Wide open question. Any medium. Any definition of villain.
Just a random thought when a neutrino traversed my frontal lobe while I was perusing the Cafe. I’ll be back later after I consider my own answer.
I’m rather fond of Lord Havelock Vetinari, Patrician of Ankh-Morpork.
At one time it was Killer Kowalski. The Iron Sheik was up there too.
Boris Badenov.
Vincent Price in anything. Any villain role, that is, though I enjoy his “straight” roles too. Dear Og, that man was suave.
Oh damn. I had forgotten about professional wrestling. Iron Sheik is definitely a contender.
Burgess Meredith’s Penguin is def. my Dad’s favorite villain of all time.
For myself, I have to say Dr. Doofenshmirtz.
~Max
Wile E Coyote is pretty evil:
He’s no villain. You’re probably one of those people who think Daniel-san was the Karate Kid.
Melkor, first of the Valar, Master of the Fates of Arda.
Or, if we’re allowed to count antiheros as villains, Elric of Melnibone.
How is he a villain? What villainous things does he do?
I’ll have to think about this one for a while, but in the meantime let me throw in a nomination for Ogie Ogilthorpe.
GLaDOS!
Darth Revan from Knights of the Old Republic. He was mostly a mythical background figure for the first half of the game, a Voldemort-esque shadowy terror spoken of in hushed tones.
And continued to be in the second half of the game, at least in my first play through. Being evil was the most fun I’d ever had in a RPG. Force choke!
Ted Faro.
No villain ever made me feel such blind fury as Mrs. Umbridge from the Harry Potter series.
He throws mimes into his scorpion pit, for one thing. He’s a trained assassin who took over a whole city and intimidated the guild leaders into doing things his way. He even manages to push the wizards around. He offers people choices and lets them suffer the consequences if they choose poorly. (Looking at him again, he may be the hero.)
There’s nothing to say they actually died from it.
The Assassin’s academy is the local version of Harvard, so that doesn’t say anything about his character, and as for taking control of the city - that’s just how things work in Ankh-Morpork. It’s not like he overthrew a functioning democracy. He seized power just like every Patrician before him.
Good for him - they deserve some pushing around.
He only does that to criminals. To the best of our knowledge, he doesn’t hurt innocents, inasmuch as there are any innocents in Ankh-Morpork.
On teh other hand, the city was immensely prosperous under his rule. He reformed the police, reformed the postal service, reformed the currency, nurtured the creation of a free press, and in general dragged the city kicking and screaming into the Century of the Fruitbat. The one war the city was forced into during his reign, he managed to end almost before it began. He respects people who deserve his respect (basically, Sam Vimes) and listens to their opinion.
How on the Disc is he a villain?
Red Grant in From Russia with Love.
Phillip Vandamm in North by Northwest, portrayed by James Mason. The writing and the performance are both, just, exquisite. “This matter is best disposed of from a great height, over water.”