# 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:** 8
**Author:** ![Kobal2](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kobal2/32/20_2.png) [@Kobal2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kobal2)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2009, 8:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-most-evil-fictional-character-in-history-is/520231/141 "2009-12-12T08:17:43Z")
> [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](#): > > Break 'em out for us, would ya? šŸ˜‰ Oh, all right then. Evil magician : many works play up his supposed fascination with the occult, ever since [Le Matin des Magiciens](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Le_Matin_des_magiciens) (see : Indiana Jones). Some cut out the middleman. Chtulhian medium and/or priest : from the video game [Prisoner of Ice](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prisoner_of_Ice). millenia old lich : not quite sure myself, there. Iā€™m sure I read it somewhere, but canā€™t pinpoint it at the moment. evil alien race : Marvel comics, for instance the Ultimate Avengers. zeerust super soldiers and evil science : lots and lots of video games, such as Wolfenstein, Bloodrayne and Freedom Force. cannibal : ok, that one I just made up. But thereā€™s \*got \*to be a B horror movie about it šŸ˜ƒ Xbox live account banned : [witness](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7Qi_9lEbdJg). bonsaĆÆ reincarnation : a footnote in [Good Omens](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Good_Omens), IIRC. Or could be from Werberā€™s [Thanatonautes](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Les_Thanatonautes), now that I think about it. cloning : [The Boys From Brazil](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boys_from_brazil) brain in a jar : [They Saved Hitlerā€™s Brain](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/They_Saved_Hitler%27s_Brain), and the [Irregular Webcomic](http://irregularwebcomic.net/cast/cliffhangers.html). and finally, Hitlerā€™s Feet are antagonists of the hero (for lack of a better word) in the surreal [Flaming Carrot](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flaming_Carrot) comic book. ---
**Author:** ![Knorf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/58956e/32.png) [@Knorf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Knorf)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2009, 9:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-most-evil-fictional-character-in-history-is/520231/142 "2009-12-12T09:07:36Z")
> [@The\_Second\_Stone](#): > > Sauron, on the other hand is bent on dominating and subjecting the wills of all living things to his own. And he does it on a Morgothian scale and is very nearly successful. Plus he also wants to bring back Morgoth, or at least worship him. ā€œVery nearly asā€ is not ā€œas.ā€ And, actually, Sauron never came remotely close to anything Morgoth achieved in terms of pain, misery, and destruction. Sauron was cowed by the Numenoreans; Morgoth would have laughed and smashed them into oblivion. He all but annihilated the Noldor and Sindor in Beleriand, for Iluvatarā€™s sake, and would have but for the intervention of Aman. Sauron was puny by comparison; he was a deceiver. Morgoth dominated and crushed. Morgoth went beyond wanting to subject the wills of all living things to his own; he destroyed and twisted them into abominations, and he did it over and over and over. He created the dragons. The balrogs were his minions. Balrogs, plural. Sauron was of the same order as a balrog, of the maiar, a far lesser order. Morgoth was originally of the _Valar_, and created the most supreme of all of them, and became the most corrupted, the most fallen, of any being in the Tolkien mythos. The only being Morgoth could not ultimately defeat or dominate (excluding the other Valar themselves) was Ungoliant. Also, nothing in Mordor, not even the Dark Tower, can remotely compare to the horror of Thangorodrim and Angband. But you have a point: in a sense, ultimate evil is infantile. C.S. Lewis actually makes a similar point. ---
**Author:** ![Knorf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/58956e/32.png) [@Knorf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Knorf)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2009, 9:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-most-evil-fictional-character-in-history-is/520231/143 "2009-12-12T09:17:38Z")
> [@Knorf](#): > > He all but annihilated the Noldor and Sindor in Beleriand.. Sindar. Gah! ---
**Author:** ![Max\_Torque](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e9bcb4/32.png) [@Max\_Torque](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Max_Torque)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2009, 12:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-most-evil-fictional-character-in-history-is/520231/144 "2009-12-12T12:57:00Z")
> [@Saint\_Cad](#): > > Who was the villian from Titus Andronicus? > He didnā€™t have any pretense of evil for a pragmatic reason, he just loved being evil. When youā€™re last words are about your only regret is not pulling ENOUGH shit . . . well thatā€™s pretty screwed with a capital F. That was Aaron, who I quoted above. There are lots of villains in _Titus_, really, but Aaron is the evillest of all. ---
**Author:** ![TPWombat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/bbce88/32.png) [@TPWombat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TPWombat)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2009, 4:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-most-evil-fictional-character-in-history-is/520231/145 "2009-12-12T16:23:04Z")
> [@Uosdwis\_R.Dewoh](#): > > Peter Cushing lives in Whitstable, I have seen him on his bicycle, I have seen him buying vegetables. [I have presumably been whooshed](http://www.independent.co.uk/news/people/obituary-peter-cushing-1375859.html) But I cannot see it. Explain please? ---
