While I will certainly not call this "villain-worshipping," there is something undeniably magnetic, enigmatic, and dare I say, even awe-inspiring about a certain kind of villain. One that is not a cartoonish personification of evil but a complex multidimensional being cloaked in a vaguely appealing aura of poignancy. A villain that is gripping not just for their deeds but also for their backstory. A villain that is oh-so-stylish that they often outshine the heroes themselves.
This post is about such villains, my all-time favorites from across different kinds of movies: Thanos, Artemisia, Magneto, Malik Kafur, Amy Dunne, Hannibal Lecter, Lord Shen, and Apocalypse. I explain briefly about who they are and why they are in my list. I also cite my favorite lines and scenes of those characters. The 8 names are in no particular order, although I admit my top favorite is Thanos. If you have not watched the movies I list here, I highly recommend watching them all to witness their magnificent villainy for yourself!
CAUTION: This post includes quotes with swearwords and also talks about stories involving rapes, murders, massacres, genocides, slavery, and/or cannibalism. If you get triggered or too upset when reading such things, you may want to skip reading this post.
Thanos
Avengers: Infinity War
Avengers: Endgame
Who?
Perhaps the most anticipated villain ever in the history of filmmaking, Thanos is the biggest villain of the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU). His life-long quest has been to collect all 6 infinity stones and restore "balance" to the universe by randomly killing half of all living things.
Why?
The comic book version of Thanos is a crude megalomaniac who kills half of life just to impress Lady Death. But I was really blown away by how creatively Thanos was "humanized" in the MCU: a forthright Malthusian philosopher on a mission to save the universe from itself having been traumatized by the extinction of his species on Titan due to overpopulation. A doting father to Gamora who mourns her death after being forced to sacrifice her, almost a Biblical Abraham. A selfless warrior who throws away all that God-like power after finishing his simple mission. Up until his (first) death, Thanos is hands down the most virtuous, honest, and respectable villain I have ever seen. Of course, the second Thanos's mission changes in Endgame with less virtuous goals.
Although Thanos's visual rendition is computer-generated, it is based on fine-grained motion and facial capture. Josh Brolin delivers that and the voice perfectly for all stages of Thanos's mission.
Favorite lines:
Explaining his mission to Gamora: "Little one, it is a simple calculus: the universe is finite, its resources finite. If life is left unchecked, life will cease to exist.
Explaining his mission to Doctor Strange: "The hardest choices require the strongest wills."
After defeating Iron Man in the Battle of Titan: "You have my respect, Stark. When I am done, half of humanity will still be alive. I hope they remember you."
Favorite scenes:
Thanos sacrifices his only love to attain the soul stone:
Thanos fights and defeats Iron Man in the Battle of Titan:
Thanos rests after accomplishing his mission:
Artemisia
300: Rise of an Empire
Who?
Artemisia is the commander of the vast navy of the Persian Emperor Xerxes I, who is on a quest to invade Greece and humiliate the Athenians. She is partly based on a real historical figure although the character in the movie is mostly fictional.
Why?
Born a Greek, her family was killed by Greek soldiers in an unexplained war. She was raped, tortured, and sold into sex slavery as a girl by the Greeks, and eventually left to die on the street. A Persian emissary rescues her, adopts her, and moulds her into the fiercest warrior in the Persian court. Her valor sees her rising to become the most trusted confidante of Emperor Darius. After Darius is killed by Themistocles in the first invasion of Greece, Artemisia shapes his son's rise into a warmongering god-king. She convinces Xerxes to seek vengeance against Greece. She initially defeats the Athenian navy, and Xerxes destroys Athens. But the Persians are ultimately defeated as the Greek city-states unite.
Portrayed masterfully by Eva Green, Artemisia is hands down the most impressive and awe-inspiring female villain and performance I have ever seen.
Favorite lines:
To Xerxes after Darius's death: "Only the gods can defeat the Greeks? You will be a god-king!"
To Xerxes after Themistocles's navy still stands after Athens is burned: "I will attack the Greeks with my entire navy... Now sit on your golden throne and watch this battle from the safety I provide you."
Favorite scenes:
Artemisia shapes the rise of the Persian god-king:
Artemisia burns the Athenian navy:
Artemisia spars with Xerxes on how to defeat Themistocles:
Magneto
The X-Men series, especially First Class, Apocalypse, Days of Future Past, and The Last Stand
Who?
Perhaps the least villainous and most complex character in this list, Magneto is a very powerful mutant who can control magnetic matter. My favorite villain before the arrival of MCU's Thanos.
Why?
