My Top 48 Villains
Hey everybody from Planet-M, Happy Halloween and its great to be back. For this Blog I’ve decided to get into the spirit of Halloween and put together a list made of (what I think) are some of the top villains in Comics, Books, Films and Games and my reasons why they are there, just a reminder that this is all based on my own personal opinion and if you have any suggestions for future blogs then please leave them in the comments below. So, let’s get started on My Top 48 Villains. You're also probably wondering why Top 48, because this isn't a magazine or Watchmojo.
48: The Once-Ler – Dr Seuss’s The Lorax (Book)
Why: I will say before I start that the Lorax is just a cautionary tale, but in the end the Once-Ler is responsible for what has happened to the environment and by the end of the book he realises what he has done wrong and how wrong he was, he even tells his story and gives the last seed of hope to future generations, but in the end, he still did villainous things, so I’m counting him on the list.
To me the Once-Ler is probably one of the most unsettling characters Dr Seuss has ever created, mostly because of his lack of appearance as this was the point set forth by Seuss, this way the Once-Ler could be anyone or anything allowing him to be found as relatable to the readers, mostly because he represents the very banality of evil. He isn’t deliberately evil, malicious or cruel, but he is self-centred, in-different to the suffering of others (especially those who’s suffering he has caused) and incredibly short sited as he just finds excuses to keep going further with his goals, these flaws are more common in people and are more than capable of destroying an entire eco-system. I will admit that there is some tragedy to him, but it is a tragedy of his own doing and it eventually took the entire eco-system with him.
The only reason he’s at the bottom of the list is because like I said before, he passes on his cautionary story to the next generation and gives them the last seed in hopes that they will grow a better world.
47: Velma Von Tussle - Played by Michelle Pfeiffer – (Hairspray 2007 Movie)
Why: Velma Von Tussle is pretty much the mean girl from school all grown up and has gotten worse as time went on. She’s pretty vain, racist, egotistical and is incredibly petty, enough so that she hasn’t any shame when it comes to picking on teenage girls or encouraging people around her to do otherwise. The reason she’s near the bottom of the list is because when you think about it, she’s really just pathetic, her only accomplishment is for winning some beauty pageant decades ago and is pretty much just living in the past, but trust me what little power she has, she wields with absolutes.
46: Phantom Limb – Venture Bros
Why: Phantom Limb is probably one of the funniest villains I’ve ever watched on Television, its not because his very design is hilarious, but because he gets himself into hilarious situations. The character reminds me a lot of Billy Zane’s character in Titanic, a moustache twirling villain, but still a gentleman despite that. His powers are interesting as well, his limbs are telekinetic and he can kill anyone with merely a touch and trust me, he is about as insane and over the top as he is powerful.
45: The Skrulls - Marvel Comics
Why: Basically, spies who infiltrate and replace real people in order to weaken their planet through subterfuge and lies. The Skrulls from Marvel comics embody all of these traits, not only do they steal the identities of their victims, but their very memories as well. Using whatever means necessary for the sake of their invasion, turning citizens against their heroes and heroes against their friends.
44: Wicked Witch of The West – The Wizard of OZ (Book)
Why: When people refer to the Wicked Witch of the West they are mostly referring to the MGM film’s version, but the book version was actually eviller than the one from the film, not only did she control the flying monkeys against their will, but she enslaved an entire race known as the Quadlings and did what ever she could in order to obtain more power even sending giant creatures and ravenous crows.
I will admit that the film version is more memorable, but I found this one more villainous in the fact that she was just a simple thug who wielded too much power and had a genuine lust for it.
43: Barracuda – Marvel Comics
Why: An Ex-Green Barret with a psychotic mind and an inhuman sense of durability. When researching for this list I was almost going to go with Jigsaw (from the Punisher comics), but honestly Barracuda is definitely the villain to go head to head with Frank Castle. The reason I think this guy is a good villain for The Punisher is simple, even though he’s just a human being with no super powers, he’s been trained in armed and unarmed combat, has a strategical mind and has survived wounds that would be fatal.
42: Eris - Voiced Michael Pfeiffer – Sinbad Legend of the Seven Seas
Why: Michael Pfeiffer plays up the cynical, but mischievous personality of the goddess of discord, but the reason I like this character so much (to put her on the list) is due to the way she is animated, mixing in both 2-D animation with 3-D animation in order to create a being that moves like the flow of water and changes shape like smoke in the air.
