Villains: 10 to 1
We've been very adult here lately. Lots of sports issues, political/social topics, & coupla things dealing with the wild and crazy world around us. Well, it's time to get back to our "lighter" side, our childish side, our nerdy side. And to do that, I felt like it was unfair to have a top 40 heroes list and not name any villains at all. So let's correct that: here are my top ten greatest villains.
Dishonorable Mention: Mister Sinister, M. Bison, Shang Tsung, Queen Bavmorda, Naraku, Agent Smith, Dracula, Anubis (Stargate), Venom, Shredder, Doomsday.
10. Jenner (The Secret of Nimh): I honestly believe that you won't run into a more dark, a more evil, a more cunning, a more affective, and a scarier villain than Jenner under the age of 10. Perfectly drawn throughout the movie to appear more sinister, more powerful, and more devious than any other character (as a child you believe that he could beat Dragon if he put his mind to it), the scariest thing about Jenner is that you honestly don't believe he can lose. He's just too good at what he does.
9. Jason Voorhees (Friday the 13th series): I love the Friday the 13th movies. I swear that they make those movies by going to a room, sitting around a large office table, as the producer then says, "Okay, tell me the strangest ways you can think of to kill a human being" as the room then bursts into heated and frantic conversation. Trust me, in my head, it's a funny scene.
But funny as that may be, one cannot deny Jason's body of work. Or bodies of work. Jason kills without discrimination, without a real reason, or without a real purpose. And he's damn good at what he does. Combine that with the fact that he's nigh unbeatable, and he is truly the king of the slashers, and has earned a place in the top ten.
8. Shockwave (Transformers): Cold. Unfeeling. Logical. Patient. Unflinching. Ruthless. Unreasonable. Effective. Shockwave is the machine that mankind fears--he is evil not with emotion, but simply because that is what he is: evil. One of the most powerful Transformers ever in both his robot and Cybertronian state--an incredibly powerful ray gun--he is second in command of the Decepticons, behind only Megatron himself...and many believe that he is even more powerful than Megatron. Shockwave is similar to a brilliant scientist, except that his thesis is the destruction of his enemies and the subjugation of Cybertron and Earth. Whatever his goals, Shockwave is totally driven to achieving them, and nothing--least of all any emotion--will stand in his way.
7. Randall Flagg (Stephen King's universe): So many names...all the same man. While he is a servant of the Devil, Randall Flagg--The Walkin' Dude, The Man in Black, Walter o'Dim, The Ageless Stranger, Walter Padick, and any number of R.F. names--is the personification of evil in Stephen King's universe. He is the one that is bringing about the destruction of countless worlds, up to and including the Dark Tower itself. There is no evil that Flagg won't perform, no trick he won't pull, no limit to his means. He is driven to destroy, and has the means both supernatural and scientific to pull off his dark and twisted schemes. He is evil incarnate, and what makes it even more frightening is that he begins as a man, just like we all did.
6. The Borg (Star Trek series):
We are the Borg. Lower your shields and power down your weapons. We will add your biological and technological distinctiveness to our own. Resistance is futile. You will be assimilated."
There is no more feared greeting in the Star Trek universe. Since Q introduced the Next Generation's crew to The Borg, they have been the single greatest threat to the universe--even moreso than the Dominion. A collective mind that conquers, adds, and eliminates any race or culture it finds, it is groupthink truly gone mad. It is the "perfect utopian" society that madmen such as Hitler have strived for. Like Shockwave, they are not destroying you, your people, and your culture over any feelings or hate--they are assimilating you because that is what they do. And that makes them both powerful and evil.
5. Sauron (The Lord of the Rings): Similar to Randall Flagg, Sauron is a servant to the greatest evil--Morgoth--but makes this list for being the true architect of destruction that we come to know in the LOTR. Sauron is the lord of Mordor, and the creator of The One Ring, the one ring to dominate and rule all the other great rings of Middle Earth. Sauron seeks to dominate the will of all creatures of Middle Earth. Total and complete power is what Sauron craves, and he has the will and the means to achieve that goal. Whether appearing as a noble and beautiful Valar or a twisted spirit of blackness, Sauron is truly one of the evilest beings ever.