Born a German Jew before World War II, Magneto was imprisoned as a boy along with his family at Auschwitz by the Nazis. Watching his mother being shot dead enraged him into controlling his power. Given that the Nazis murdered his parents and the Soviets murdered his wife and daughter too, little wonder then that Magneto does not trust humankind. He was initially a part of the X-Men and a friend of Professor X. But they parted ways disagreeing on the future of mutantkind-humankind relations. Affirming that mutantkind must reign supreme, Magneto becomes a key antagonist of the X-Men, although he and Professor X remain good friends who respect each other. In the dystopian future of Days of Future Past, they even team up again to fight the Sentinels created by humankind to commit genocide against mutantkind and their human allies.
Ian McKellan portrays the older Magneto with incredible grace and style, while Michael Fassbender perfectly portrays the younger Magneto's pain, rage, and confusion.
Favorite lines:
Rhetorically when moving the Golden Gate Bridge to Alcatraz for his attack: "Charles always wanted to build bridges."
To the Brotherhood when attacking Alcatraz to destroy the mutant cure: "In chess, the pawns go first."
To Charles when about to be defeated by the Sentinels: "All those years wasted fighting each other, Charles. To have a precious few of them back."
Favorite scenes:
Magneto artfully kills Shaw, his mother's murderer:
Magneto moving the Golden Gate Bridge to Alcatraz:
Magneto teaming up with Storm to fight the Sentinels:
Malik Kafur
Padmaavat
Who?
Malik Kafur was a eunuch slave-general in the court of the Afghan-Indian Emperor Alauddin Khilji. He is also based on a real historical figure, who rose to become Khilji's most trusted confidante and successful military general.
Why?
As a likely gay man who was castrated and sold into slavery as a eunuch, Kafur is eventually gifted to Khilji as a personal slave, guard, and concubine rolled into one. From the get go, Kafur makes it clear he is gloriously ruthless and recklessly devoted to his master. He proves to be a cunning and resourceful confidante and a fierce warrior who helps Khilji conquer many Indian kingdoms for his empire. But when Khilji wages war against the Rajput kingdom of Chittor, he is almost defeated by the Rajput king on the battlefield. Kafur intervenes to save Khilji by shooting an arrow to the king's back, affirming that his devotion to his master matters more to him than war ethics. However, the most surprising and endearing part of the movie for me was the sneakily inserted love story of Kafur and Khilji. I found out later that this story of homosexual/bisexual relationship is based in historical facts, although Indian history books have obviously erased it!
Kafur's eccentricity is memorably portrayed by Jim Sarbh, a master of the stage who came to the big screen for this role.
Favorite scenes:
Kafur's introduction scene:
One of my favorite songs, Binte Dil, showing Kafur tending to Khilji:
Amy Dunne
Gone Girl
Who?
Amy is a successful and famous writer of a children's story based on herself called Amazing Amy. She falls in love with and marries a small-time journalist called Nick.
Why?
After Nick loses his job, Amy uses her money to help them start afresh in his home town in Missouri. But they grow apart emotionally due to Nick's narcissism. He then cheats on Amy, leaving her devastated. Instead of moping in self-pity, she crafts an elaborate scheme to "disappear" herself and frame Nick for her "murder." The stunningly intricate and interconnected "clues" she plants are thoroughly gripping and convincing. But the pinnacle is her last scene with Desi, a high school stalker-friend who gives her shelter. After changing her mind about Nick, she hatches a scheme to return. She seduces Desi to have sex and right after he ejaculates in her vagina, with her "rape evidence" now secure, she dramatically slits his throat and bathes herself in his blood as more "evidence" for her rape-murder fabrication. An incredibly polished story of a narcissistic, psychopathic, and murderous woman who wants her husband back in her grip, I thoroughly enjoyed it because I could not predict any of its shocking plot twists.
Portrayed brilliantly by Rosamund Pike, who got nominated for an Oscar for this role, Amy Dunne is hands down the scariest female villain in history.
Favorite lines:
From the cool girl monologue about her husband: "I inspired him to rise to my level. I forged the man of my dreams.."
Also from the cool girl monologue: "He dragged me, penniless, to the navel of this great country and found himself a newer, younger, bouncier cool girl. You think I'd let him destroy me and end up happier than ever? No fucking way!"
Nick to Amy after she returns home covered in blood: "You fucking bitch!"
To Nick in the end before their joint interview to reveal her pregnancy: "I'm not a quitter. I'm that cunt. I've killed for you. Who else can say that?"
Favorite scenes:
The glorious "cool girl" monologue:
Interview scene at the end:
Hannibal Lecter
The Silence of the Lambs, Hannibal, and Hannibal Rising
Who?
A forensic psychiatrist by trade and a cannibalistic serial killer on the side, Dr. Lecter is considered by many to be the greatest villain in American movies. He gets incarcerated for his crimes but eventually escapes.
Why?
