Best Villains of All Time

Duane Rollins -

What makes a great villain?

To me, they have to be someone you actively root against, but still respect. They're usually smart, cunning, good at what they do, and have a touch of nasty that makes them a real terror.

Here's my Top 10 (+1) villains of all time (in no particular order).

  1. Cersei from Game of Thrones. We knew she was bad news when she okayed pushing a kid out of a tower to hid her incest. She got worse from there.
  2. Deebo from Friday. A true one-eyed monster. He made it hard for large men to not be scary when riding bikes. Glad he got his just due in the end.
  3. The Joker. Batman's greatest foe. He made being too happy creepy.
  4. Thanos from Marvel. He was like an evil Captain Planet. He was combining powers to save the planets all across the galaxy, except his aim was genocide.
  5. Freddy Kruger. He made me not want to sleep when I was young. I think he's the reason so many people became night owls.
  6. Jigsaw from the Saw series. You'd rather Jigsaw just kill you outright versus getting caught in one of his torture devices. A man too clever for his own good.
  7. Rufus Buck (Idris Elba) in The Harder They Fall. The man just wanted to start a town where Blacks could be free. He also terrorized them. He was a bad man.
  8. Omar from the Wire. I debated between Omar and Marlo here, but Omar is more iconic to me. You did not want to be around when he was on a mission.
  9. 50 Cent. He terrorized rap for almost a decade. His beefs were petty (and still are) and somehow he continues to remain relevant.
  10. Missy Armitage in Get Out. The ability to trap people in the sunken place is a terrifying as it gets. Who knew tea could be so frightening?
  11. Bill Laimbeer from the Bad Boy era Detroit Pistons. He was known as an irritant and cheap shot artist. You loved to see him lose (though they won often). His official NBA.com Legends profile includes some of his nicknames such as “the prince of darkness,” “a street thug,” “an ax murderer” and “His Heinous.” A true villain.

Honorable Mentions: Jason Voorhees (Friday the 13th), Candyman, Leatherface (Texas Chainsaw Massacre), Tetsuo Shima (Akira), Grayson Allen (Duke)

Others to add to the list?