# 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:** 4
**Author:** ![El\_DeLuxo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/el_deluxo/32/9043_2.png) [@El\_DeLuxo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/El_DeLuxo)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2009, 11:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-most-evil-fictional-character-in-history-is/520231/61 "2009-12-07T11:38:13Z")
A few contenders are as follows: \*The so-called “Wizard” of Oz as depicted by Gregory Maguire in _Wicked_. \*The Joker. \*Iago. \*Bill Sykes. \*The consumate politico called “The Smiler” from the _Transmetropolitan_ graphic novel series. \*_Watchmen_’s Adrian Veidt. \*Patrick Bateman (_American Psycho_) \*The Judge, from _Red Meridian_ by Cormac McCarthy. \*Smooth-talking sociopath Troy Louden in Charles Willeford’s _Sideswipe_. But the hands-down winner, I think, is Dudley Smith – the charismatic, brutally murderous, and seemingly unstoppable rogue-cop-from-Hell who figures prominently in several of James Ellroy’s best novels. ---
**Author:** ![ianzin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/ed655f/32.png) [@ianzin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ianzin)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2009, 11:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-most-evil-fictional-character-in-history-is/520231/62 "2009-12-07T11:55:06Z")
**Daleks** have to be in with a shout. Designed to have no feelings or empathy whatsoever. Designed to work towards a single, inflexible goal: mastery of the universe. Designed to simply exterminate any opposition, without reason, qualms or guilt. ---
**Author:** ![Shirley\_Ujest](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/45deac/32.png) [@Shirley\_Ujest](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shirley_Ujest)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2009, 1:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-most-evil-fictional-character-in-history-is/520231/63 "2009-12-07T13:19:07Z")
Bricktop has to be in the top 15, if not top 10. ---
**Author:** ![Scumpup](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ce73a5/32.png) [@Scumpup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scumpup)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2009, 2:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-most-evil-fictional-character-in-history-is/520231/64 "2009-12-07T14:27:31Z")
All the major bad guys from the Wildcards series as published back in the 80’s. Reading that series often made me feel like I had been dipped in slime. ---
**Author:** ![GoodOmens](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/d26b3c/32.png) [@GoodOmens](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GoodOmens)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2009, 2:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-most-evil-fictional-character-in-history-is/520231/65 "2009-12-07T14:42:45Z")
> [@detop](#): > > Cthulhu I think that Cthulhu isn’t really evil, so much as so far beyond humanity that he doesn’t regard us as worthy of notice. If you step on an ant, are you evil? I was going to go with Vader, but the teddy bear really does give Mr. Burns the prize. ---
**Author:** ![Icerigger](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/icerigger/32/432_2.png) [@Icerigger](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Icerigger)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2009, 2:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-most-evil-fictional-character-in-history-is/520231/66 "2009-12-07T14:42:58Z")
> [@ianzin](#): > > Daleks have to be in with a shout. Designed to have no feelings or empathy whatsoever. Designed to work towards a single, inflexible goal: mastery of the universe. Designed to simply exterminate any opposition, without reason, qualms or guilt. Their creator **Davros** is just as bad. He knew what destruction they would cause in the future and continued with them anyway even to the destruction of his own people. On the destruction of his people: Henchman: The whole of the Kaled people, you would go that far? Davros: Did you ever doubt it? ---
**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, 2:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-most-evil-fictional-character-in-history-is/520231/67 "2009-12-07T14:43:30Z")
> [@ianzin](#): > > **Daleks** have to be in with a shout. Designed to have no feelings or empathy whatsoever. Designed to work towards a single, inflexible goal: mastery of the universe. Designed to simply exterminate any opposition, without reason, qualms or guilt. I wouldn’t call them evil, any more than I’d call an earthquake or an epidemic evil. Evil implies some element of choice. ---
