Best
5: King Hagrid of The Last Unicorn. Granted, this is 95% because he was voiced by Christopher Lee who made him so compelling, even hypnotic at times. And many can relate to those who seek lost happiness, even if they unknowingly make themselves and others miserable in trying to capture a moment forever.
4: Bester of Babylon 5. Especially that friendly smile that mocked his victims. And the casual sadism despite his aloof demeanor. And yet he was one who knew love and I could see why he became the bastard he was (even as I think Susan could've saved civilization a lot of grief if she did blow him out of space as she almost did, though it would've been an end to her character as she'd have never gotten away with it, and a fast execution would be a mercy).
3: Fiona Goode of AHS: Coven Her sarcasm is hilarious, and her arrogance and anxiety are blended perfectly well.
That she looks, and sort of acts, a lot like my mom may influence me here, but I think it's in spite of that rather than because of it (my mom would love her and see her as a role model). Maybe it helps that her daughter is one of the few I'd consider on the side of the angels (at least as close as anyone gets), and yet rather than being enemies their relationship is...complicated.
Morality is so grey in this show that it's hard to firmly place one in the hero or villain camp, but I'd say this one is definitely a villain...and awesome to watch. Here, 1 minute (as I skip over a lot) as one of the examples I can post here without it being removed by the mods:
2: Palpatine of the Star Wars franchise. I know many will disagree with me on this, but hear me out.
This one is very rare for a media villain. He was slow, patient, methodical, controlled both sides of a war and got his mortal enemies to do the vast majority of his dirty work, got others to give him the power he "relunctantly" took, even the Jedi practically gift wrapped their Chosen One for him. The Jedi lost by playing the Sith game (this, btw, is why Luke was so important, and why he won--he tossed aside his lightsaber rather than using it as the Jedi Order before him had done, and he had struggled with arrogance and being like the Jedi who got wiped out before he realized he was playing into Palpatine's hands). A favorite scene of mine is Palpatine smiling, seemingly in relief, about as Kenobi says, "Sith Lords are our speciality." (I laugh.)
And to top it off...he WINS! (Granted, he planned to rule as Emperor for longer than a quarter of a century, but it's still a good run, and that's just counting his time as Emperor with "UNLIMITED POWER!!!".)
This is who Bester hopes to be when he gets older. Heck, maybe he was inspired by the character!
😀
1: Silco of LOL: Arcane. He was so complex, even though he didn't appear so at first glance. There is a lot of subtle scenes alone that show the conflict and complexity of his character. While his taking in Jinx/Powder wasn't ideal, it was the best she could've reasonably hoped for (there is one possible exception, but that probably wouldn't have worked out well either). Sometimes, he struck me as a lesser evil than the so-called heroes. All the heroes and villains are complex with the line blurred between them, it's just a few like Silco that is firmly on one side, and even so, he has a vision larger than himself, and has the ability to love others more than himself.
Honorable Mentions: Shego of
Kim Possible (especially when paired with Drakken), but that's a little too silly of a show to include here, no matter how much I loved seeing and hearing her...and also Gaius Baltar of
Battlestar Galactica who was a villain as long as I watched, but I understand he morphed considerably (and could be a grudgingly sympathetic one at times, even doing something surprisingly good or noble at times), so I'm just not certain enough to add him to the list. I was also tempted to add Riddick, but I can only say for
Pitch Black, not the other media the character shows up in. I also want to add Regina/the Evil Queen (and/or Rumple) from
Once Upon a Time, but that got messed up by continuing it several seasons after the story was done but the suits wanted to beat more money out of that franchise.
Anime has done some without real villains in the main cast (like
Violet Evergarden) or where the line between villain and hero is too blurred (
Princess Mononoke--many think of Lady Eboshi is a villain, but I consider her as much as an arrogant heroine as Princess Mononoke, and in the D&D alignment I'd have Lady Eboshi as Chaotic Good while Princess Mononoke that many see as the heroine as True Neutral, both as arrogant and fanatic as the other).
Worst:
This is hard for me as I generally won't watch those that don't interest me as they move the story forward (ironically, I'd be tempted to add Anakin to this list, but probably wouldn't because of his Vader aspect).
I'm NOT counting those just because I hated them if they moved the story forward in an organic way. For example, I hated Dolores Umbridge more than Voldemort and listening to her was often like listening to someone scratching a chalkboard, but she moved the story along in a way fitting to the story, so she's not on this list (thankfully, she didn't appear in the movies much beyond that one, and it would take someone like her to really push Hermione into breaking the rules). I'm also not counting media aimed for kids or horror movie franchises as I think they are necessarily held to different standards.
I'm also not going to list one as I expect it would generate outrage, and because I find the villain so annoying and dumb despite how they write him to be the boss of bosses, I don't watch enough to get into an argument who think he's an awesome villain. (I'm surprised he hasn't been listed as one of the best yet, but he probably will be.)
5/Emperor Shao Kahn of Mortal Kombat: Annihilation. Hilariously bad. (So were the heroes.) Couldn't take it seriously, but oh did I laugh...and then laughed again at the look on someone else's face when I convinced her to watch it. But I'm so glad someone gave this to me rather than me spending money it.
4/The Trio in Buffy the Vampire Slayer. Realistic, when they're running around with freeze rays, sorcery, and the ability to warp time as they did repeatedly? Not really. They're actually the most silly villains (but not the dumbest, that goes to The First, who I won't be including here because I don't even want to think about season 7 here). They're more geek caricatures put into a reality where comic book gadgets and powers can manifest than "real life."
I'm going to limit myself to them for the Buffyverse, though I could add more (most are minor).
3/Amanda Waller of Suicide Squad. Technically she recruits villains, but she is one, just "on the right side of the law." (I'm not sure if she was supposed to be seen as a villain or not, but she is in my book.) And so idiotic that the writing drives me as nuts as the character herself.
2/Shinzon of Star Trek: Next Generation (movie): after learning of his origin I was greatly intrigued and fascinated, but ultimately....meh. Though not the only reason, this pretty much caused me to lose interest in the Star Trek franchise, at least on film (more accurately, the final nail in the coffin). (I still like the earlier stuff, for the most part.) Making me lose interest in seeing future installments of a franchise I was fond of earns a place on this list.
1/Avatar. I can't even remember, I think I repressed it. All I remember wishing about everyone on both sides of the conflict had died, and resentment for those who convinced me to pay money to see it that took me about a month to get over (I usually get over things in a day or so, especially over a movie). Normally I don't rant about what others love that I don't, but I did on this one before I firmly put it out of my mind and consider it a blessing that I barely remember it now. So I'm making whoever the villains (officially, and in my own mind) were #1 on this list.
