NationStates Jolt Archive

A story usually requires a protagonist, even someone who can be considered a hero. But a story abhors imbalance. The protagonist needs an advarsary. Something, or someone to test his or her mettle; an antagonist.

There have been many great villains over the years. Moriarty...Vader...Blofeld. Sometimes these evil figures become more popular than the hero themselves (talk to any Sephiroth fangirl and you'll see what I mean).

Sometimes they have a tragic background that drives them, sometimes they're truely evil, and sometimes they are simply insane. My question to you. What character-type symbolizes the best villain?

Include with your choice your favorite villain.

Scaramanga (virtually an anti-Bond)

Mine comes from video games; Revolver Ocelot of Metal Gear, the ultimate mastermind of the video game universe.

I prefer villains that aren't actually people - things like 'the system'.

A story usually requires a protagonist, even someone who can be considered a hero. But a story abhors imbalance. The protagonist needs an advarsary. Something, or someone to test his or her mettle; an antagonist.

There have been many great villains over the years. Moriarty...Vader...Blofeld. Sometimes these evil figures become more popular than the hero themselves (talk to any Sephiroth fangirl and you'll see what I mean).

Sometimes they have a tragic background that drives them, sometimes they're truely evil, and sometimes they are simply insane. My question to you. What character-type symbolizes the best villain?

Include with your choice your favorite villain.

The Mastermind is a great one. You don't even know who the true enemy is till you've fiought his minions alot.

But dude Seph was a wuss. Tell me one thing he actually did in the present of the game?
I the past he was pretty strong going insane and destroying nebeliem (can't spell the town), but since than nothing but follow jenova and be her puppet.
I mean, the most emotional/critical scene with Aeris being stabbed was Jenova because Seph was still frozen in the ice.
Jenova was the real badguy.

One word: Sauron

One word: Sauron

Sauron rocks. But Morgoth is better. So, so much better. How can you top the guy that MADE the orc, troll, who corrupted the fire-spirits (Balrogs, if I recall) and made (I think) the Ungoliant, who is so much better, and bigger, than Shelob.

Not to mention he made the Elves lives hell for quite a while.

I think a villian who has a reason to do what they do other than "I'm evil, mwahahaha!" is the most interesting, a villian who has some tragic flaw or issue.

Darth Vader FTW!

The Mastermind is a great one. You don't even know who the true enemy is till you've fiought his minions alot.

But dude Seph was a wuss. Tell me one thing he actually did in the present of the game?
I the past he was pretty strong going insane and destroying nebeliem (can't spell the town), but since than nothing but follow jenova and be her puppet.
I mean, the most emotional/critical scene with Aeris being stabbed was Jenova because Seph was still frozen in the ice.
Jenova was the real badguy.

You won't get ANY argument from me. All he did through the entire game was bitch about his mother!

You want a real Final Fantasy villain, look to Kefka from FFIII (or FF VI). That dude was CRAZY!

I prefer the tragic kind because they have the potential to become an antihero, the best kind of character ever.

Magneto!
Properly corrupt (though with a kickass backstory), but given the circumstances, perfectly willing and able to assist the protagonists, even though it really just fits his wonderfully crafted plans.....

Orson Wells is my all time fave villain (Third Man, Touch of Evil, Citizen Kane) Although Kane is agruably not a Villain.

The villians you love to hate.... even if you really like them deep down (but not always)

Adamar (Knights Tale)
Magneto (X-men)
The Phantom (Phatom of the Opera)
Micheal Jordan (Jazz vs Bulls circa 1996)

I prefer either the tragic villain (Like the Phantom of the Opera) or the evil yet clever mastermind (Like Francis Urquhart, though I think he was technically an anti-hero). I despise Bond-style masterminds, though, because they always come across as to silly to be a real threat, the kind of villain who know how to use subtlety and blackmail are the best.

But dude Seph was a wuss. Tell me one thing he actually did in the present of the game?
Meteor? It was ultimately Sephiroth's own malice and lust for revenge on mankind that called that great big rock out of the sky. Arguably, that was a malice spawned by false prophecies of the Jenova within him as it did Cloud in the Crater, but it was still within his power to resist, as it was eventually Cloud's.

Anyway, Villians. Anyone who has a genuine moral reason to battle the protagonists wins my vote. The problem is when the protagonists somehow persuade them by feeble argument that their moral reasoning is defunct and they go "Oh, crap. You're right".

Just bringing this up.