41: HIM – Powerpuff Girls (1998 series)
Why: Back when I was a kid I wasn’t really scared by much on television, I wasn’t afraid of Don Bluth’s dark moments and I wasn’t afraid of the Wheelers or anything in Return to OZ, but I can definitely say that HIM scared me. I was never able to tell what it was that frightened me about HIM, but I think it was something to do with that slow shrieking echoing voice that he had, it definitely created an eerie atmosphere and sent a chill down my spine.
HIM is pretty much this shows interpretation of the devil as he is referred to as the King Of Darkness, he seeks to spread chaos and destruction where ever he goes and in some episodes it felt like the Powerpuff Girls couldn’t defeat him (they eventually do find a way though), in one episode he takes control of all the people of Townsville and gives the girls no choice but to fight them, he is probably the most powerful villain on the show, but his appearances were limited, so the heroes didn’t always have to deal with him.
40: Megatron Voiced by Frank Welker – Transformers Prime series
Why: I like the original Megatron, but that version was simply just evil and we had no knowledge on his backstory or his reasons for leading the Decepticons other than him thinking that their ways were superior, but in Transformers Prime you get to see more to Megatron’s backstory as he was once a gladiator who rose to prominence on Cybertron and wanted to change and otherwise unjust system.
Once I saw this backstory in the show it already added more depth to this character as not only did it gave the viewer a better idea of the villains motives, but it also adds a sense of tragedy to the battle between Optimus and Megatron as in the backstory we learn that the two were once friends, this is only enhanced by the fact that Frank Welker and Peter Cullen (the original voices of these characters) are voicing these characters now, so it adds a layer of history to these characters as well. Not only did this series give us what I thought was one of the best incarnations of Megatron, but it also managed to keep all the aspects of the character that made him a great villain.
39: Daleks – Dr Who Series Russell T. Davies’s run
Why: I really liked the Daleks during Russell T. Davies run on Doctor Who as I felt they worked well in contrast to the then survivor of the Time War Doctor, not only were they ruthless killing machines, but when ever they were brought into a story they were treated with the fear and danger that they always brought to the series and it was never down played, they were shown as unyielding and unstoppable no matter what was in their way, its shown best in the series 1 debut episode “Dalek” where in the Doctor says that the population of one city would be dead in a week if a Dalek roamed free.
Throughout Davies’s run the Daleks are given the spotlight in their own episodes (which tend to be either the middle of the series or the series finale) and in different variations so that they don’t come off as repeats and each variation does has some difference in the voice. When they first showed up it is just one Dalek who (much like the Doctor) is shown to be the last of its kind and eventually changes into something new, in the series 1 finale we get an army of Daleks all lead by the Dalek emperor driven mad by the time war, series 2 and 3 had the cult of Scaro an order of Daleks that had names and were able to think outside the box and finally a fully functional Dalek army at the height of its power that sought to destroy the entire universe.
The point is, not only did Davies bring back the Daleks, but he probably created the most frightening variation in the shows history, embracing all that made them feared by both The Doctor and the viewers, with a new golden shell that truly made them look more alien in design.
38: Xehanort – Kingdom Hearts Series
Why: The main villain of the Kingdom Hearts series, Xehanort is a Keyblade master who possessed not only a deadly curiosity for the workings of darkness and light, but also a strong and resilient sense of will power as he sought out to bring about the end of all worlds through starting the second Keyblade war.
He was eventually defeated and cast out for his deeds, but later conducted experiments which eventually resulted in the creation of the heartless and the nobodies. Throughout the game series the remnants of his research have caused destruction to more worlds than one and by the end of Dream Drop Distance we as the players find out that all the big boss’s such as Ansem and Xemnas that gave us so much trouble in Kingdom Hearts and Kingdom Hearts II were just his contingency plans that have now resulted in his rebirth. His personality is cold, calculating and deceptive as he makes the main characters question their own motives in some of his forms.
One of the reasons I liked him in all his incarnations was the fact that he always lived up to the fact that he was the final boss, he was incredibly quick and powerful, so when fighting him I had to act fast and figure out the best way to avoid his attacks while minimise the level of damage I took each time and that is how you make a good video game villain one that truly challenges you with everything you know about the game.
