# The most evil fictional character in history is... **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [December 6, 2009, 9:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-most-evil-fictional-character-in-history-is/520231 "2009-12-06T21:40:04Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2009, 1:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-most-evil-fictional-character-in-history-is/520231/41 "2009-12-07T01:51:21Z")
The problem with excluding Satan from consideration is that it also removes Satan-analogues from various works as well, such as Morgoth. Who is certainly a strong contender, as can be proven by reading _The Children of Hurin_. And while I’m not quite convinced that Darth Vader was the most evil, he was certainly one of the best-presented villains. That was the biggest failing of _The Phantom Menace_, that it didn’t have a villain. Maul growled menacingly, but Vader telekinetically choked minions on a whim. Oh, and I don’t think she’s the worst by a long shot, but for the sake of introducing a new name to the debate, I think Azula, from _Avatar: The Last Airbender_ deserves a mention. ---
**Author:** ![GargoyleWB](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gargoylewb/32/199_2.png) [@GargoyleWB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GargoyleWB)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2009, 2:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-most-evil-fictional-character-in-history-is/520231/42 "2009-12-07T02:28:51Z")
Diane Franklin’s character in _Last American Virgin_. She is the most voracious consumer of souls ever written. ---
**Author:** ![Mollie\_Magill](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mollie_magill/32/20882_2.png) [@Mollie\_Magill](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mollie_Magill)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2009, 2:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-most-evil-fictional-character-in-history-is/520231/43 "2009-12-07T02:50:40Z")
No mention of Keyser Soze? C’mon, the man killed his own family just to make his enemy piss himself. ---
**Author:** ![tr0psn4j](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/958977/32.png) [@tr0psn4j](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tr0psn4j)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2009, 3:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-most-evil-fictional-character-in-history-is/520231/44 "2009-12-07T03:27:25Z")
Sauron is pretty bad. But Margoth started it! ---
**Author:** ![The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/the_other_waldo_pepper/32/12370_2.png) [@The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Other_Waldo_Pepper)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2009, 3:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-most-evil-fictional-character-in-history-is/520231/45 "2009-12-07T03:28:49Z")
> [@Mr.Excellent](#): > > And the Emperor’s path was to save the Galaxy from anarchy. If there’s one thing that the first prequel made clear (other than that Lucas needs to hang it up), it’s that the Old Republic simply didn’t _work_, and had become vulnerable to endemic corruption and insurrection. “Mayor Quimby supports revolving-door prisons. Mayor Quimby even released Sideshow Bob, a man twice convicted of attempted murder. Can you trust a man like Mayor Quimby? Vote Sideshow Bob for Mayor.” AFAICT, the only thing the Old Republic couldn’t handle was – the Emperor. Aside from the one guy who could “cloud” Jedi future-sight to stop knights from nipping problems in the bud, who _ **else** _ could stir up trouble for the Galactic Senate? ---
**Author:** ![commasense](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/commasense/32/3017_2.png) [@commasense](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/commasense)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2009, 3:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-most-evil-fictional-character-in-history-is/520231/46 "2009-12-07T03:30:12Z")
If we rule out the fantasy bad guys and limit ourselves to realistic characters (my idea, not the OP’s), I think there are two from _The Wire_ that deserve to be considered for their chilling sociopathology: gang leader [Marlo Standfield](http://www.hbo.com/thewire/cast/characters/marlo_stanfield.shtml) and the female hitter [Snoop](http://www.hbo.com/thewire/cast/characters/snoop.shtml). ---
**Author:** ![Mrs.Cake](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/2acd7d/32.png) [@Mrs.Cake](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mrs.Cake)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2009, 3:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-most-evil-fictional-character-in-history-is/520231/47 "2009-12-07T03:48:31Z")
I’ll go with Heathcliff (from _Wuthering Heights_, not the comic pages). Spent most of his life deliberately and methodically destroying everyone he possibly could, including his own child, because he was in a life-long snit over being rejected and insulted by a spoiled teenage girl. Sure, he didn’t destroy planets, but he did manage to mentally torture and/or kill everyone within his shpere of influence - something not even Palapatine did. ---
**Author:** ![Tangent](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tangent/32/3098_2.png) [@Tangent](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tangent)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2009, 3:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-most-evil-fictional-character-in-history-is/520231/48 "2009-12-07T03:52:06Z")
Depending on what we learn in the last season of LOST, Benjamin Linus might fit the bill. ---
**Author:** ![MeDrewNotYou](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/838e76/32.png) [@MeDrewNotYou](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MeDrewNotYou)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2009, 4:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-most-evil-fictional-character-in-history-is/520231/49 "2009-12-07T04:18:38Z")
Let me third Voldemort (spoiler free for people only following the movies). Even Nagini, the only creature that he even seemed he cared about, only mattered inasmuch as it kept him alive and powerful. If it weren’t so special, he’d either have used it as a weapon or wouldn’t have cared about it at all; just like his followers. [Palpatine was pretty bad.](http://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/Palpatine) Starting a galaxy wide war and killing off the Jedi is pretty nasty. Killing his old master in his sleep to keep from being replaced is pretty awful. But the worst part is, the bastard had Ewoks killed and stuffed for the Imperial museum. In the Expanded Universe, Palpatine is pretty Hitler-esque. ---
