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Favourite villian

TopHat

Minstrel
Hi guys!

One of the most fun parts of writing is just creating characters, according to me. Villains and antagonists are my favorites and I sometimes find myself cheering for them more than the hero. And throughout all kinds of media I've seen some unforgettable characters, perfect counterparts to the hero.
I'd like to know who your favorites are!

In both literature, movies, comics, all kinds of media: Who is your favorite villain or antagonist and why?

Yours,
TopHat.
 
Really hard for me to pick. I love villains so much. I know one of them is Ursella, from The Little Mermaid. Another is going to be Maleficent from Sleeping Beauty, she's just awesome. Getting out of Disney (but still in animation) I love...what's the name of the dude from Quest for Camelot. He was pretty rad. But I love villains. I tend to favorite them over the hero, lol, so this was pretty hard to decide.
 

TrustMeImRudy

Troubadour
-sticks out tongue at Spider-

Come on guys...The Master to the Doctor in New Doctor Who.
Furthermore, if anyone has ever read Bridge of Birds by Barry Hughart, I love the villain in there, not because of his personality or power or anything of that nature, but because of how he is represented. Can't say more without spoilers, and I refuse to ever spoil my favorite book for anybody.
 

Kn'Trac

Minstrel
I've always have a weakness for Count Stradh von Zarovich or Firran Zal'Honan (Azalin) from the Ravenloft series of novels. Their lives are so tragic, that you can't help but feel a kind of sympathy for them, even though they are ruthless monsters and would kill with little more than a second thought.
 

shangrila

Inkling
In all honesty, I've always liked the Joker as a villain regardless of the medium. There's just something cool, in a villain sort of way, about his particular brand of insanity. Not to mention I love the idea that he and Batman practically need each other.
 

Guy

Inkling
Kurgan from the first Highlander movie.

Smaug. I normally despise arrogance, but from the first time I saw the Hobbit cartoon as a kid to this very moment I thought Smaug was just so damn cool.

Hans Gruber in the first Die Hard.

And, of course, Agent Smith. I especially sympathize with him on those days when I'm particularly disgusted with humanity. And I've been told several times I look like him. Or I did when I still had hair.
 
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Smith

Minstrel
Scorpius. Farscape. If I could pick only one antagonist to fit the Magnificent Bastard trope, it would be him.
 

Gryphos

Auror
For me it's probably got to be Andrew Ryan from the game Bioshock. While I may thoroughly disagree with his libertarian philosophy, I love his persona. His eloquence, his intelligence, the way he's always in complete control of the situation...
... even in his death.

This is probably my favourite cutscene from any game: the death of Andrew Ryan. As I said earlier, I love the way he essentially gets the last laugh by using his own death to prove a point.

[video=youtube_share;14pQ5B0iTUs]http://youtu.be/14pQ5B0iTUs[/video]
 

skip.knox

toujours gai, archie
Moderator
Walter White in Breaking Bad. Easily the most vile character I've encountered in fiction, not least because he's one of the most complex.
 
These days I've got a list, when it comes to comics villains. I'm biased more toward a longterm body of work (body count of work?) than any one outstanding run-- no, the push Tom Hiddleston gave to Loki is just too recent to make that, um, cut.

4) Magneto. Because the world needs a Holocaust-based villain who's almost *right* but still wrong on an epic scale, with a practically cosmic level of power.

3) Lex Luthor. Because you can't ignore anyone who keeps the Big S on his toes. And the idea of Big Money/ Influence and sheer human ambition and ego really is the perfect dark counterpart for a perfect hero. Which one is it that humanity really deserves?

2) DOOM! Because he's in some ways the template for all comics villains, or at least the quintessence of them. He doesn't have the extra wrinkles of the previous two, but nobody expects him to. He was too busy inspiring Darth Vader.

1) The Joker. Because, he doesn't use no frickin' templates. ("When supervillains want to sit around and scare each other, they tell Joker stories.")
 

Legendary Sidekick

The HAM'ster
Moderator
BOOK: The villain from Dragon Tears (Koontz) who stopped time, ripped a girl's arm off, and left her paused half-tipped over. The reader never gets to see the resulting chaos because this guy just didn't give a sh*t.

MOVIE: The alien queen from Aliens. I don't feel I need to justify this.

VIDEO GAME: M. Bison. He's involved in every kind of evil, including killing the token female's dad on a Tuesday.

CARTOON: Star Scream. He hated everybody, like an evil Donald Duck.

TOY: The Head-Hunter, who was the main villain in many games involving Legos. He hat a hat shoved over the neck. No head. That way you wouldn't have a villain with a stupid smile. Today's Legos have their game face on, but I played with yesterday's Legos. Yesterday was 25-35 years ago.
 

Asterisk

Troubadour
The best movie villain for me is hands down the Joker.
Book-wise, Umbridge. God, I think all HP fans hate her with more of a passion than Voldemort
 
Book-wise, Umbridge. God, I think all HP fans hate her with more of a passion than Voldemort

The thing is, we see her more than we do the Guy We Can't Name. Voldemort builds up a lot of offstage momentum, and we start to learn about his past, but it doesn't create the same personal hatred we do for an actual ministry meddler who carves up Harry's arm to "prevent" lies. :furious:
 

TopHat

Minstrel
The Joker is probably one of my most favourite villians too. He's so chaotic, you never know what he might do! Plus he's funny to watch/read about. Heath Ledgers Joker is, hands down, the best Joker I have ever seen. Nicolsen made an unforgetable Joker too, but he wasn't as scary as Ledgers.
 

Gryphos

Auror
I know I already did a post about Andrew Ryan, but another noteworthy villain that many people seem to forget is Kingseeker Frampt from the game Dark Souls. Although he may look absolutely ridiculous (image for proof),
images

he is extremely manipulative. Throughout the game you go on thinking he's an ally, calling you "chosen undead" and "elucidating your fate", guiding you throughout the game. In fact most people probably went through their entire first playthrough believing he was a friend. Only when you look into the cryptic lore of the game do you realise his true nature.

In actuality, there is no "chosen undead", he just tells you that. He would have told any undead who stumbled upon him that they were 'destined' to link the fire. And what he never tells you (and what the player themselves may not realise, as the end is rather difficult to understand) is that linking the fire not only kills you, but is ultimately pointless and doesn't really achieve anything. Frampt essentially tricks the "chosen undead" into trusting him, before sending them to their death for his own selfish needs. And the player probably won't ever even know what's happening.
 

rhd

Troubadour
I'm going to go with Micheletto from the Borgias played by Sean Harris. He's like the most evil pet assassin, extremely loyal, and probably one of the most interesting secondary characters I've ever come across.

Smith, I agree I did wait for Scorpius to come on screen in my Farscape days.
 
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