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Okay! So we’re going to try something new on the forum!
Each Friday there’s going to be a new forum topic about stories or writing that we can all discuss together.
This weeks topic is…
Who is the best villain in any book/movie of all time? And why?
@kathleenramm Oooohhhh, GREAT TOPIC. I would put forth both Sauron and Thanos. No, wait! And also the Joker.
I’ll go backwards: the Joker is such a great villain because his game isn’t really to HAVE things; he just likes getting them. He also likes playing with the emotions of people, and he’s indifferent to destroying things. And he’s practically a genius at leverage; making people do things they would rather not. And he’s just plain creepy. I’m sure there are a lot of other reasons, but right now my mind’s in a buzz.
As for Thanos; he could be better (couldn’t they all!), but his thing is to destroy half of the universe’s population, so that puts him at a pretty destructive villain. Plus, he’ll do anything to complete this thing.
Then there’s Sauron. We all know him; besides the fact that he was basically the “apprentice” in a sense to Morgoth (or one of them), he’s also pretty destructive.
That could have been explained a lot better.
@leon-fleming
All very respectable villains.
No questioning that all three will go down in history as some of the most iconic villains of all time!
But is it bad to say that the only movie I’ve watched with Joker in it is lego Batman? Makes me question my movie watching choices…
@kathleenramm True, true; haha! Well, I haven’t seen the lego movie, but the actual movie with the Joker is (I’m sure) a lot more detailed. CXD
My favorite villain is probably Sydney Carton, but I’m not sure if he counts exactly.
And the six-fingered man.
Hmm… honestly the first one I thought of was Loki, but again, he’s a wishy-washy sort of villain overall. He lacks conviction.
Moriarty! Smaug! I like them too.
Mother Gothel… she was really good, I thought.
Captain Hook! Now there’s a classic.
I have no idea who the best is, though. There are so many stories out there. :/
It’s good to be back in the forum, by the way. Is there an age limit? I’m almost twenty-five now.
@leon-fleming mentioned Sauron. I would say that Sauron is a brilliant example of a villain who distances himself physically from the story but is still very active within it. I often find myself marveling at this seeming paradox.
He acts through his minions, somehow escaping a passive role in the story despite the lack of physical presence.
Although… I guess you could say that his eye makes him physically present in the story… assuming the eye is physical and not just magical. I’m actually not too sure. It’s been a while since I read LOTR.
He is definitely present in the magical sense. The characters are always sensing him and becoming terrified.
Being able to freak out an entire world of characters without ever actually being in the room? Maybe Sauron is the greatest villain of all time.
Darth Vader. Why did I not think of him before? Most iconic, in my book. He is also a good candidate.
@overcomer Oh, yes! Moriarty; as in Sherlock Holmes, right? Have you watched the Robert Downey Jr. movies?
True, true; Sauron is definitely one of the best villains. Yes, Darth Vader is quite a good villain; have you watched the last three Star Wars movies? They’re good, but kinda depressing. Not really up to par, if you know what I mean.
They took a lot of the power and reason away from Anakin’s death. Though he did save Luke, he didn’t kill Palpatine, anyways. Though Palpatine is quite a good villain, too. (Is it Pal patine? or Pal-patine?)
I know it’s so hard to choose!
I like your perspective of how Sauron, though he wasn’t physically present throughout the story, he was mentally present throughout the trilogy. By constantly tempting anyone near with The Ring. He may not have been charging at the front his army trying to stop Frodo from is mission, but he was in Frodo’s mind which is a lot more menacing and dangerous. Which makes him definitely one of the top villains.
Oh, and don’t worry about being too old for the forum. The age limit is thirty. 🙂
This is a tough question…from the variety of films and books I’ve seen and read, I’d say Sauron, Darth Vader, and possibly Ernesto de la Cruise.
A wolf is a wolf,
even in a cage,
even dressed in silk.The scariest villains from my childhood were probably Count Olaf and Randall from Monster’s Inc. haha
Such a great list of villains!
Oh yes! Sydney Carton! He was such an interesting character.
Who is your favorite Moriarty? From the books? Series? Robert Downey Jr. movies?
Oh yeah, Ernesto de la Cruise. He is a really great villain too. He is definitely one of the best twist villains out there. He actually succeeded! (in the past, that is) And his motivation in the movie was to cover up his crimes. I thought that was really interesting.
*Takes off hat in respect* There is no better villain than Randall. He shall ever remain the best villain of all time.
Count Olaf is a pretty good villain, @erinramm. I liked him from the Netflix series.
I never really gave it much thought, but I guess I prefer the Moriarty from the books. The one from the series was alright, but I don’t even remember the one from the movies. He must not have been particularly memorable.
Honestly, I think I like the idea of Moriarty more than the character itself. A mastermind villain who brilliantly masks his personal involvement in crime through a vast underground network? It’s brilliant. 🙂 I don’t feel like we really get to know him personally all that well though. You know he’s there, working in the shadows, but he stays hidden mostly.
I’m not familiar with this Ernesto character. What is he from?
I really like the villians in The Lottery. Unlike many other villians, it brings our attention not only towards a central evil character but instead towards ourselves, and how easily we fall prey to peer pressure.
Seeking to love those I do not know/ failing to let that love show
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