37: The Thenardiers – Les Misérables
Why: In Les Misérables they are (in my opinion) the deservingly downtrodden due to the fact that propitiate the misery and misfortune that is all around them, they blackmail Fantine for money which leads to her death, abuse her daughter Cossette and go on to blackmail Valjean and attempt to blackmail Marius (who was saved by Valjean and married to Cossette) by association and when bankrupt they steal whatever they can get their hands on.
They keep a very gleefully smug demeanour about them which goes with their life of empathy for others around them and by the very of end of the book they just get away with every act they have committed against many of the honourable and kind-hearted characters that have either lived of died, surviving everything that is thrown at them like pests, I can honestly say that I despise these characters and that they deserve a place on this list.
36: The Church – Castlevania (Netflix Series)
Why: In this series most who are associated with the church are shown to be corrupt, ignorant to their own mistakes and no strangers to killing people in the name of their order. At the start they capture Dracula’s wife Lisa (who is merely a Doctor who cares for people and wants to cure them of their illnesses) and then burn her at the stake for witch craft which causes Dracula to respond in sending an army of demons upon the land, because they celebrated killing his wife a year later.
They later go on to deceive the people who are plagued by the demons by saying that they must sacrifice innocent lives because they believe said people have sinned. The reason they are truly the villains of the first 4 episodes is because they knew what they did was wrong once confronted by Dracula, but they continued to lie, deceive and kill in order to keep their hold over the people they have caused to suffer and have even cast out people who wish to help.
35: Villamax – Power Rangers Lost Galaxy
Why: Villamax was a different kind of villain that I watched on television growing, he was evil, but he did have standards, he had a code of chivalry that he lived by and it greatly influenced his actions throughout his appearances in the series much like that of a knight who has sworn his loyalty. In one episode he gives his word that he will release his prisoners if the red ranger turns himself over to his queen, which he does and Villamax keeps his end of the bargain as well. The only times when he does speak out against his queen is when she goes on to commit dishonourable acts against her own forces which eventually costs him his life, but he does not die with rage or feelings of vengeance, but feelings of sadness and disappointment because the queen (who was once his student) had truly learned nothing from him.
34: Gaston – Disney’s Beauty and The Beast (The Original Version)
Why: In Joseph Campbell’s The Hero with a Thousand Faces there is mention of an archetype who is known as “The Shadow”, who in the context of a story is a dark reflection of our hero, an evil representation of everything the main character could have been and in Beauty and the Beast that is represented well by the antagonist Gaston. In the film both The Beast and Gaston share many of the same traits such as they are both indifferent to the feelings of others, both are self-absorbed and both can be prone to violence, but the Beast realises that what he does is wrong and changes, but Gaston only escalates and even indulges in these traits.
33: The Kuragon Played by Clancy Brown – The Highlander
Why: In Highlander only one immortal can emerge victorious and this guy got too close to being the victor, the Kuragon is an embodiment of raw power and skill when he swings a blade, but as a human being he embraces every dark impulse and lives for nothing, but victory through the kill while indulging in a purely chaotic personality. Clancy Brown plays the Kuragon and you can tell that he is having fun playing this role as he acts up the purely vile and sadistic nature you would expect from a barbaric swordsman.
32: The Violator – Spawn the Animated Series
Why: One of Spawns most powerful and reoccurring villains with the sole purpose of guiding Spawn when he was sent back to earth. Throughout the animated series he pretty much took the same stance as he did in the comics, manipulating events to push Spawn closer to becoming the diabolical leader of hell’s armies. Whatever form he takes never hides his intent as he always seeks to bring Spawn to his side or bring about the destruction of all Spawn cares about.
31: Hades – Voiced by James Woodes - Disney’s Hercules
Why: Where do I start, there is a reason you remember Hades more than you remember the titans, they may be powerful, but Hades is the one with the plan, the personality, charisma and he makes you laugh, plus despite the used car salesman vernacular he does have vast powers at his disposal and a truly maniacal mind that makes him a legitimate threat.