4. Emperor Palpatine/Darth Sidious (Star Wars): Palpatine was correct: he was the greatest Dark Lord of the Sith ever. Like Sauron, Lord Sidious was totally committed to the Sith dream of ruling the galaxy absolutely and dominating the will of all beings within completely. Unlike Sauron, The Emperor accomplished his goal for a time. Through treachery, guile, and an incredible knowledge of the Dark Side of the Force, Palpatine was able to conquer the Republic and establish his Empire, and to almost completely destroy the Jedi Order. This wizened and feeble-looking old man was one of the most powerful and evil forces ever.
3. Megatron (Transformers): To kill the greatest hero ever, surely you must be one of the greatest villains ever. You've earned your place, leader of the Decepticons. Megatron and Hitler (the evilest person ever) to me both shared a similar "style" for lack of a better word: both were chaotically insane, filled with hate, and prone to what appeared to be uncontrollable rages--yet there was always a method to their madness, a consistent rationale to the pure evil that they inflicted on the worlds around them. That is what made Megatron so frightening as a villain: he had the unbridled power of the insane, yet the will and clarity to channel it in the right direction and use it accordingly. Such a combination was rare, and truly deadly.
2. Apocalypse (X-Men): The greatest villain in the Marvel universe. I seriously considered putting Apocalypse as 1B instead of 2, as he is truly one of my favorite villains of all time.
En Sabah Nur is the world's first mutant, and undeniably one of it's most powerful. His natural power is a metamorph--he can alter his mass into almost any form, and he is immortal. On top of this, Apocalypse discovered a ship from the alien race the Celestials that also granted him immense power.
Apocalypse believes in "survival of the fittest", meaning that anything too weak to survive must be culled. Unfortunately, that means the entire human race and most of the mutant population. Apocalypse has succeeded in conquering the world in the Marvel universe several different times, and even almost destroyed the universe itself in order to rebuild it in his own image (Beyond Good & Evil, the greatest cartoon series ever). Marvel did an alternate universe comic series entitled Age of Apocalypse that is arguably the best comics series ever, in which Apocalypse conquers the Western Hemisphere.
Not only is Apocalypse incredibly powerful and horribly evil, but there is an inherent nobility to him that adds to his presence. Apocalypse believes that he is destined to rule the world, and that it is simply a matter of time before he does so. This icy, calm demeanor and noble arrogance add both to his evil nature and his aura of invincibility. Apocalypse is one of the greatest villains any universe has ever known--and he is well aware of this fact.
1. Darkseid (Superman): Narrowly beats out Apocalypse because I think that Darkseid is slightly more powerful. Maybe. Possibly. Anyway, Darkseid is the ruler--god, really--of Apokolips, which he attained by assassinating his own mother. He seeks to rule the entire universe by discovering the Anti-Life Equation, which will allow him to suppress all free will in the universe. He is the most powerful enemy of Superman, but his power is such that he is really the enemy of all characters in the DC Universe.
Darkseid has strength, stamina, and speed on par with Superman. However, his most powerful weapon is his Omega Beam: two beams of red light he fires out of his eyes. These can do almost anything: transform matter, teleport an individual wherever Darkseid wishes, create life, or destroy an individual entirely.
Darkseid is truly evil incarnate. He rarely gets outwardly angry or upset, in spite of the unbridled rage that exists inside him. Darkseid sees himself as an honorable ruler, but never lets his sense of "honor" get in the way of his lust for power. Like the Devil, Darkseid takes special pleasure in seeing the "good" guys brought low through moral dilemmas or sacrifices they are forced to make, in order to watch them suffer and forced to face potential evil of their own actions. He honestly sees himself as a god, and expects to be deified as such. Somewhat sadly, he rules the Hell-like world of Apokolips so completely that the people of that world do see him as a god. To rule the universe by totally and completely removing free will is his right and destiny, and like Apocalypse in Marvel, he sees it as only a matter of time before he succeeds in this task.