**Author:** ![Jackmannii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackmannii/32/311_2.png) [@Jackmannii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jackmannii)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2009, 5:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-most-evil-fictional-character-in-history-is/520231/146 "2009-12-12T17:44:35Z")
> [@boytyperanma](#): > > I nominate Randall Flag the reoccurring embodiment of evil in Stephen Kingā€™s books. He is just evil for the sake of being evil. Another vote for The Walkinā€™ Dude. Thereā€™s just something about a guy whoā€™d mention his plans for consuming a big roast beef sandwich and a chocolate shake to a starving prison inmate contemplating having to eat a rotting corpse. ---
**Author:** ![cuauhtemoc](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ecb155/32.png) [@cuauhtemoc](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cuauhtemoc)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2009, 6:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-most-evil-fictional-character-in-history-is/520231/147 "2009-12-12T18:57:29Z")
In _The Moorā€™s Last Sigh_ by Salman Rushdie, thereā€™s a character called Uma Saraswati. She seduces the main character, Moor, while heā€™s still a child. When theyā€™re having sex, she likes him to talk dirty, but in a special way: she likes him to graphically describe himself having dirty sex with his own mother. Then she secretly records him saying these things, and brings the tape to his family, who disowns him without even telling him why (he doesnā€™t find out until many years later). When he runs to Uma for comfort, she insists they die together in a suicide pact. She produces two pills and eats one, prompting Moor to swallow the other. A minute later, to her great surprise, she dies, and Moor starts having psychedelic hallucinations. Apparently, the pills got switched accidentally. Moor was supposed to take the poison, and she was supposed to get high while watching him die. So basically, she takes a kid and alienates him from his family, with the intention of manipulating him into committing suicide while she trips balls, for no reason at all. I think the character was intended as an avatar of the universal force of destruction. I mention it here because, I read the book once, about twelve years ago, and the evil of that character leaves an impression on me to this day. ---
**Author:** ![Find\_Friends](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/c37758/32.png) [@Find\_Friends](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Find_Friends)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2009, 7:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-most-evil-fictional-character-in-history-is/520231/148 "2009-12-12T19:46:59Z")
> [@Simplicio](#): > > Darth Vader non-chalantly blew up a planet to make a point. Thatā€™s some pretty grade-A villany, IMHO. > [@Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](#): > > \\\Grand Moff Tarkin commander of the Death Star\\\ Well, large total body count should be a factor, IMHO. So, looking at comics, Iā€™d have to say, itā€™s **him** , theā€¦ _[Anti-Monitor](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Antimonitor)!_ 'Nuff said! ---
**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 12, 2009, 10:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-most-evil-fictional-character-in-history-is/520231/149 "2009-12-12T22:11:59Z")
> [@TPWombat](#): > > [I have presumably been whooshed](http://www.independent.co.uk/news/people/obituary-peter-cushing-1375859.html) > > But I cannot see it. Explain please? [Expand your musical horizons.](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c_w45Ad5xZI&feature=related) ---
**Author:** ![The\_Second\_Stone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/bbe5ce/32.png) [@The\_Second\_Stone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Second_Stone)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2009, 11:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-most-evil-fictional-character-in-history-is/520231/150 "2009-12-12T23:22:21Z")
Of course Morgoth was more powerful. That is not a question. The question is whether Sauron is more evil. Which of course leads us to what is evil? And yeah, I gotta say, that summary of Uma from The Moor is pretty sick. She gets points for twisted creativity and depravity, but lacks body count enough to be considered (of course I havenā€™t read it, and there may be lots more). ---
**Author:** ![The\_Second\_Stone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/bbe5ce/32.png) [@The\_Second\_Stone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Second_Stone)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2009, 11:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-most-evil-fictional-character-in-history-is/520231/151 "2009-12-12T23:24:25Z")
> [@pancakes3](#): > > but wasnā€™t the road to evil sauron built on good intentions? he only craves power because he originally wanted to establish order? heā€™s basically a mythical hitler minus the genocide. I donā€™t remember Sauron ever having good intentions within the narrative. Sauron certainly made moves towards wiping out all Men, starting with Gondor. ---
**Author:** ![cuauhtemoc](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ecb155/32.png) [@cuauhtemoc](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cuauhtemoc)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2009, 12:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-most-evil-fictional-character-in-history-is/520231/152 "2009-12-13T00:48:36Z")
> [@The\_Second\_Stone](#): > > And yeah, I gotta say, that summary of Uma from The Moor is pretty sick. She gets points for twisted creativity and depravity, but lacks body count enough to be considered (of course I havenā€™t read it, and there may be lots more). Thatā€™s actually pretty much it. I think what impressed me was that sheā€™s a manifestation of pure destructive force. The Moor acknowledges as much. Later on in the story, a new character is introduced: a young man who the Moor identifies as a male version of Uma. A manipulator, a destroyer, only not as good at it. The Moor even says something to him like ā€œIā€™ve met your sister, and she was way better at this than you.ā€ The young man doesnā€™t know what The Moor is talking about, but the reader does, and itā€™s a good line. Sure enough, the young man is no Uma, as his own destructive plans fall apart, and heā€¦ either dies or gets caught and goes to jail, I forget. One way to look at it is, Uma may not be much of a villain, she didnā€™t kill anybody and managed to get herself killed in a very dumb way, but sheā€™s the agent of an Ultimate Villainy, the force responsible for all the destruction in the universe (itā€™s clearer in the book). Thatā€™s why she gave me such a chill. ---