**Author:** ![Simplicio](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c37758/32.png) [@Simplicio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Simplicio)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2009, 4:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-most-evil-fictional-character-in-history-is/520231/50 "2009-12-07T04:30:32Z")
> [@MeDrewNotYou](#): > > Let me third Voldemort (spoiler free for people only following the movies). Even Nagini, the only creature that he even seemed he cared about, only mattered inasmuch as it kept him alive and powerful. If it weren’t so special, he’d either have used it as a weapon or wouldn’t have cared about it at all; just like his followers. Thing is, thwarting Voldemort was basically an extra-curricular activity for a couple of immature school children. He may have wanted to be really evil, but he wasn’t terribly successful at it. Makes it kinda hard to take him seriously. ---
**Author:** ![Mr.Excellent](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f19dbf/32.png) [@Mr.Excellent](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Excellent)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2009, 4:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-most-evil-fictional-character-in-history-is/520231/51 "2009-12-07T04:38:41Z")
> [@The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](#): > > AFAICT, the only thing the Old Republic couldn’t handle was – the Emperor. Aside from the one guy who could “cloud” Jedi future-sight to stop knights from nipping problems in the bud, who _ **else** _ could stir up trouble for the Galactic Senate? So, the only thing the Galactic Senate couldn’t handle was … one man with a small group of well-placed confederates? I’m sorry, but it seems you’ve just illustrated the Republic’s weakness perfectly. It seems to have had absolutely no capacity to monitor its own internal affairs with any regularity. The equivalent of a GAO would have nipped Palpatine in the bud - but the Republic lacked the institutional wherewithal to create or effectively administer such an agency. The Old Republic was corrupt, and weak, and richly deserved everything that happened to it. Given the choice, I’d choose the Empire over the Old Republic any day. ---
**Author:** ![Simplicio](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c37758/32.png) [@Simplicio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Simplicio)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2009, 4:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-most-evil-fictional-character-in-history-is/520231/52 "2009-12-07T04:45:03Z")
> [@Mr.Excellent](#): > > Given the choice, I’d choose the Empire over the Old Republic any day. Hopefully you wouldn’t live on Alderaan. ---
**Author:** ![pancakes3](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ba9def/32.png) [@pancakes3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pancakes3)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2009, 4:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-most-evil-fictional-character-in-history-is/520231/53 "2009-12-07T04:59:53Z")
Star Wars has been bugging me actually. If you watch episodes 1-3 in a vacuum, there would be a lot of people out there who thought the empire was a necessary evil UNTIL the scene where all the jedi babies were being sliced. What kind of breakdown does a person undergo where he goes from caring for his wife and unborn child to serial killer? then when padme dies anyway, how can he keep on supporting the emperor? ok, fine. i buy the fact that the emperor needs to off the jedi (just a religious cult really. not exactly a moral compass if you follow their beliefs) to be successful in establishing order. what kind of ridiculous, hippy dippy, slippery slope logic is it that a man who wants to have a strong central government would end up being a fascist dictator who blows up planets just to hunt down a terrorists? All within a 20 year span!? it just seems episodes 1-3 is a completely different story than 4-6. 7-9 could very well be a musical trilogy. ---
**Author:** ![Mississippienne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d2c977/32.png) [@Mississippienne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mississippienne)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2009, 6:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-most-evil-fictional-character-in-history-is/520231/54 "2009-12-07T06:20:56Z")
I nominate Rotti Largo of _Repo! The Genetic Opera_ because his evil is so subtle and far-reaching that it’s only after the movie that the full scope of his complex and diabolical plot hit me. Open SPOILERS… When Marni leaves him for Nathan, Rotti’s revenge isn’t simply killing her… no, he could’ve killed her and Nathan both, and Shilo, but that’s simply not good enough. No, Rotti Largo’s thirst for revenge won’t be quenched with a few buckets of blood, like most villains. He has Marni killed, then makes Nathan believe he is responsible for his wife’s death. He hangs Nathan’s ‘guilt’ over him like a noose for 17 years. He makes Nathan sell away his soul to him and uses Nathan as his personal assassin for 17 years. He enslaves Mag with the fine print on her contract and makes her his personal songbird for the same 17 years, a truly petty thing considering that Mag’s only crime was to be Marni’s best friend. Not satisfied with that, Rotti then hatches a scheme to take Shilo from her father and make her turn against Nathan, using Nathan’s darkest secret – that Nathan has been poisoning Shilo – against him. Rotti had the power to intercede at any time and stop Nathan, but he did not. He waited and bided his time until Shilo was a beautiful and naive teenager he could manipulate, and while he was at it replace his own three degenerate children with a worthier heir. And after all that – his plan almost succeeds! Rotti does kill Mag and mortally wound Nathan, in the process destroying Shilo’s innocence and turning her world upside down. He takes the truth of Marni’s death with him to his grave – no one knows that Rotti killed Marni! Nathan goes to his death believing that he was responsible! The only hitch is that Shilo refuses to turn on her father and become a murderer like Rotti wanted her to. So Rotti is such a Magnificent Bastard that his evil schemes partially succeed, and he dies without ever having faced justice for his crimes. That is evil, my friends. That is so much better than your standard ‘kill em all’ plot, this is a tragedy 17 years in the making, an opera with a cast of real people, all orchestrated by Rotti Largo. Bravi, Rotti. Bravi. ---