**Author:** ![cmkeller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cmkeller/32/118_2.png) [@cmkeller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cmkeller)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2009, 3:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-most-evil-fictional-character-in-history-is/520231/68 "2009-12-07T15:54:45Z")
NDP: > [@](#): > > On a somewhat related note, is this thread strictly limited to fictional characters with known authors or can we nominate legendary characters as well? Considering that the OP itself chooses Medea, I dare say that legend is OK to draw from. ---
**Author:** ![Uosdwis\_R.Dewoh](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/9e8a1a/32.png) [@Uosdwis\_R.Dewoh](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Uosdwis_R.Dewoh)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2009, 3:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-most-evil-fictional-character-in-history-is/520231/69 "2009-12-07T15:55:40Z")
The Daleks shouting “EXTERMINATE!” to actual extermination ratio is pretty low. They’re all talk, no action. > [@Simplicio](#): > > \\\Peter Cushing\\\ Peter Cushing lives in Whitstable, I have seen him on his bicycle, I have seen him buying vegetables. ---
**Author:** ![Walker\_in\_Eternity](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/46a35a/32.png) [@Walker\_in\_Eternity](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Walker_in_Eternity)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2009, 4:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-most-evil-fictional-character-in-history-is/520231/70 "2009-12-07T16:03:53Z")
> [@Icerigger](#): > > Their creator **Davros** is just as bad. He knew what destruction they would cause in the future and continued with them anyway even to the destruction of his own people. > > On the destruction of his people: > > Henchman: The whole of the Kaled people, you would go that far? > > Davros: Did you ever doubt it? Yes, Davros gets my vote. In the “Stolen Earth” and “Journey’s End” episodes he creates a “reality bomb” which will destroy the entire universe. (just in case you haven’t seen it) Se this [you tube](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MGjn47Y-MTg) video for further proof of his irredeemable evil. ---
**Author:** ![Munch](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/munch/32/5281_2.png) [@Munch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Munch)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2009, 4:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-most-evil-fictional-character-in-history-is/520231/71 "2009-12-07T16:08:14Z")
> [@DLuxN8R-13](#): > > \*_Watchmen_’s Adrian Veidt. Veidt saved the world from nuclear annihilation. You can argue that he did so immorally, or that he did so only so he could profit from the results - but evil? No way. ---
**Author:** ![Reno\_Nevada](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/6f9a4e/32.png) [@Reno\_Nevada](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Reno_Nevada)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2009, 4:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-most-evil-fictional-character-in-history-is/520231/72 "2009-12-07T16:31:54Z")
> [@Munch](#): > > Veidt saved the world from nuclear annihilation. You can argue that he did so immorally, or that he did so only so he could profit from the results - but evil? No way. With this short paragraph you have opened up the debate on ends versus means as a definition of evil. (Even assuming that Veidt’s plan was necessary and successful.) My vote is for the Marquise de Merteuil in Les Liaisons dangereuses. True, she did not blow up planets, but she did destroy peoples lives just for the fun of it. ---
**Author:** ![WPA-Guy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/a6a055/32.png) [@WPA-Guy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WPA-Guy)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2009, 4:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-most-evil-fictional-character-in-history-is/520231/73 "2009-12-07T16:33:06Z")
The head of SPECTRE: Ernst Stavro Blofeld. Or Goldfinger, the greedy bastard who would do anything for gold. ---
**Author:** ![Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecccb3/32.png) [@Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skald_the_Rhymer)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2009, 4:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-most-evil-fictional-character-in-history-is/520231/74 "2009-12-07T16:39:50Z")
> [@NDP](#): > > On a somewhat related note, is this thread strictly limited to fictional characters with known authors or can we nominate legendary characters as well? I opened the thread by nominating Medea, who is obviously legendary. ---