The best new villain in my opinion is Jigsaw. He's methodical, sadistic, has a great charismatic air about him, and yet he has what some would say a good reason for doing what he does.

I voted "True Evil" because I really like the type of villain that is totally out there for themselves. The kind that know what they are doing is considered "wrong" but either revel in it, or simply don't care because they are getting what they want out of it.

Emperor Palpatine is IMO a good example of this type.

My favorite "villain" would be Xanathos from Gargoyles. Of course it's arguable in how far he actually is a villain. Certainly towards the end he's no longer really an adversary; and even on friendly terms with the gargoyles.
He just has a certain style and class.

I voted "True Evil" because I really like the type of villain that is totally out there for themselves. The kind that know what they are doing is considered "wrong" but either revel in it, or simply don't care because they are getting what they want out of it.

Emperor Palpatine is IMO a good example of this type.

I always found him to be a mastermind. But no doubt that guy was equally evil.

Scorpius from Farscape is the perfect villain. He isn't evil for the sake of evil, he is simply driven and amoral. His goal is all that matters to him and he is willing to play anyone, do anything, to acheive it. More importantly, he absolutely irredeemable because he has convinced himself that his cause is just. In terms of plot he makes a wonderful villain because he is patient enough to impliment a truely terrifying plan, politically powerful enough to bring nearly any resource to bear, physically strong enough to make a dangerous enemy in battle, charismatic enough to to convine you that he's right, and intelligent enough to plan for any contingency. Even with all of that, he isn't all-powerful or invulnerable, which means that a character is forced to face him eventually.

I think Docter Doom has got to be my favorite bad guy. Firstly: he is a evil man, and care about his people; second: He is VERY smart; thirdly: He acually runs a country better then most of our presidents; and lastly I am refering to the comic-book DD, the one in the movie was idiot (he was a good bad-guy, but not much like the comic DD.)

Satan, seeking to be equal with his father, struck down and outcast, tragically misunderstood and now keeping the world balanced by taking over evil in it's purest and darkest form.

I always found him to be a mastermind. But no doubt that guy was equally evil. Acually, i'd call him a more of a charismatic myself. But for the sake of argument mastermind/true evil/charismatic.

Sometimes they have a tragic background that drives them, sometimes they're truely evil, and sometimes they are simply insane. My question to you. What character-type symbolizes the best villain? All three. That's what my fictional villain, Lord Andrak, is based on.

All right, I know this is geeky… but I have to go with Abaddon the Despoiler.

By the way, I voted mastermind, because that is what i'd call DD.

Charismatic.

The greatest villain is always the one who can best entice the good.

My favorite villain is H N Fiddlebottoms VIII, aka the 'insane' kind.

However, in what I write I try to make them a combination of them all...

Satan, seeking to be equal with his father, struck down and outcast, tragically misunderstood and now keeping the world balanced by taking over evil in it's purest and darkest form.


Nah, Satan is an anti-hero, at least if you're a fan of Milton. Not even sure I'd use the "anti" if were talking about Satan as he is portrayed by Blake. Theres something positively inspirational in a story about a being so loathe to bow that it would stand up to a god. You can beat me, you can hurt me, you can destroy me, but you cannot force me to submit.

I am sorry to say this but think about it all villians were created bye the writers to be dystroyed.(there fore the writer is the villian correct?) is there not a villian that doesnt monoluge? i am sorry to say this but there istn a real villian out there...but hitler is probably the greatest known villian he can manipulate people to what they want...the problem was is that he tryed to expand to fast along w/ the minor disadvantage of teh US settting his plans back....however i think alquida is doing a great job at being a greater villian. they ystroy what they want and along with it take out economy out of the picture.....if you want a fictional character read a clive clussler book (mainly Atlantis found).

I voted charismatic - there's nothing as great as a bad guy that you like almost as much as the good guys. The only good example that springs to mind right now is Riddick (Pitch Black Riddick, not Chronicles). He's unbelievbly cool, and even though you know he's a complete bastard you love him anyway because he rocks.

There was a lot more I was gonna say about this but it's escaped me. Damn.

I liked Bricktop, from the movie Snatch. Or Catwoman. And yes Satan is a hero.

Lucifer sounds so much more charismatic than Satan, and he's supposed to be charismatic.:)

Darcia from Wolf's Rain. One of the few villains in film history to succeed at killing all the 'good guys.' He's also a complete badass.

What would you classify the MCP from Tron as? The pre-Matrix Matrix?

I liked Bricktop

Bricktop rocks!

Do you know what nemesis is?