30: The Kingpin – Voiced by Roscoe Lee Browne - Spiderman TAS
Why: The reason I like this Kingpin more than the recent live action version is simply due to the way the character is portrayed, he had principles and rules that he set forth for himself and that adds a bit of a charm to the character on the business side such as in one episode Peter Parker saves his life and later on in the series he repays his debt to him, but when ever he repays his debts he always does it in a way that benefits himself, such as after he pays his debts to Peter he uses it as a publicity stunt for a paper he recently purchased.
Throughout the series he is usually the cause for so many of Spiderman’s villains as they are just diversionary tactics that keep Spiderman occupied away from his other criminal schemes and whenever Spidey went head-to-head with him he showed that he was more than capable of matching his strength as he says in the series that his body is “three hundred and fifty pounds of pure muscle” so not only is his a skilled strategist, but is more than capable of defending himself, but all of this is not possible where it not for the voice of Roscoe Lee Browne who brings a sophisticated, but ruthless personality to the character.
29: Pennywise - Played by Tim Curry - IT
Why: Just to start off I like the new IT as I believe its version of Pennywise acts more like a horror monster, but that is also its weakness in terms of Pennywise’s whole plan, he’s a creature that lures people in and feeds off their fear, but the problem is that no one would go near someone that looks that scary, this is why the original Pennywise played by Tim Curry is much better as he acts like a fun clown to lure in his victims, so when he reveals his true nature he comes off more terrifying, plus it really helps that pennywise in the original film was played by Tim Curry as he always gives a hundred percent in any role and gives the character he plays some personality.
28: T-1000 – Terminator Franchise
Why: This is how you up the game in a sequel, much like the original T-100 terminator if the T-1000 got near, you were dead, he wouldn’t throw you around the room like most movie monsters today he would kill you in all the ways he could. He faster, more advanced and capable of shape shifting into other people in order to trick John and Sarah Conner along with being able to form various bladed weapons. The best kind of movie monster is always the ones that get the closest to achieving their goals which is killing the main characters and in Terminator 2 the T-1000 comes close as he could not be destroyed through means such as bullet fire or brute force.
27: Venom/Eddie Brock – Marvel Comics
Why: Venom when in the hands of Eddie Brock is truly one of the best villains that Spider-Man has ever faced against as not only is he immune to Spider-Man’s Spidey sense, but he is more than capable of over powering him as he has more of a Hulk-like figure meaning Spider-Man has to use brains and speed in order to defeat him and that is one of the best types of villains as they are the type who are capable of backing the hero into a corner and forcing them to think outside of the box.
26: Green Goblin/Norman Osborn – Marvel Comics
Why: To me I’ve always seen the Green Goblin as Spider-Man’s Joker as not only does he take immense satisfaction in causing the hero pain, but at the same time can always find some way of making the situation the hero’s fault. Despite his insanity he’s capable of thinking with a strategical mind, can match Spider-Man in terms of strength and has caused many of the tragedies in Peter’s life, he frames Spider-Man for murder, leads his own son Harry Osborn down the path that eventually lead to his death, faked Aunt May’s Death, caused the Clone Saga, murdered Flash Thompson along with attempting to murder all of Peter’s loved ones, murdered Gwen Stacy and the less said about Sin’s Past the better. Honestly, how no one in the Marvel Universe has managed to make this guy’s death stick is beyond me.
25: Lady Tremaine – Disney’s Cinderella
Why: Where to start, she never laid a hand on Cinderella, but she knew just how to hurt her emotionally, not only does she reduce the child of her second husband to that of a servant (in her own home) after the death of her father, but she constantly berets her, goes out her way to make the day’s work harder and locks her up when a happier life is just waiting for her, she’s truly a cruel individual who’s motivations you never truly understand. But what truly makes her a terrifying villain is the way she is animated, mostly placed in the shadows only allowing her light green eyes to shine through, but whenever she is out of the shadows she gives a despicable smile to go with her heartless stare. She’s simply a villain you love to hate.
24: King Ghidora – Godzilla Franchise
Why: It took three different Kaiju working together in order to bring down this three-headed behemoth and even then, he was more than capable of holding his own, truly one of Godzilla’s greatest foes, not only was his first appearance the first time Godzilla was used as a hero, but I feel after defeating this guy Godzilla truly earned his title as King of the Monsters.
