Memorable Villains

[Russell Brooks]

Hello, everyone.

I've always thought that the best movies and books were those that had the most memorable villains. Remember Nurse Ratched from One Flew Over the Cuckoos Nest, Hannibal Lechter (who needs no introduction).

Who are your favorite villains in a novel and why.

Mine are: Jim Hilger from the John Rain series by Barry Eisler. He's such a patriot that he will cause havoc elsewhere so that the US can appear like the world's savior.

Alex Cork: from the Jack Daniels series by JA Konrath. A real psychopath that plays around with heroine Jack Daniels, who cannot help but feel sorry for her.

Queen Akasha from Queen of the Damned, by Anne Rice. Probably the world's oldest feminist.

[Trauntj]

any antagonist that would be the hero of his own story is the greatest villain in my book. where you want to root for both the protag and antag at various points :)

[lucidzfl]

Darth Mutha Effin Vader.

[VileZero]

Darth Mutha Effin Vader.

Beat me to it!

[archerjoe]

The Jackal from Day of the Jackal. I think he meets Trauntj's idea in that he would be the hero of his own book.

Anton Chigurh - No Country for Old Men

[Grand_Maester]

Am I allowed to say my villain, from my WIP?

[MGraybosch]

Am I allowed to say my villain, from my WIP?

I don't mind. I tried to make my own villain a magnificent, memorable bastard. But putting aside my own work, here are some villains I remember fondly:


John Milton (played by Al Pacino) in The Devil's Advocate
The Lady, Soulcatcher, The Limper, and Mogaba from Glen Cook's The Black Company novels
Kefka from Final Fantasy VI
Vayne Solidor from Final Fantasy XII
Delita Hyral from Final Fantasy Tactics
Izanami from Persona 4
Gaynor the Damned from a bunch of Michael Moorcock's novels
Randall Flagg from The Stand
Pennywise the Clown from It

[AdamH]

Anton Chigurh - No Country for Old Men

Incredibly chilling choice. He'd give Hannibal Lecter a run for his money as a pure cold blooded killer.

My list:

Hannibal Lecter
Darth mutha effin' Vader
Heath Ledger's Joker
Gargamel (from Smurfs-freaked me out as a kid!)
The Borg from Star Trek the Next Generation

[James81]

Anton Chigurh - No Country for Old Men

Absolutely. He's one of my all time favorites.

[CaroGirl]

Bill the Butcher from Gangs of New York.

[Phaeal]

The heinous Dolores Umbridge. She's one of the very, very few villains whom I found NO FUN AT ALL. Total skeeve-out.

[DeleyanLee]

I'd like to point out that Hannibal Lector was NOT a villain in Silence of the Lambs or even in The Red Dragon, which made him famous. He was a nasty man, but he wasn't the villain. The villains were Buffalo Bill and the Dragon. Lector was actually a PROTAGONIST because he assisted Clarice in capturing the villain. He just wasn't a nice protagonist. This is why he was acceptable as the hero in Hannibal Rising.

YMMV.

[spikeman4444]

I think the most effective villains in any stories, be they novels or film, are the ones who you are so mesmerized by that you can't wait for them to appear on screen or on the page. The rest of the story becomes a distraction that only builds up a greater sense of longing to see what the villain will do next. All villains must prove their worth. If they do not impress the audience/reader in some area that the protagonist or "good guy" can't quite compete in, then they are not worth our time. The villain above all other characters must have a reason for their madness.

[Oberon89]

1. The Vogons from The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy. Nothing more horrifying than genocide by bureaucracy.
2. Scytale in Herbert's Dune books. He creeped my sh*t right out.
3. Raven in Neal Stephenson's Snow Crash.

[Gynn]

I don't mind. I tried to make my own villain a magnificent, memorable bastard. But putting aside my own work, here are some villains I remember fondly:


John Milton (played by Al Pacino) in The Devil's Advocate
The Lady, Soulcatcher, The Limper, and Mogaba from Glen Cook's The Black Company novels
Kefka from Final Fantasy VI
Vayne Solidor from Final Fantasy XII
Delita Hyral from Final Fantasy Tactics
Izanami from Persona 4
Gaynor the Damned from a bunch of Michael Moorcock's novels
Randall Flagg from The Stand
Pennywise the Clown from It



Pennywise would probably make my list at number one. I've never been so revolted/intrigued by a villain before.

Jowy Atreides from Suikoden II would be up there as well. You wouldn't think a character from a video game would have any depth, but he does.

He is the best friend of the protagonist of the game and cursed with the Black Sword rune. When a rival kingdom invades and begins slaughtering innocents, he devises a plan to destroy them from within. But, in order to do so, he has to earn their trust, which means making painful decisions and betraying those he loves. In the end, his curse is too much to bear and his machinations spiral out of control.

The point is, he's a villain in the context of ther story, but you can understand his views. The best villains are always those that you can empathize with, whose decisions are as painful to you as they are to them.