Dishonorable Mention: Mister Sinister, M. Bison, Shang Tsung, Queen Bavmorda, Naraku, Agent Smith, Dracula, Anubis (Stargate), Venom, Shredder, Doomsday.
10. Jenner (The Secret of Nimh): I honestly believe that you won't run into a more dark, a more evil, a more cunning, a more affective, and a scarier villain than Jenner under the age of 10. Perfectly drawn throughout the movie to appear more sinister, more powerful, and more devious than any other character (as a child you believe that he could beat Dragon if he put his mind to it), the scariest thing about Jenner is that you honestly don't believe he can lose. He's just too good at what he does.
9. Jason Voorhees (Friday the 13th series): I love the Friday the 13th movies. I swear that they make those movies by going to a room, sitting around a large office table, as the producer then says, "Okay, tell me the strangest ways you can think of to kill a human being" as the room then bursts into heated and frantic conversation. Trust me, in my head, it's a funny scene.
But funny as that may be, one cannot deny Jason's body of work. Or bodies of work. Jason kills without discrimination, without a real reason, or without a real purpose. And he's damn good at what he does. Combine that with the fact that he's nigh unbeatable, and he is truly the king of the slashers, and has earned a place in the top ten.
8. Shockwave (Transformers): Cold. Unfeeling. Logical. Patient. Unflinching. Ruthless. Unreasonable. Effective. Shockwave is the machine that mankind fears--he is evil not with emotion, but simply because that is what he is: evil. One of the most powerful Transformers ever in both his robot and Cybertronian state--an incredibly powerful ray gun--he is second in command of the Decepticons, behind only Megatron himself...and many believe that he is even more powerful than Megatron. Shockwave is similar to a brilliant scientist, except that his thesis is the destruction of his enemies and the subjugation of Cybertron and Earth. Whatever his goals, Shockwave is totally driven to achieving them, and nothing--least of all any emotion--will stand in his way.
7. Randall Flagg (Stephen King's universe): So many names...all the same man. While he is a servant of the Devil, Randall Flagg--The Walkin' Dude, The Man in Black, Walter o'Dim, The Ageless Stranger, Walter Padick, and any number of R.F. names--is the personification of evil in Stephen King's universe. He is the one that is bringing about the destruction of countless worlds, up to and including the Dark Tower itself. There is no evil that Flagg won't perform, no trick he won't pull, no limit to his means. He is driven to destroy, and has the means both supernatural and scientific to pull off his dark and twisted schemes. He is evil incarnate, and what makes it even more frightening is that he begins as a man, just like we all did.
6. The Borg (Star Trek series):
We are the Borg. Lower your shields and power down your weapons. We will add your biological and technological distinctiveness to our own. Resistance is futile. You will be assimilated."
There is no more feared greeting in the Star Trek universe. Since Q introduced the Next Generation's crew to The Borg, they have been the single greatest threat to the universe--even moreso than the Dominion. A collective mind that conquers, adds, and eliminates any race or culture it finds, it is groupthink truly gone mad. It is the "perfect utopian" society that madmen such as Hitler have strived for. Like Shockwave, they are not destroying you, your people, and your culture over any feelings or hate--they are assimilating you because that is what they do. And that makes them both powerful and evil.
5. Sauron (The Lord of the Rings): Similar to Randall Flagg, Sauron is a servant to the greatest evil--Morgoth--but makes this list for being the true architect of destruction that we come to know in the LOTR. Sauron is the lord of Mordor, and the creator of The One Ring, the one ring to dominate and rule all the other great rings of Middle Earth. Sauron seeks to dominate the will of all creatures of Middle Earth. Total and complete power is what Sauron craves, and he has the will and the means to achieve that goal. Whether appearing as a noble and beautiful Valar or a twisted spirit of blackness, Sauron is truly one of the evilest beings ever.