23: The Joker – Voiced by Mark Hamill – DCAU
Why: I will admit that there have been many incarnations of the Joker that I like, especially the one voiced by John DiMaggio in Batman: Under the Red Hood, but no one can top Mark Hamill when playing the Joker. Not only can this Joker be terrifying when put in the right stories, but he’s also capable of being funny, to this Joker the performance and the punchline was just as important as the heist or the kill. I will admit that I wasn’t a fan of his second character design in Season 4 of Batman, but in Batman Beyond: Return of the Joker and Justice League they were able to find a good balance between his original design and second design. As a villain The Joker was also just as capable of hurting our hero as much as he was capable of hurting innocent people such as in Return of The Joker where he brain-washed Tim Drake (aka Robin) and Justice League where he held the entirety of Las Vegas hostage.
22: Darkseid – Voiced by Michael Ironside – DCAU
Why: Darkseid is the ruler of the nightmarish hellscape planet of apocalypse, he commands a vast army of new gods and Para demons trained to be vicious and blood thirsty along with an army of slaves who have been brainwashed to further build his empire, along with all that he has the voice of Michael Ironside which allows him a strong militaristic voice to go with a powerful yet regal bearing, never having raise his voice as the character knew his words were absolute.
This guy wasn’t the type to manically laugh or complain when his plan went wrong, but he would punish incompetence and he would have another plan ready for next time, as he said to Superman when he refused to join his army “you will be my knight or you will be my pawn, the choice is yours” and he fulfilled that threat later on, he brainwashed Superman, made him invade earth, nearly kill Supergirl and nearly turned the entire Planet against him, even before that Darkseid killed Detective Dan Turpin.
To say Darkseid was a threat would be a disservice to his character, he was an ever-present dark force that struck fear even into the heart of the Man of Steel, a truly evil entity that even when defeated would only be delayed until his next attempt, as he said to Superman in Justice League “though super, you are only a man and I am a god”.
21: Mephisto – Marvel Comics
Why: He’s a demonic entity who makes deals in exchange for the soul of his victims, lures them in with their hearts desires only to twist them into something worthless, truly Mephisto is a being in the Marvel Universe you don’t want to mess with, he holds Dr Doom’s mother captive in hell, tried to trick Rick Jones’s wife out of her soul on their wedding day and he is responsible for One More Day and I think that says it all, truly an evil force to be reckoned with.
20: Dr. Robotnik – Played by Jim Cummings – Sonic The Hedghog TAS
Why: When playing later Sonic games I always saw Robotnik or Eggman as more of a comedic villain, but when watching this series, I’m always reminded that despite the way he is in current media he was once a legitimate and terrifying threat, not only does this series show him as a more competently evil and ruthless villain, but at start the series he’s already won, converted many of the lands populace into robots and pretty much has the only resistance on the run for their lives. Throughout the entire series it felt like evil had finally achieved victory and good was doing its hardest just to try and take back what they could.
19: Frieza – Dragon Ball Z
Why: Frieza is probably one of the best Dragon Ball villains mostly because he is written perfectly in how powerful he is, when he and Goku face off after the fight between him and the Z-fighters we get a good idea of where Frieza and Goku’s powers are when compared, the story shows that Frieza is strong, but Goku at that point wasn’t too far behind and has a chance at beating him, which is better than later villains such as Cell or Buu as they could either be too strong or too weak in-between transformations.
Not only that but Frieza has personality, he’s completely ruthless in his actions and takes immense satisfaction in making others suffer, always thinking that he has the upper hand which eventually leads to his most amusing downfall as he never truly learns to adapt for the current situation.
18: The D-Reaper – Digimon Tamers
Why: Now in the previous listings I said that there are very few villains that I’m afraid of and the D-Reaper is one of those few, when this thing shows up completely out of the get go I can definitely say that it scared me, it’s not some Digimon with a gimmick or a human wanting to takeover the digital and the real world, it’s a computer program that was designed to clean up data and had gained a form of sentience, once it got to the real world it started recognising human beings as something to annihilate.
It kidnaped Jeri to learn more about human, used her grief as source of energy and slowly begins to cover the rest of the world in a large always adapting crimson mass. Honestly this villain was nothing short of creepy as it uses Jeri’s voice for communication and creates new forms resembling something out of a H. P. Lovecraft novel, all in order to destroy both Digimon and Humans.
