My #1 and it goes back to what I was saying about Amy Dunne. The best villains, are the most cerebral characters who won't stop at any length to get what they want even if that means killing people. I've never been somebody who responds to purely evil characters, they don't exist in real life. Hannibal though? Yeah, I can totally see that guy and it's unnerving that somebody could be capable of good but chooses to be such a destructive force.

The fact there was a demand for a sequel 10 years down the track and it had to be Anthony Hopkins in the role was just a no-brainer.

Buffalo Bill was a jabroni by comparison.

Maybe I haven't watched Silence recently enough, but my recollection is Hannibal being too much of a Vader-ish heel in that he's too iconic and charismatic to root against. Fuck, he's even helping the good guys against an even creepier baddie IMO. Totally understand him ranking though for others, and being in the Top 5 makes total sense. Such a shame Hannibal and Red Dragon didn't live up to the hype and quality of Silence.

I had Hannibal Lector ranked #15 because of Anthony Hopkins brilliant performance and because Hannibal Lector is such a fascinating character. But he was never the primary villain in ANY film he was ever featured in, so I had to dock him major points for that. I could never see him as top 5 baddie.

Aug 17, 2020 15:53:21 GMT 🤯 said:

Maybe I haven't watched Silence recently enough, but my recollection is Hannibal being too much of a Vader-ish heel in that he's too iconic and charismatic to root against. Fuck, he's even helping the good guys against an even creepier baddie IMO. Totally understand him ranking though for others, and being in the Top 5 makes total sense. Such a shame Hannibal and Red Dragon didn't live up to the hype and quality of Silence.

I didn’t put Vader on the list. He wasn’t bad. Oh sure he slaughtered children but he was trying to save his love and in the end saved his child and redeemed himself.

I did rank Vader and pretty high at that. He ranks 10 out of 10 on the icon scale and for 2 3/4 of the movies he was in he was the baddest and most terrifying mofo out there. Plus he has the 2nd best theme music of any villain with only Michael Myers beating him out in that area.

Wait, Darth Vader does a face turn right at the end of Star Wars? Just like a certain Harry Potter character? Who ripped off who here?

Aug 17, 2020 19:58:19 GMT Emperor said:

Wait, Darth Vader does a face turn right at the end of Star Wars? Just like a certain Harry Potter character? Who ripped off who here?

Well Star Wars came out in 1977 so you do the math.

I would have put Vader on my list but the prequels Nancied him and he redeemed himself in the end. That’s no a baddie.

He wasn't Darth Vader for most of the prequels. He was Anakin Skywalker. When he DOES become Darth Vader his first act is to murder a bunch of school age children. Pretty damn villainous if you ask me. He only finds redemption in the last 3rd of Return of the Jedi, which was enough for me not to rank him #1. But for most of his screen time Darth Vader was the baddest villain around.

Aug 16, 2020 23:01:38 GMT 🤯 said:

Love Hans. Love Alan Rickman. Love Die Hard. Too lazy to look up my list, but I'm willing to bet I didn't list Hans because he was too charismatic and likable on some levels. But man of man what an all-time great character and performance nonetheless. Kinda wish he hadn't been killed in the first so we could've got more of him in the second. Maybe die there to set up his brother Jeremy Irons in the third and final. Anyway... Even though I probably didn't vote for him, zero qualms with Hans making this list. Between Hans and Snape, my money is on Rickman as GOAT villain actor.

For me Gary Oldman is the king of villain actors.   Every villain he plays is nothing short of awesome.

Aug 17, 2020 21:47:57 GMT iron maiden said:

Aug 17, 2020 19:58:19 GMT Emperor said:

Wait, Darth Vader does a face turn right at the end of Star Wars? Just like a certain Harry Potter character? Who ripped off who here?

Well Star Wars came out in 1977 so you do the math.

Yeah but Darth Vader didn't do his face turn in the first movie did he? When was he actually revealed as a face? In the first trilogy? I have no idea, I don't do Star Wars. This is the first time I learnt he was even remotely good.

My point is the Darth Vader face turn may have happened after the Harry Potter villain face turn. Probably not, but I don't know.

Aug 17, 2020 23:07:03 GMT thereallt said:

Aug 16, 2020 23:01:38 GMT 🤯 said:

Love Hans. Love Alan Rickman. Love Die Hard. Too lazy to look up my list, but I'm willing to bet I didn't list Hans because he was too charismatic and likable on some levels. But man of man what an all-time great character and performance nonetheless. Kinda wish he hadn't been killed in the first so we could've got more of him in the second. Maybe die there to set up his brother Jeremy Irons in the third and final. Anyway... Even though I probably didn't vote for him, zero qualms with Hans making this list. Between Hans and Snape, my money is on Rickman as GOAT villain actor.

