bad ass
A person who defines supreme confidance, nearly divine abilty, and a frequent disregard for authority. Very few badasses live in the current era, but are portrayed frequently in the media. The difference between the standard badass and a regular hero (or villan, bad guys might, reasonably enough, actually have an easier time being badass) Take James Bond, for example. He is not a badass. He acts out of loyalty, he is not particularly capeble, and he is just a tad bit too perfect to be a badass. Dirty Harry is a badass. He has absolutely no loyalty to anone except his own version of justice. He kills anyone who even bends said rules, and does it without anything even resembling restraint. He is also completely devoid of fear. Villans can be badass, but it works differently for them. Take Darth Vader, for instance. He is not particularly badass, because he has this complex loyalty thing going on. However, Vicous from cowboy bebop is a badass, because he doesn't care if its his own mother who's crossing him, he'll kill him/her anyway. Oddly enough, evil badasses often come off as strangly aristocratic, as their uncaring actions and dignified personalities combined with the standard perfect grooming and flowing garments of any good archvillan gives them a rather regal aura.
Example:
In the movie Saw, two men panicked when presented with torture and death, and were forced into a vicous cycle of parinoia and pain.
A badass would have heard "I'm going to kill your wife and kids at 6PM" and laid back and waited, warning Mr. JigSaw that should he even consider messing with anyone of any importance to him, Party B (for badass) would gut party A (for asshole) like a fish. Then, once he inevitably escaped, would torture mr. Jigsaw into a quivering puddle of madness, no doubt through the amputation of various limbs followed by force feeding said limbs to their previous owner until said owner's stomach explodes.
In the movie Saw, two men panicked when presented with torture and death, and were forced into a vicous cycle of parinoia and pain.
A badass would have heard "I'm going to kill your wife and kids at 6PM" and laid back and waited, warning Mr. JigSaw that should he even consider messing with anyone of any importance to him, Party B (for badass) would gut party A (for asshole) like a fish. Then, once he inevitably escaped, would torture mr. Jigsaw into a quivering puddle of madness, no doubt through the amputation of various limbs followed by force feeding said limbs to their previous owner until said owner's stomach explodes.