**Author:** ![Ferret\_Herder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/e47774/32.png) [@Ferret\_Herder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ferret_Herder)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2009, 4:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-most-evil-fictional-character-in-history-is/520231/75 "2009-12-07T16:55:03Z")
> [@MeDrewNotYou](#): > > “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. And don’t forget that Obi-Wan let him burn up in lava, slowly, rather than either saving him and trying to redeem him, or giving him a quick death. Jedi may not kill the helpless/their prisoners, but that Jedi sure wasn’t being good that day either. Way to treat a former student. Meanwhile, Palpatine’s methods were brutal, but when you think of what Obi-Wan did, it could be an easy jump to the conclusion that the Jedi were just a bunch of power-hungry hypocrites. Anakin was pretty self-centered, and the series of “betrayals” by the Jedi (including keeping him from roles that he wanted to be in) contrasted with the “help” that Palpatine was giving him. Seen that way, it wouldn’t be hard to believe that the Jedi needed to be destroyed. ---
**Author:** ![Munch](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/munch/32/5281_2.png) [@Munch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Munch)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2009, 4:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-most-evil-fictional-character-in-history-is/520231/76 "2009-12-07T16:57:46Z")
> [@Reno\_Nevada](#): > > With this short paragraph you have opened up the debate on ends versus means as a definition of evil. (Even assuming that Veidt’s plan was necessary and successful.) Sure. But DLux will have to explain why “the ends don’t justify the means” definition of evil classifies Viedt as the “most evil” when there are dozens of “evil in every conceivable way” characters out there. It dilutes the very meaning of the word. ---
**Author:** ![Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecccb3/32.png) [@Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skald_the_Rhymer)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2009, 5:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-most-evil-fictional-character-in-history-is/520231/77 "2009-12-07T17:06:50Z")
> [@Der\_Trihs](#): > > “A false friend, an unjust judge, a braggart, hypocrite, and tyrant, sincere in hatred, jealous, vain and revengeful, false in promise, honest in curse, suspicious, ignorant infamous and hideous–such is the God of the Pentateuch.” - Robert Ingersoll The Pit’s still down there in the forums list, just below MPSIMS. GD is still there too, just under GQ. ---
**Author:** ![Aji\_de\_Gallina](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aji_de_gallina/32/260_2.png) [@Aji\_de\_Gallina](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Aji_de_Gallina)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2009, 5:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-most-evil-fictional-character-in-history-is/520231/78 "2009-12-07T17:08:56Z")
> [@Shirley\_Ujest](#): > > Bricktop has to be in the top 15, if not top 10. Now THAT’S evil Bricktop makes Darth Vader look like Gandhi. ---
**Author:** ![PookahMacPhellimey](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pookahmacphellimey/32/3175_2.png) [@PookahMacPhellimey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PookahMacPhellimey)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2009, 5:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-most-evil-fictional-character-in-history-is/520231/79 "2009-12-07T17:24:16Z")
Archie in _The Chocolate War_. ---
**Author:** ![Malleus\_Incus\_Stapes](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/malleus_incus_stapes/32/3293_2.png) [@Malleus\_Incus\_Stapes](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Malleus_Incus_Stapes)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2009, 5:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-most-evil-fictional-character-in-history-is/520231/80 "2009-12-07T17:26:10Z")
> [@Mr.Excellent](#): > > Also, while I can see the argument, I’d be reluctant to call Abigail the _most_ evil character. She’s just too young and clueless to fully understand what she’s doing, I think. She’s, what, high school age? I’ve taught high schoolers - even the smart ones are pretty freaking clueless in surprising ways, sometimes. I had the impression that she was just a “bad seed”. Some people mature early, Abigail evil’d early. Certainty by the time the play opens, she’s a conniving witch. > [@Alessan](#): > > 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. Not to mention the end of _Start Of Darkness_, where he makes Redcloak murder Right-Eye so that Redcloak will never be able to admit to himself that this might be a bad idea. Those last pages had more evil and malice in them than some fantasy villains have over an entire book. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-most-evil-fictional-character-in-history-is/520231.md?page=3) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-most-evil-fictional-character-in-history-is/520231.md?page=5)