17: The Master, 6th incarnation/ Harold Saxon – Dr Who
Why: During Russell T. Davies’s run on the third series, The Master had been built up to since the first episode with mention of Harold Saxon in the background (much like with Bad Wolf) and in later episodes with the Face of Boe’s last words “You Are Not Alone”. This version of The Master was definitely “The Shadow” to this series The Doctor, as he is pretty much a mirror to The Doctor, he is intelligent, but completely lacks any sense of empathy and feels like he needs to own the universe instead of just seeing it.
This version of The Master stole the Tardis, went back to present day London and then used his own technology to become the prime minister to later take over the world. In the end he didn’t just leave The Doctor defeated, but he humiliated him as well as he took the humans of the future (the very species that The Doctor has protected time and time again) and warped them into mad killing machines used to take over the present and even later he took what were the present-day humans and turned them into mirror reflections of himself, honestly this Master was the best villain in Russell T. Davies run and I’m glad that David Tennant’s final adventure as the 10th Doctor was trying to stop the 6th Master.
16: Killgrave/The Purple Man – Played by David Tennant – Jessica Jones (Netflix series)
Why: The reasons why I like this character is mostly due to David Tennant’s performance, he manages to give this villain a vast emotional range as he can go from charming, to sadistic, to self-absorbed, to somewhat sympathetic due to his past and in the end reveal the manipulative and murderous creature that this character truly is. Honestly the Netflix Jessica Jones series did a good job at adapting the characters and the storyline from the comics, as it manages to show just how big a threat Killgrave can be to people.
15: Dr Doom – Marvel Comics
Why: To begin with I always thought that he looked the right amount of cool with the usual mystery that a masked man can evoke in comics, and in terms of backstory he has a good one with it vary over the years as whether his scarring is a physical scar or a mental scar and as a villain he can really blur the line sometimes when he chooses to help others based on his own reasons (which are usually unknown) as he turned his home country into a peaceful nation, saved Reed Richards family on several occasions and has even honoured debts that he owes people and I will admit that as over the top as Doom’s character can be it comes off as more Shakespearian than the generic speeches usually given by most villains and it works for him as he is capable of backing up most of his claims.
He’s achieved god hood many times which has led to some good stories that really blur the line on whether he is a villain or not, but like most beings of power he is usually undone by his own hubris. All and all the reason why I continue to like Doom is mostly due to the way his character is written, much like Villamax he may be evil, but he has standards, he is a very layered individual and he barley degrades himself in the long run as even in failure he still finds a way to come out on top.
14: Saruman – Played by Christopher Lee – Lord of the Rings Film Trilogy
Why: Like I’ve said in the previous listings I do like the concept of “the shadow” and the closest thing to that in Lord of The Rings is Saruman the white/many colours to the Mentor figure Gandalf the grey/white, they both possess many of the same qualities, but Saruman is the example of what would happen if such a wizard had fallen from grace. Though I have to say that I like Saruman in the films more than in the books as in the film he is given more of a role as in the book he is merely mentioned and only introduced in person by the end.
The films do a good job at showing how menacing he can be from a far as it shows many of his acts as he builds an army of orcs, deforests Isengard and shows us how he manipulates the minds and elements from his tower. All of this is done by the vocal giant that is Christopher Lee whose performance brings an epic and sinister tone whenever he’s on screen. Even in the extended edition he’s given a better death than in theatrical cut as he is thrown from his own tower by the very man he used to manipulate the king of Rohan.
13: Rita Repulsa and Lord Zedd – Power Rangers Franchise
Why: Honestly these two work well when they’re together, don’t get me wrong Lord Zedd and Rita alone are probably some of the greatest villains in Power Rangers, but after season 1 Rita didn’t really seem like she could compete with the rangers (especially after she lost the green ranger powers) and after his introduction Lord Zedd was beginning to wane a bit in his quest to conquer earth much like Rita did before he showed up, the only victory he made solo was successfully taking back the green ranger powers.
