mad scientist

noun4

1. •
   A bumbling or eccentric scientist working on questionable projects, or a villainous scientist bent on destruction; sometimes, a complex character in whom these archetypes seem to vie for supremacy.
2. •
   A stock character in fiction who embodies such an archetype.

   • The Nutty Professor franchise explores the light comedic potential of a mad scientist.
   • Dr Strangelove explores the darker comedic potential of a mad scientist.
3. •
   A real-life scientist who is asserted to embody such an archetype.

   • The mad scientists at Acme Labs have done it again! [said either approvingly or disparagingly]
4. •
   Used other than figuratively or idiomatically: a scientist who is insane, power-mad, or similarly deranged.

   • In the 1890s, some of the locals viewed the chemical plant as a folly run by mad scientists and venal aristocrats.