**Author:** ![StusBlues](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/dc4da7/32.png) [@StusBlues](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/StusBlues)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2009, 12:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-most-evil-fictional-character-in-history-is/520231/153 "2009-12-13T00:49:58Z")
**The Woman from the City** in \*Sunrise: A Tale of Two Humans \*has to be right in the hunt. ---
**Author:** ![Knorf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/58956e/32.png) [@Knorf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Knorf)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2009, 2:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-most-evil-fictional-character-in-history-is/520231/154 "2009-12-13T02:41:36Z")
> [@The\_Second\_Stone](#): > > Of course Morgoth was more powerful. That is not a question. The question is whether Sauron is more evil. Which of course leads us to what is evil? Morgoth did more to mar and destroy and corrupt, out of rage and selfishness and sheer bloodymindedness, than any other being in Arda. He caused more misery. He had worse betrayals. What better definition for ā€œmore evilā€ than the greater capacity to do evil, accompanied by actual the doing of said evil, and the greater fall from high virtue in the first place? Morgoth pushed the boundaries of destruction and sowing of chaos as far as he could, which was very far indeed. Go re-read _The Silmarillion_. I think youā€™ve forgotten what a heinously corrupt, evil, malicious bastard Morgoth was. ---
**Author:** ![TreacherousCretin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/treacherouscretin/32/476_2.png) [@TreacherousCretin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TreacherousCretin)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2009, 6:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-most-evil-fictional-character-in-history-is/520231/155 "2009-12-13T06:28:53Z")
The most evil fictional character in history isā€¦ The Debbil. ---
**Author:** ![TPWombat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/bbce88/32.png) [@TPWombat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TPWombat)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2009, 8:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-most-evil-fictional-character-in-history-is/520231/156 "2009-12-14T08:55:22Z")
> [@Alessan](#): > > [Expand your musical horizons.](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c_w45Ad5xZI&feature=related) How can I have missed that? Thank you šŸ™‚ ---
**Author:** ![Boyo\_Jim](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/87869e/32.png) [@Boyo\_Jim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Boyo_Jim)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2009, 1:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-most-evil-fictional-character-in-history-is/520231/157 "2009-12-14T13:48:12Z")
Ok, some lesser appreciated villains: Wile E Coyote The Brain (from _Pinkie and the Brain_) Mom (from _Futurama_) ---
**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 14, 2009, 3:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-most-evil-fictional-character-in-history-is/520231/158 "2009-12-14T15:01:30Z")
True Black Jack: > [@](#): > > The Anti-Monitor! I considered the Anti-Monitor, but since he actually received personal power from destroying positive-matter universes, his motivation is some sort of physical pleasure. I chose Thanos because he did it for some twisted sense of love thatā€™s all in his head, it seems more evil to me. ---
**Author:** ![lee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lee/32/7455_2.png) [@lee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lee)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2009, 3:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-most-evil-fictional-character-in-history-is/520231/159 "2009-12-14T15:34:51Z")
Honestly, I have to argue against Medea. She was wronged. She fell in love with Jason, threw in her lot with him, helped him gain the golden fleece, suffering herself with a birds foot, gives him two beautiful children and so he dumps her and things he is going to keep custody of the children? Killing them was not unprovoked, which is the mark of true evil. Otha and Azash from The Sapphire Rose are much worse. They delight in the perverse, and not in a good way. After reading about the rites they insisted on, The Divinci Codes secret rite made me laugh. I could not even see why the heroine was upset. Hey, no one was being sliced up and eaten, what is your problem? ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2009, 5:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-most-evil-fictional-character-in-history-is/520231/160 "2009-12-14T17:18:36Z")
> [@Knorf](#): > > ā€¦Go re-read _The Silmarillion_. I think youā€™ve forgotten what a heinously corrupt, evil, malicious bastard Morgoth was. Most definitely. Sauron was Morgothā€™s lieutenant and eventually wanted to succeed him, but as awful as he was, he was just a pale shadow of his big bad boss. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-most-evil-fictional-character-in-history-is/520231.md?page=7) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-most-evil-fictional-character-in-history-is/520231.md?page=9)