For me Gary Oldman is the king of villain actors.   Every villain he plays is nothing short of awesome.

The OG GO is the only guy I was thinking of who could legit challenge Alan Rickman as GOAT villain actor. I'm willing to agree with you because the OG GO is more of a chameleon with more versatility probably in a head-to-head.

Aug 17, 2020 23:55:02 GMT Emperor said:

Aug 17, 2020 21:47:57 GMT iron maiden said:

Well Star Wars came out in 1977 so you do the math.

Yeah but Darth Vader didn't do his face turn in the first movie did he? When was he actually revealed as a face? In the first trilogy? I have no idea, I don't do Star Wars. This is the first time I learnt he was even remotely good.

My point is the Darth Vader face turn may have happened after the Harry Potter villain face turn. Probably not, but I don't know.

Are you doing a Trump impression? :ugh:

Star Wars Return of the Jedi - 1983
Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone - 1997

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows - 2007

I'm not sure if this is a 'Crow Sting' moment or what, but I don't even consider the two on the same level. Vader was set up masterfully whereas Snape was always the red herring that you were supposed to stop suspecting sometime by Book 5, that's tested in Book 6 but you know something is up and Book 7 confirms that with the best chapter in the book.

James Potter was the real villain of Harry Potter.

Aug 18, 2020 2:32:27 GMT Big Pete said:

Star Wars Return of the Jedi - 1983
Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone - 1997

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows - 2007

I'm not sure if this is a 'Crow Sting' moment or what, but I don't even consider the two on the same level. Vader was set up masterfully whereas Snape was always the red herring that you were supposed to stop suspecting sometime by Book 5, that's tested in Book 6 but you know something is up and Book 7 confirms that with the best chapter in the book.

James Potter was the real villain of Harry Potter.

James Potter deserved to get got.

I'm just sad it wasn't Snape who had the pleasure.

Freddy Krueger was my number 4. He was pretty vile in the first two films especially before he became the jokester. Murdering children is about as low as it gets, also being arguably the most recognizable of the big 3 slashers puts him high on my list just for being an icon of the genre.

Hans Gruber was my number 6, the accent and the one-liners combined with murdering Takagi in cold blood made him a must for my list.

Hannibal Lecter was tough to rank but like with most of my list I leaned heavily towards performance and icon status to put him at 2. At the end of the day he's still a cold blooded psycho even though he does lend a helping hand in catching Buffalo Bill (who also made my list.) Again I found it tough to think of villains whose acts made me completely despise them, most villians have some semblance of a weird charisma to make them compelling.

Aug 17, 2020 23:55:02 GMT Emperor said:

I have no idea, I don't do Star Wars.

I don’t understand this.

Aug 18, 2020 4:05:42 GMT iron maiden said:

Aug 17, 2020 23:55:02 GMT Emperor said:

I have no idea, I don't do Star Wars.

I don’t understand this.

Dr. Emperor only does Star Peacetime.

4. Commodus 

"They tell me your son squealed like a girl when they nailed him to the cross. And your wife moaned like a whore when they ravaged her again and again... and again."

Movie 

Gladiator 

Portrayed By 

Joaquin Phoenix 

Type of Villain 

Cowardly Tyrant 

Goals 

- Kill father and become Emperor of Rome 

- Kill Maximus 

Crimes 

- Assault 

- Rape 

- Patricide 

- Mass Murder 

- Blackmail 

- Gaoling 

- Conspiracy 

Commodus didn't make my list but he's a really good shout nonetheless. An epic performance by Joaquin Phoenix coupled with him playing one of the most dislikable characters ever. It's hard to think of a single redeeming feature for Commodus. Ruthlessness, cowardice, and incestuous behavior wrapped up in one tidy little package.

People have talked about their favourite villains having a cool factor, something that makes them engaging.

Not me. The villains I consider to be the greatest are those who have nothing remotely good about them. Vile, deplorable pieces of scum. The world would unquestionably be better without them.

Commodus is such an antagonist, one of the greatest examples. He knows his own failings as a person, as he admits to his own father before murdering him, yet he still persists in his gluttonous quest for power. He achieved ultimate power, but his narcissism and paranoia would never allow him to truly enjoy it or use it as a force for good. Instead he desperately and selfishly clung to it, pathetic worm that he is, holding power for its own sake without understand that it should be used to benefit his citizens. He did anything in his power to quell any threats.

