He is one of the two I first thought of when I saw this thread last night. The other was Crowley from Supernatural.
Judge Holden from Cormac McCarthy’s Blood Meridien.
I’m torn between Darth Vader and HAL.
Good one. He still haunts my nightmares.
Too sedentary (and especially obese) and you risk a fatty, greasy liver. Most unappetizing. And cirrhotic livers would be tough and chewy.*
*I’ve seen and handled so many human livers on the job that whatever tiny appeal liver might once have had as food dissipated long ago.
Some of the Dickensian villains are excellently bad: Uriah Heep (from David Copperfield, 1935 movie played by Roland Young, otherwise known for comedy); Miss Havisham (from Great Expectations); Quilp (from The Old Curiosity Shop); and uncle Ralph Nickleby (from Nicholas Nickleby) are among the better known ones. They each go to their satisfying reward, as well. To quote Miss Prism, “The good end happily, the bad unhappily; that is what ‘fiction’ means.”
Great one. I’ll nominate the Borg.
KNEEL! Before the GENIUS of Victor Von Doom!
I despise all villains unless it’s played very comedically, and they’d better still get their ass handed to them by the end.
I’ve experienced too much villainy in ordinary life.
And Scrooge, of course, til he sees the light.
How about Sydney Greenstreet in the Bogart films?
And Old Man Weaver, on the Andy Griffith Show.
Wasn’t he the same guy as Homer Bedloe on Petticoat Junction?
No Disney villains?
Ursula from The Little Mermaid.
Dr. Facilier from The Princess and the Frog.
J.R. Ewing
HAL had a better arc and was only ever guided by a desire to carry out the mission. He could be ruthless, yes, but not heartless. I think that’s important. He didn’t go any harder on anyone than he absolutely needed to. He never force choked anyone out of spite, or took a man by the throat, held him up in the air, and snapped his neck for the sheer theater of it.
It was just business with HAL, and in the end, who’s to say he wasn’t right? The mission was too important to be jeopardized, after all.
But Vader? Ruthless murderer of younglings and juvenile sandpeople, complicit in genocide on a planetary scale. Oh, and he killed a Anakin Skywalker, too, for whatever that’s worth.
I’m torn. Most of my favorite villains are probably anti-heroes at worst: fundamentally, they’re the hero from a different point of view, and often, a not incorrect one.
Two that fall into this category are Magneto (was amazed he hadn’t been mentioned yet), and Scorpius (from Farscape).
But it seems the intent is to avoid villains that are arguably doing the right things, even if possibly in the wrong way.
I generally find that my favorite villains that don’t fit the above categories are the ones that get the evil done entirely through the actions of other, often well-meaning people. They just… push, and the dominos fall, to ever greater consequences to all involved.
So, my two favorites are from Stephen King works: Randall Flag and (especially) Leland Gaunt. Randall pushes far harder, and of course, the movie portrayal by Max von Sydow of Gaunt makes that specific appearance an 11/10 for me.
Moriarty, in the versions where she turns out to be a “she” and the love/temptress of Sherlock’s life.
Fair enough. Vetinari is written as an antagonist but seen by others as a villain.
How about Lionel Luthor (a.k.a. "The Magnificent Bastard) from Smallville?
I like scenery-chewing satanic figures, like Tim Curry in Legend, or Al Pacino in The Devil’s Advocate.
On a more human scale, King Richard III, or various Alan Rickman characters.
Anthony Zerbe in Omega Man or Kiss Meets the Phantom of the Park.
Jeremy Irons in the first Dungeons & Dragons movie.
Heath Ledger as the Joker.
Phillip & Elizabeth Jennings from The Americans . So many groovy disguises and you have to remind yourself constantly that they are ,in fact, very bad people. Phillip is especially charming with his line dancing …
Illinois Nazis. I hate Illinois Nazis.