**Author:** ![MeDrewNotYou](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/838e76/32.png) [@MeDrewNotYou](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MeDrewNotYou)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2009, 7:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-most-evil-fictional-character-in-history-is/520231/55 "2009-12-07T07:13:10Z")
> [@Simplicio](#): > > Thing is, thwarting Voldemort was basically an extra-curricular activity for a couple of immature school children. He may have wanted to be really evil, but he wasn’t terribly successful at it. Makes it kinda hard to take him seriously. Evil isn’t _really_ evil unless it can be defeated by plucky youngsters! 😉 But I admit I’m a little disappointed that Harry’s specialness (other than being a talented wizard) is mostly a fluke. I’d have to go back and read things again, but ISTR the explanation not making a whole lot of sense. Voldemort gets points taken off for simply adding to some kids’ college apps, but the killing and destruction for little apparent purpose is still pretty bad. > [@pancakes3](#): > > Star Wars has been bugging me actually. If you watch episodes 1-3 in a vacuum, there would be a lot of people out there who thought the empire was a necessary evil UNTIL the scene where all the jedi babies were being sliced. What kind of breakdown does a person undergo where he goes from caring for his wife and unborn child to serial killer? then when padme dies anyway, how can he keep on supporting the emperor? > > ok, fine. i buy the fact that the emperor needs to off the jedi (just a religious cult really. not exactly a moral compass if you follow their beliefs) to be successful in establishing order. what kind of ridiculous, hippy dippy, slippery slope logic is it that a man who wants to have a strong central government would end up being a fascist dictator who blows up planets just to hunt down a terrorists? All within a 20 year span!? > > it just seems episodes 1-3 is a completely different story than 4-6. 7-9 could very well be a musical trilogy. “You killed her in your rage,” works for me. After Palpatine tells Anakin that only he knows how to save Padme, its pretty much too late. By then Anakin’s already a slave to his emotions (Sand People in ep2 and killing Dooku rather than arresting him). After offing Mace Windu, I think he already knew he was evil and things are just a matter of following orders. When he sees Obi-Wan and Padme on Mustafar and the whole spiel there, he gets pissed and beats his wife. Once he finds out she’s dead (and thinks he’s the one who did it), Palpatine is all he has left, and after all, he was trying to help. Palpatine deserves some gratitude for trying to help save Padme and putting Vader back together. As for Palpatine, he was already pretty evil. Even when he’s trying to do something ostensibly good, like bring peace and stability to the galaxy, the evil taints everything. Two wrongs don’t make a right, don’t do evil that good may come, etc. ---
**Author:** ![Cuckoorex](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ad7895/32.png) [@Cuckoorex](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cuckoorex)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2009, 8:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-most-evil-fictional-character-in-history-is/520231/56 "2009-12-07T08:03:54Z")
Coffin Joe ---
**Author:** ![Horatio\_Hellpop](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/e5b9ba/32.png) [@Horatio\_Hellpop](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Horatio_Hellpop)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2009, 8:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-most-evil-fictional-character-in-history-is/520231/57 "2009-12-07T08:11:02Z")
> [@Mollie\_Magill](#): > > No mention of Keyser Soze? > > C’mon, the man killed his own family just to make his enemy piss himself. Yeah, according to an unreliable narrator, IIRC. I’m going with Mildred from **Of Human Bondage**. ---
**Author:** ![Isamu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/7c8e57/32.png) [@Isamu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Isamu)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2009, 8:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-most-evil-fictional-character-in-history-is/520231/58 "2009-12-07T08:51:03Z")
Jessica Fletcher - wherever she goes, people are murdered. ---
**Author:** ![Alessan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alessan/32/465_2.png) [@Alessan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alessan)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2009, 9:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-most-evil-fictional-character-in-history-is/520231/59 "2009-12-07T09:34:43Z")
Xykon from _Order of the Stick_. I’m not kidding. In terms of pure, self-aware evil he can’t really be beat. Nothing and nobody in the world exists for any other reason than to serve his goals or to entertain him by dying in an amusing fashion. Plus, when he puts his mind to it he can deliver a terrific villain’s monologue. ---
**Author:** ![Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bosda_di_chi_of_tricor/32/16845_2.png) [@Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bosda_Di_Chi_of_Tricor)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2009, 11:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-most-evil-fictional-character-in-history-is/520231/60 "2009-12-07T11:00:09Z")
> [@Simplicio](#): > > \\\Peter Cushing\\\ > > 😉 Well played. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-most-evil-fictional-character-in-history-is/520231.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-most-evil-fictional-character-in-history-is/520231.md?page=4)