Favorite Villain?

[Prowler]

I don't like just a single type of villains. I like the funny ones such as Shredder, Krang, Bebop and Rocksteady from the original TMNT cartoon; but I also like cunning and intelligent ones like Bishop from the 2k3 series and Crocodile from One Piece.

...and I honestly can't think of many more. I mean I do like The Joker and Ganondorf but I'm not exactly crazy about them. The Terminator was cool too, I guess.

Usually, when it comes to fiction, I prefer the good guys. I also like anti-heroes , but used to be more into them as a teenager when I went through a phase where I was tired of "good vs. evil" stories. Nowadays I'm past that and can enjoy such stories again. Anyone else went through a similar phase?

[Electric]

Originally Posted by CylonsKlingonsDaleksOhMy

Except for the part where adults are arguing with children, I'm finding this pretty amusing.

And to answer MM's question, I absolutely love all of the villains from the Dark Knight Trilogy: R'as al Ghul, Scarecrow, Joker, Harvey Dent, Bane, Talia, Selina Kyle... General Zod was pretty awesome, too.

Oh, and Doctor Harrison Wells and Slade Wilson. And Malcolm Merlyn.

Does anybody else notice a pattern?

Reading this made me happy, as I am the biggest DC geek there is.

As this DC geek, almost all of my favorite villains come from there, actually batman, as im even more of a geek from that, and this has been a well thought out constructed list that I back up for my personal preference

1. The joker
2. Scarecrow
3. The riddler
4. Selim Bradley/Pride (only non DC one)
5. Harley Quinn

[Spike Spiegel]

Originally Posted by Prowler

Usually, when it comes to fiction, I prefer the good guys. I also like anti-heroes , but used to be more into them as a teenager when I went through a phase where I was tired of "good vs. evil" stories. Nowadays I'm past that and can enjoy such stories again. Anyone else went through a similar phase?

Yes--for instance, I always liked Batman more than Superman, as I thought Superman's "boy scout" attitude made him boring. Characters like Batman, Punisher, or Spawn are willing to do whatever it takes to meet their goals. As I get older, I have gained a greater appreciation for the moral fortitude Superman has to use that kind of power in the service of others rather than taking over the world.

[Prowler]

Originally Posted by Spike Spiegel

Yes--for instance, I always liked Batman more than Superman, as I thought Superman's "boy scout" attitude made him boring. Characters like Batman, Punisher, or Spawn are willing to do whatever it takes to meet their goals. As I get older, I have gained a greater appreciation for the moral fortitude Superman has to use that kind of power in the service of others rather than taking over the world.

I don't like Superman. I find him generic and boring. Has nothing to do with his alignment, otherwise I'd dislike Batman as well. After all he doesn't kill his enemies even though they always end up escaping and killing people. And I find Spider-Man a worse offender of the "boy scout" attitude than Superman. Now that's a superhero whose attitude screams "goody two-shoes".

[Bry]

To answer the thread question... I generally find villains more interesting if they're somewhat sympathetic or I can at least understand where they're coming from. Visual impact and personality go a long way too, but a lot of the time the "cooler" villains can be pretty shallow as characters. There's definitely a place for villains who are "just evil", but I don't often find them as interesting.

Magneto's probably the "best" villain as far as that goes - he's an extremist, he's guilty of many unforgivable crimes... but you can very easily understand why he thinks the way he does, and at times it's hard to argue with his philosophy.

But my #1 choice is probably Lex Luthor. And there've been many versions, but I prefer the Luthor who really is a self-made man who worked his way up from nothing. He's a psychopathic narcissist and a total hypocrite, but you can also respect him to a certain degree... and can even understand his obsession with the idea of Superman, with all his god-like powers, holding people back from living up to their full potential. He's wrong, but there's a shred of a point there. At the same time, Lex himself could help humanity in so many ways, but he never will, out of sheer spite.



I think this only really works when Lex is a self-made man who came from poverty, though. Their whole rivalry has a very different feel when he's a rich kid who inherited his station in life. That's not a bad angle for a villain necessarily, and considering how the middle class is evaporating in today's economy I definitely see the appeal, but a Lex who clawed his way up from the gutter seeing Superman as someone born into privilege (as he didn't earn his powers) gives his anger and spite toward him a lot more weight.

Originally Posted by Candy Kappa

Dolores Umbridge, she is straight up scary and a very real villain.

Oh, definitely this. She might have been the most hate-worthy Harry Potter villain, because people just like her absolutely exist and make the world a worse place every day. (And she was somewhat based on Margaret Thatcher, right?)

[Mew]

Thanks, Bry.

For Magneto, his costume is RED. That's true villainy right there.

[CylonsKlingonsDaleksOhMy]

I completely forgot about Magneto! Probably because he's not DC.

[Aaronardo]

For me, it's a tie between Ganondorf and Amon, since both are menacing and just all-around great and interesting villains.

[MrTMNT2012]

Amon is good too.

But to me, the greatest villain will always be Zaheer: the Airbending anarchist/terrorist. Such a multi-faceted character and this scene cemented his place as my favourite: