Napoleon was a terrible human being, so how were atrocities forgotten and he become a pop culture icon (of sorts)? A game like Risk wouldn’t dare but any dictators on their box, but Napoleon is the exception?.

Because at his worst, Napoleon is still much better than the usual crop of dictators and has a legacy that shines brighter. More can always be said on the matter if anyone would like to address Napoleon; for the meantime, these previous threads should be of interest:

u/DonaldFDraper, our local Napoleon flair, has these relevant threads; I also recommend their flair profile for more Napoleon reads:

On whether he was good for France;
On Napoleon as a person;
and why Napoleon and Hitler can't be compared.

There's also u/kieslowskifan examining Napoleon's postwar popular remembrance.