But then the two got married and with their combined forces they were able to achieve their goals, they succeeded in breaking the original powers, they destroyed the ninja powers, accessed the command centre and then blew it up, honestly if it wasn’t for the zeo crystal or the machine empire Rita and Zedd would have won, Mighty Morphin Power Rangers ends with them winning anyway and how many villains can you say actually achieved their goal of destroying their enemies.
Both of them are powerful and are capable of coming of with plans that really kept the good guys on their feet, truly ruthless in their conquest and in terms of design Lord Zedd looks like something H. R. Gieger would design which balances out Rita’s look, truly these two were a classic duo.
12: Frollo – Played by Tony Jay- Disney’s The Hunchback of Notre Dame
Why: What can I say about Frollo that hasn’t already been said, he is one of the evillest Disney villains ever put to film as he has no problem with genocide, burning the very city he claims to protect to the ground and attempts to drown the infant Quasimodo just after he killed his mother, all of this in service to his religion, this villain had no supernatural powers, he was a mere man who embodied many of the darker sides of human nature.
I do know one part that has not been talked about much and that is the score in relation to the Frollo’s character such as his villain song Hell Fire. In each part of the score for Hunchback of Notre Dame Alan Menken and Stephen Schwartz use liturgical motifs in order to amplify the emotion or even use as a form of commentary on the scene such as in Frollo’s first appearance you will hear Kyrie, Elieson “Lord, have mercy” and in Hell Fire most of Frollo’s ranting about how he is righteous is underscored with a prayer of confession. This adds more of a commentary on Frollo’s character and also reveals his delusions, still believing that after all he has done that he is still a righteous man.
11: Chernabog – Disney’s Fantasia
Why: This guy is pretty much purely concentrated classic Disney evil given demonic form as he rises from the mountain top and uses his powers to wreak havoc on the life below him in many ways. Resurrecting spirits from the beyond, creating demonic forms of life only to destroy them for his amusement and create visions of beauty from the flames only to twist the appearance of the images.
And all of this haunting imagery is accompanied by the chilling score of Modest Mussorgsky’s Night on Bald Mountain, honestly, I know none of the Disney movies are connected, but when Maleficent talks about the powers of hell it feels like this is the power she’s talking about and even in the end when Chernabog is forced to retreat due to the rising sun you still feel that fear from the last 10 minutes of his segment and get the feeling that he will return.
10: The Beast – Over the garden wall
Why: Over the Garden Wall always had an eerie tone to it and most of that stems from this guy, The Beast. He’s a creature that feels like a combination of one H. P. Lovecraft’s Old Ones, a villain from a brothers Grimm fairy tale and a Faustian Demon as he deceives the grief stricken, manipulates the kind hearted and in-stills fear where ever he goes as he stalks the woods, cloaked by the darkness and eyes like lanterns in the distance. Honestly you only ever get a glimpse of his true appearance once, but once you’ve seen it you will know to fear him as you know by then that he is a creature of the unknown.
9: Darth Vader - Voiced by James Earl Jones – Star Wars Franchise
Why: I’d be crazy not to include Darth Vader on this list, he’s Darth Vader, the Sith Lord who takes no prisoners, with a ruthless personality, powerful skills with the force and deadly with a lightsabre, he’s a villain with pathos and he has one of the greatest designs in all of cinema.
8: Aku - Voiced by Mako Iwamatsu– Samurai Jack
Why: Aku is basically pure evil taken form, by the second episode of the show he’s already won and is continuing to expand his empire, he has a range of powers and there is only one weapon that can destroy him, so the show really does know how to set tone with Jack being the world’s last hope as Aku is evil and cunning as instead of just risking defeat at the hands of his enemy he thought to just save the battle for later. One of the best parts of Aku is simply when he interacts with Jack as Aku’s comedic attitude can work well with Jacks serious demeanour and makes him more than just a bad guy.
7: Fire Lord Ozai – Voiced by Mark Hamill – Avatar the Last Airbender
Why: I will admit that Fire lord Ozai isn’t the most complex villain, but in the end, he did live up to the hype set forth by the writers. From the start he was placed in silhouette and only ever mentioned in the acts he’s committed and his views on the world, so by the time you see his face in season 3 the rest of the series has painted quite a picture. Once the final battle started you could see why this guy was the main villain as he was powerful enough to fight the Avatar to a stale mate and was willing to burn an entire nation to the ground so he could rule the world as its king.
