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Favorite/best villains
List your favorites!...
List your favorites! They can also be from movies, shows, etc.; I'm not picky. You also might want to mention what fandom they're from, so people can compare notes. You can also talk about what makes them so good, any good backstories or plot twists they have, or tips on writing better villains (I think many of us need those). I'll start.
My personal favorite villain is Ezra Squall, from the Nevermoor series. He is so perfectly written that he's one of my favorite characters (which is really saying something, considering that both Miss Cheery and Cadence exist in that universe). Half of his writing is him being calm and graceful and a really good teacher to the main character, being revealed as a carefree, charismatic jokester in his youth, and never lying to the protagonist and never breaking a promise, but he's also killed all of his friends and family with no second thoughts and certainly no remorse, unleashes a horrible parasite on an entire city, and sings children's lullabies with lyrics like "little rabbit, little rabbit, stay by mother's side, or the crowling, little crowling, will pluck out your eyes" while stepping out of the darkness surrounded by shadow-wolves. Excuse me, who gave the author permission to write this freaking well. Anyway. What about y'all?
submitted by Snazzycakes
(June 30, 2022 - 1:12 pm)
(June 30, 2022 - 1:12 pm)
AHAHAHAHAHAHA-
My favorite villian overall is from The Owl House; The Collector. I love villians like him; playful and a bit insane, the ones that call their villiany "games", ones that act childish. To quote Warden Wrath from the first episode, "I find it alluring" :D
(June 30, 2022 - 7:18 pm)
Oh, yeah, the Collector is also a really good villain in that he isn't really a villain. He's just a five year old that some idiot gave complete control over reality and who doesn't know the meaning of the word "consequences". He's quite intriguing. Making villains not quite villains is one of my absolute favorite things authors do. I call it grayscaling, and, funny story, I use that term often enough and with enough confidence that my older sibling genuinely thinks that it's, like, the official writer term for it, or something, when in reality it's just something I made up one day and decided I liked the sound of. It's kind of hilarious, honestly.
(June 30, 2022 - 8:08 pm)
my favorite villian is probably Darkstalker, from Wings of Fire. he's just such a good character, and the fact that he turned evil is just so sad... his intentions are in the right place, but he gets a little carried away with his magic. aaagh his storyline, design, and personality are just so GOOD-
(June 30, 2022 - 8:42 pm)
Muzan, Dabi, Toga, Rui, Spider Mom, Susamaru,Enmu, Mukago, Twice, Ren yami and Michkatsu!
*If you don't know who they are, I wold suggest you look them up.
(July 1, 2022 - 7:03 am)
Umbridge
she's not all that complex but sometimes you just need a character to absolutely despise
also, Kilo Ren/Zuko (honestly they're practically the same person) just because I love a good ~redemption arc~
(June 30, 2022 - 11:41 pm)
okay but if you could get rid of umbrigde or voldy who would you pick?
(July 7, 2022 - 9:31 am)
okay snazzy i am officially SOLD on that series i want to read it RIGHT NOW, that sounds LITERALLY AMAZING *counts down days until i can go to the library*
My favorite has got to be Aaravos. (spoilers for the dragon prince seasons 2&3) okay so first of all of course he's extremely handsome, I mean, just look at that long beautiful hair of his, the amber eyes, i love the antler-horns too i mean they're so elegant... Secondly he's an extremely intriguing character. I don't even have words enough for this, i mean, the second phase of the series is titled "the mystery of aaravos." Why did Avizandum trap him in a magic mirror? Why is he, an elf, helping human mage Viren destroy Xadia? What is he planning? Will his physical form come out of that weird cocoon thing? Who is Elarion? Did he make an illusion-horse just so mirage aaravos can chill on it hilariously and make me love him more?
Third, for a villain we pretty much knew was evil from the start, he's actually super endearing. The whole little bug pal scene was just TOO adorable and sweet. In the first few scenes with the mirror he talks to Viren so patiently and smoothly. He claims never to have lied. I mentioned the horse scene already but it's SO amazing he's literally the best
Also, that scene in Lux Aurea was just
(July 1, 2022 - 8:54 am)
Villains aren't usually my favorites, but Lady Gisela from Keeper of the Lost Cities is definitely up there. She's just cool? And really wants the best for Keefe, although her methods are *ahem* questionable.
(July 1, 2022 - 5:57 pm)
Kaz Brekker from the Six of Crows duology by Leigh Bardugo. He's horrible and brilliant, and he's also seventeen, crippled, and can't stand touching other people (hence the legendary black gloves), which makes his criminal mastery all the more impressive. Like many of the best villains, he has a tragic backstory, and he's very good at what he does.
(July 1, 2022 - 6:22 pm)
Yes! Kaz Brekker is such a good character. He walks that extremely fine line between heroic villain and villainous hero. Like, he saves the world, but only for the money. He takes down a major crime boss, but only for revenge. He kills without a second thought, but it's to save his Crows. And his relationship with Inej--ahhhhh it's so well done. He's just an extremely traumatized teenager with a cane, those legendary gloves, and a flair for the dramatic, and yet he breaks into the most secure prison/palace in the world, topples the regime of the most powerful crime lord in the city, and is generally terrifying. Kaz freaking Brekker, y'all.
(July 3, 2022 - 11:24 am)
Okay, so....I mostly watch disney. ONE of my favorite villains is Mother Gothel! I mean, yes. She is SO awesome!
And I forget the villain from Anastasia, but he's awesome, too!
(July 2, 2022 - 6:34 pm)
Toga from MHA
Queen Scarlet from WOF-thrilling!
Scourge from Warriors
Kuvira from LOK
(July 3, 2022 - 4:14 pm)
Yesss!!! I love all the examples that have already been brought up:
The Collector is so scary because he has infinite power and little to no logic as to how he is going to use it and he cares very little for conventional villain stuff like money and power. I would also like to throw in Emporer Belos/Phillip Wittebane, because his backstory makes perfect sense and the way that we learn about him and his past all contributes perfectly to why he wants to drain the Boiling Isles of magic.
Darkstalker is a good villain because it's so easy for him to get people to trust him, especially because he believes what he is doing is right.
Same with Kuvira from Legend of Korra. She actually believes that she's helping people. I'm watching that season right now and it's so cool to see a villain with the perfect combination of strength and cunning.
Aaravos is especially cool because we know so little about him and what his motivations are. But I do agree with Tsuki, his character design is super cool!
Villains in general are so fun to look at closely. It's so hard to write a convincing villain that has realistic motivations and actions that make sense.
(July 3, 2022 - 9:24 pm)
Vespera. From Kotlc.
Because.
She.
Is.
Just.
So.
Villainous.
Like, literally, does she PRACTICE those evil lines?
(July 19, 2022 - 3:39 pm)
Namor, the Sub-mariner (do comic books count?
(August 1, 2022 - 1:07 pm)