Probably a cliche choise, but Magus from Chronotrigger was an awesome villain. So was Kefka.

Iago

Iago


If were going for the Bard, you gotta go with Titus Andronicus...or would you call him an anti-hero?

Charismatic masterminds:

Char Aznable (First Gundam) - the more we got to know Char the nicer he became....
Rau LeCreuset (G.SEED) - masking his intentions of killing all of humanity under ending the war, manipulating all the factions against each other. And sounding quite sane throughout.

For paranoia, who can forget General Ripper from Dr. Strangelove?

An anti-hero like Shylock or Fransico Scaramanga is also refreshing.

Simonist']Magneto!
Properly corrupt (though with a kickass backstory), but given the circumstances, perfectly willing and able to assist the protagonists, even though it really just fits his wonderfully crafted plans.....

The thing I liked about Magneto is that I could actually sympathize with him to a certain extent. In his place, I'd probably be angry at the world too. Of course, he used people, even his fellow mutants, shamelessly to achieve his goals, until he lost sight of what he was originally fighting for, but that's part of the tragic aspect of it.

That being said, my favorite villain was Ernst Blofeld's cat. That cat was clearly the mastermind behind SPECTRE, and Bond never, ever caught on. After all, Bond killed Blofeld at least three times in the films, but the cat always got away. Next time around, "Blofeld" would have a totally different face and body - but it was always the same cat. "Blofeld" was clearly just a tool the cat used to communicate with its subordinates. And an international criminal organization with no clear agenda other than making the world dance to its tune makes no sense, unless a cat is in charge.

It was the cat, I tell you. The perfect disguise.

:p

Emperor Palpatine, the Sith Lord Darth Sidious is the truly evil archetype villain for me. He was born to decieve and to destroy; he groomed the Republic from the start of his political career to be forged into his personal Empire; he groomed the Jedi Order to collapse into itself while doing his will; and he groomed Anakin Skywalker to be his protege from the first time he laid eyes on him. Cold, calculating, sinister - that's villainy right there.

Mine comes from video games; Revolver Ocelot of Metal Gear, the ultimate mastermind of the video game universe.

Seconded. I mean, isn´t he just so adorable? And i know that sounded gay.
And i apologise to homosexual people, i should stop making fun of you.
Except that im not really making fun of you per se, but you get the picture.

If were going for the Bard, you gotta go with Titus Andronicus...or would you call him an anti-hero?
No, iagos his greatest villioan, subtle and brilliant. One actor got shot while playing him! Now thats well written.

I usually prefer my antagonists to be something like "the society" or "misconceptions" or what have you. Things you cannot see, can barely fight, yet that are pummeling the protagonist into the ground all the same.

However, if we're really going for 'villain', I'm voting for Señor Senior Senior.

I mean, come on, this is the man who knows his villainy. He may not have written the book on it, but by Gods he has read it cover to cover several times. This man embodies everything I like about villains.

You won't get ANY argument from me. All he did through the entire game was bitch about his mother!

You want a real Final Fantasy villain, look to Kefka from FFIII (or FF VI). That dude was CRAZY!

Soooo close. FF7 Sephiroth. Utter BArmy Nutcase Argh. But the best villain is the one who REALLLY believed they are right. Another really good villain type are the Mad ones. or the ones that have a Good Idea, and then decide to kill lots of people to do it.

I like villians that think they are doing the right thing, or a good thing, or a justified thing. They have the most compelling psychology, can veer between scary and tragic, tempt us into thinking they can be reformed, etc. I also like villains who have motivations I can recognize and understand, even if they're really dark.

The villain in Dark Angel, by Caleb Carr, was a woman who kidnapped and killed babies. She really wanted a baby, but she just couldn't deal with the demands babies put on their parents. She would always end up shaking them or smothering them because they wouldn't stop needing, demanding, crying for things. Then she would think she had the problem figured out and go steal another baby. But the problem was that there was no problem -- that's just how babies are -- so the horror continued. When she gets caught, she makes this wonderful speech about the horrible pressure of being a mother. She was a terrific villain.

I'm working on two fictional villains who want revenge against the hero for things he did to them in the past. One is a murderer who was punished for her crimes by the hero; she thought he was in love with her and that he betrayed her by turning her in. The other is the hero's long-time enemy, who wants revenge because the hero killed his son, who was also a villain.

I like villains who are kind of manufactured by the actions of heroes.

Then again, I also enjoy villains who are just in it for themselves. No tortured psyches. Just people who really enjoy their work.