6: Father – Fullmetal Alchemist
Why: Throughout the series Father sits in the throne placed at the centre of the whole world, his origins feel almost Faustian in nature, but his plan is narrow minded and egocentric. Father In terms of a character isn’t really interesting after his origin as he is later stoic and serious, but over time I realised that was point, he is an example of someone who wanted too much and didn’t really know why he wanted it, a person who went around achieving his goals in all the wrong ways possible as he thought stripping himself of his seven sins would make him superior, while in the end he truly became lessor for it, which makes him a good foil for the themes of the manga.
5: Sauron - Lord of the Rings - Book/Film
Why: You never saw him, but his name alone was enough to drive the people of middle earth into fear, whenever he was mentioned you got an idea of his presence that he was capable of keeping watch over everything to plan his take over of middle earth.
4: Lord Voldemort - Played by Ralph Finnes – Harry Potter Film Series
Why: In Lord of the rings just mentioning Sauron felt like there was a dark force looking out over the world, with Voldemort everyone was too scared to even say his name, now that is fear and why not, the guy was one of the most powerful dark wizards put to literature and the big screen with Ralph Finnes brining a monstrous personality to the character, plus on his appearance I’m pretty sure if you said this guys name you would definitely be afraid if he showed up.
3: Emporer Palpatine played by Ian McDiarmid– Star Wars Fanchise
Why: To be honest The Emporer is one of my favourite Star Wars characters in general mostly because throughout each film (mostly the prequels) he has a range of what kind of villain he can be, cunning, charming, manipulative and deceiving, the character wasn’t just evil or evil looking, he was capable of enjoying his victories and his eventual conquest, so that made him fun to watch even when he went a bit over the top in some scenes like when fighting Mace Windu.
2: The Lich - Voiced by Ron Perlman – Adventure Time
Why: The Lich essentially is a cosmic evil being led only by a singular goal and that is the destruction of all life in existence, now you’d think that would make his form of evil very basic, but the way he is shown in Adventure Time allows him to be a force to be reckoned with, he manipulates, mutates the form of those he possess and always finds a way to come back. There is no emotion in what he does, he is just an entity and in the few times he speaks it feels like he’s quoting something demonic.
1: Thanos – MCU (Played by Josh Brolin) and Marvel Comics
Why: Now I want to make one thing clear, I’ve always liked Thanos’s character in the comics, he is my favourite Marvel villain mostly due to the fact that I’ve always been invested in the stories involving him as he is the greatest and most constant threat to the Marvel Universe, so years ago when I heard that he was going to be added to the MCU I was a but worried as I thought they might not be able to get the core of his character right for the big screen, but thankfully Infinity War created a great Villain that was different from the comics, but in my opinion was equally as good, so for the number one villain on this list I will be talking about both the comics and the MCU version of Thanos.
To me, the comic version of Thanos was intriguing, a villain not motivated by greed, vengeance or conquest, but by a love, a nihilistic love for death, I found it original and many of the stories surrounding him were capable of being more than just epic, but philosophical as well especially with the Infinity Gauntlet and Thanos Quest, he’s a being who has achieved destructive power and Godhood multiple times and whenever there is a story involving him, I know it is interesting as it takes us into Marvel’s cosmic lore.
Now for the more recent Thanos in the MCU, now like his comic counter-part he has most of his personality, powers and goals intact, but for the big screen he is given more scope in terms of his character than his goal which is good because unlike most villains in the MCU Thanos is a main character in the movie, he reacts much like anyone else to when Loki says he can kill Thor or when he has to kill Gamora, we see the film as more of his story than that of the heroes, it doesn’t matter if you think that are other ways to do his plan, that’s not the point, the point is that fact that he is a rationalist sociopath who thinks that his view on the universe is right and will stop at nothing to do it and in the end he does, whether or not the snap is undone in the end doesn’t matter unlike most villains of the MCU Thanos succeeded and his story doesn’t end with him laughing manically or monologing to himself, it ends with him looking out at the universe believing that he has done the right thing, looking out victorious over a universe that has lost half its population.
Well thanks for reading everybody, its great to back and if you’ve liked this blog or have any suggestions for this list or future blogs please leave them in the comments below and Thank You for Reading.