4. Emperor Palpatine/Darth Sidious (Star Wars): Palpatine was correct: he was the greatest Dark Lord of the Sith ever. Like Sauron, Lord Sidious was totally committed to the Sith dream of ruling the galaxy absolutely and dominating the will of all beings within completely. Unlike Sauron, The Emperor accomplished his goal for a time. Through treachery, guile, and an incredible knowledge of the Dark Side of the Force, Palpatine was able to conquer the Republic and establish his Empire, and to almost completely destroy the Jedi Order. This wizened and feeble-looking old man was one of the most powerful and evil forces ever.
3. Megatron (Transformers): To kill the greatest hero ever, surely you must be one of the greatest villains ever. You've earned your place, leader of the Decepticons. Megatron and Hitler (the evilest person ever) to me both shared a similar "style" for lack of a better word: both were chaotically insane, filled with hate, and prone to what appeared to be uncontrollable rages--yet there was always a method to their madness, a consistent rationale to the pure evil that they inflicted on the worlds around them. That is what made Megatron so frightening as a villain: he had the unbridled power of the insane, yet the will and clarity to channel it in the right direction and use it accordingly. Such a combination was rare, and truly deadly.
2. Apocalypse (X-Men): The greatest villain in the Marvel universe. I seriously considered putting Apocalypse as 1B instead of 2, as he is truly one of my favorite villains of all time.
En Sabah Nur is the world's first mutant, and undeniably one of it's most powerful. His natural power is a metamorph--he can alter his mass into almost any form, and he is immortal. On top of this, Apocalypse discovered a ship from the alien race the Celestials that also granted him immense power.
Apocalypse believes in "survival of the fittest", meaning that anything too weak to survive must be culled. Unfortunately, that means the entire human race and most of the mutant population. Apocalypse has succeeded in conquering the world in the Marvel universe several different times, and even almost destroyed the universe itself in order to rebuild it in his own image (Beyond Good & Evil, the greatest cartoon series ever). Marvel did an alternate universe comic series entitled Age of Apocalypse that is arguably the best comics series ever, in which Apocalypse conquers the Western Hemisphere.
Not only is Apocalypse incredibly powerful and horribly evil, but there is an inherent nobility to him that adds to his presence. Apocalypse believes that he is destined to rule the world, and that it is simply a matter of time before he does so. This icy, calm demeanor and noble arrogance add both to his evil nature and his aura of invincibility. Apocalypse is one of the greatest villains any universe has ever known--and he is well aware of this fact.
1. Darkseid (Superman): Narrowly beats out Apocalypse because I think that Darkseid is slightly more powerful. Maybe. Possibly. Anyway, Darkseid is the ruler--god, really--of Apokolips, which he attained by assassinating his own mother. He seeks to rule the entire universe by discovering the Anti-Life Equation, which will allow him to suppress all free will in the universe. He is the most powerful enemy of Superman, but his power is such that he is really the enemy of all characters in the DC Universe.
Darkseid has strength, stamina, and speed on par with Superman. However, his most powerful weapon is his Omega Beam: two beams of red light he fires out of his eyes. These can do almost anything: transform matter, teleport an individual wherever Darkseid wishes, create life, or destroy an individual entirely.
Darkseid is truly evil incarnate. He rarely gets outwardly angry or upset, in spite of the unbridled rage that exists inside him. Darkseid sees himself as an honorable ruler, but never lets his sense of "honor" get in the way of his lust for power. Like the Devil, Darkseid takes special pleasure in seeing the "good" guys brought low through moral dilemmas or sacrifices they are forced to make, in order to watch them suffer and forced to face potential evil of their own actions. He honestly sees himself as a god, and expects to be deified as such. Somewhat sadly, he rules the Hell-like world of Apokolips so completely that the people of that world do see him as a god. To rule the universe by totally and completely removing free will is his right and destiny, and like Apocalypse in Marvel, he sees it as only a matter of time before he succeeds in this task.
Labels: Heroes and Villains
posted by Michael Pondrom at 7:38 PM
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