The annoying thing is, despite all his shortcomings, Commodus is very intelligent, alert, and crafty. He knew how to play the game and detected signs of treachery long before they took effect. He may have succeeded in ruling for his lifetime, if it wasn't for an unstoppable vengeance-fuelled force of nature named Maximum Decimus Meridius.

Fucking HATED Commodus (pronounced commode-us because dude was such a human toilet) and loved when he finally got got.

Such a vile vile villain portrayed so well that I'm honestly a little surprised I was able to like Joaquin Phoenix afterward.

Get chills thinking about that asshole. If he'd gotten away with his bullshit and no comeuppance, he would've been up there with Noah Cross in my book.

Hell yeah.

Commodus!

Can't talk about Commodus without posting the single best acted scene of the movie.

Aug 18, 2020 23:46:15 GMT 🤯 said:

Fucking HATED Commodus (pronounced commode-us because dude was such a human toilet) and loved when he finally got got.

Such a vile vile villain portrayed so well that I'm honestly a little surprised I was able to like Joaquin Phoenix afterward.

Get chills thinking about that asshole. If he'd gotten away with his bullshit and no comeuppance, he would've been up there with Noah Cross in my book.

Yay another one!!!

Commodus was my #3. A vile, wretched excuse for a human being. No redeeming qualities and played to perfection by Joaquin Phoenix. When he finally gets his just deserts you truly feel as though it did the world a favour.

3. Joker 

"You just couldn't let me go, could you? This is what happens when an unstoppable force meets an immovable object. You truly are incorruptible, aren't you? Huh? You won't kill me, out of some misplaced sense of self-righteousness... and I won't kill you, because you're just too much fun! I think you and I are destined to do this forever."

Movie 

The Dark Knight 

Portrayed By 

Heath Ledger 

Type of Villain 

Nihilistic Anarchist

Goals 

- Create New Era of Anarchy 

- Plunge Gotham City into insanity 

- Corrupting Batman 

Crimes 

- Mass Murder 

- Terrorism 

- Bank Robbery 

- Kidnapping 

- Mutilation 

- Vandalism 

- Psychological Torture 

I had the Joker ranked #12 due to his infamy and due to Heath Ledger's incredible performance. I couldn't rank him any higher though because he didn't inspire any hatred or fear from me. I actually enjoyed watching him tear up Gotham City

Aug 19, 2020 17:12:33 GMT thereallt said:

Shootist,I had the Joker ranked #12 due to his infamy and due to Heath Ledger's incredible performance. I couldn't rank him any higher though because he didn't inspire any hatred or fear from me. I actually enjoyed watching him tear up Gotham City

Pretty much this. Add in the fact he got caught, and he totally missed my list. I get him making people's list, totally not surprised he's in PW's Top 3, but not for me based on my criteria for this.

I had Freddy and the Joker on my list of course.
Didn’t include Hannibal or Hans and I still haven’t seen Gladiator. Oops

I knew The Joker would be high on the list, so I actually had him low on mine. I love his portrayal in the majority of movies/games/anime but I feel like a lot of his decisions actually force people to create the situation. So he isn’t super high on my list for that reason in compared to others. Heath Ledger still blows my mind with his performance. Can’t believe that was 12 years ago and it still stands out to everyone.

2. Thanos 

"In all my years of conquest, violence, slaughter, it was never personal. But I'll tell you now, what I'm about to do to your stubborn, annoying little planet... I'm gonna enjoy it... very, very much."

Movies

The Avengers Franchise 

Portrayed By 

Josh Brolin 

Type of Villain 

Tyrannical Cosmic Entity

Goals 

- Obtain all Infinity Stones 

- Eradicate half the universes population 

Crimes 

- Mass Murder 

- Torture 

- Kidnapping 

- Enslavement 

- War Crimes 

- Attempted Mass Omnicide 

Thanos is great , perfect performance by Brolin as well.

What makes him stand out to me is that he's not wrong , there is a whole ton of truth in what he is preaching about over population and they even elude to it in Endgame when Cap talks about how clean the world is now. Also you have to respect that although his mission is tyrannical - he isn't killing discriminately. No preferences. Just half the population.

Obviously the way he goes about it , the personal vendetta with the Avengers and GOTG and everything makes him a villain. Im just saying , like all good villains - he has a point and maybe the best point of them all. #2 is a fitting spot.