them astray. He has successfully outwitted his friends and opponents on many occasions, showing a careful understanding of how the likes of Kyle and Stan will react, and planning his next move like a game of chess, with a complete lack of empathy for the repercussions he causes.