Lecter's origins lay in a traumatized childhood during World War 2. Amidst a brutal winter, he and his little sister get trapped in a forest house. Passing mercenaries set up camp there and due to a lack of food, kill his sister to make a stew. Lecter unwittingly eats it before learning about its contents. Eventually, he exhibits markers of psychopathy, up to his famed cannibalistic attacks. Outwardly he is a highly learned and cultured person who easily gets along in society without raising suspicions. In a twisted form of virtuosity, he primarily targets only men who are deviously powerful, immoral, or even evil in his view for his cannibalism. He even helps law enforcement and Clarice find other serial killers during his incarceration, while respecting and adoring Clarice. Overall he is complex and far from evil himself in a weird way.
An instant legend, Lecter was portrayed impeccably in multiple movies by the great Anthony Hopkins, who also won an Oscar for this role.
Favorite lines:
To Clarice during the interview in his cell: "A census taker once tried to test me. I ate his liver with some fava beans and a nice Chianti."
Again to Clarice over the phone after his escape: "I do wish we could chat longer, but I'm having an old friend for dinner."
Favorite scenes:
The famous dialogue scene with Clarice:
A scene that is so shockingly grotesque (yet artful) that Youtube makes it non-embeddable, age-restricts it, and still cautions viewers! The open-brain dinner scene.
Lord Shen
Kung Fu Panda 2
Who?
The prince of the Gongmen City in China, where gunpowder and fireworks are invented. Shen repurposes that to create the first cannon, a powerful weapon for his plans to conquer all of China.
Why?
A young Shen is rattled by a soothsayer's prediction that his plans will be defeated by a giant panda. So he massacres all giant pandas in the kingdom. His parents, aghast at the genocide, disown and banish Shen from the kingdom. He uses his exile period to build up an army and expand his cannon firepower so that he can retake Gongmen one day. But unbeknownst to him, a baby panda had escaped the genocide due to its mother. It grew to become Po, the eponymous kung-fu master Panda and the legendary Dragon Warrior who ultimately defeats Shen. So in the sagely words of Oogway, Shen basically met his fate on the path he took to avoid it! Although Shen's story is not as poignant as the above villains, his gloriously posh style and lines, sheer ruthlessness, and decisive victory over all but one of China's kung-fu masters earns him a place as one of my favorite villains.
A key part of Shen's charm is his voicing by the British actor Gary Oldman. Hollywood really seems to like villains with a British accent!
Favorite lines:
Opening line to the Masters Council at Gongmen Palace: "Good afternoon gentlemen. Now that we have the pleasantries out of the way, please leave my house."
Again to the Masters Council presenting his secret weapon, the cannon: "It's a gift. Oh, it's your parting gift, in that it will part you. Part of you here, part of you there, part of you waaay over there, staining the wall!."
To the soothsayer goat: "My parents hated me. Do you understand? They wronged me. And I will make it right. [The goat rebuts] The dead exist in the past. And I must turn to the future. [The goat is set free and wishes him happiness] Happiness must be taken. And I will take mine!."
Favorite scenes:
Lord Shen's introduction scene:
The hilarious scene where Po Panda meets Lord Shen:
En Sabah Nur (aka Apocalypse)
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X-Men: Apocalypse
Who?
The world's first mutant, a megalomaniac with many powers who once ruled the world. He was worshipped my humankind as a God but was eventually betrayed and lost to history.
Why?
Once the ruler of ancient Egypt as Ra incarnate, En Sabah Nur was betrayed and rejected as a false God. He was lost to history buried underground. After rising again, he is disgusted with how corrupt the world had become running after money, fame, wars, weapons, superpowers, etc. and wants to wipe it clean. In this sense, he kinda embodies the Christian/Islamic/Bahai eschatology of the Second Coming and the Vaishnavite Hindu eschatology of Kalki (I doubt his gray-blue skin color was a coincidence!) Anyway, as with Shen there is not much poignancy in his story but he is on this list due to his awesome power, sheer brutality, and unflinching commitment to mutantkind. As with Thanos, he wants to commit genocide for population control but unlike Thanos, he does it for personal power. Nevertheless, Apocalypse adopted Storm and Magneto as his horsemen and raised their power massively, but they too ultimately betray him and join the X-Men.
Apocalypse was portrayed impeccably by Oscar Isaac.
Favorite lines:
To Storm after learning about the 20th century world: "This world needs to be... cleansed (in ancient language) [Storm asks what he said] ... saved (in English)."
To Magneto and the other horsemen at the Auschwitz, where Magneto's family was killed: "I am born of death. I was there to spark and fan the flame of man's awakening, to spin the wheel of civilization. And the when the forest grew rank and needed clearing for new growth, I was there to set it ablaze."
Also to the horsemen after raising Magneto's power to enable him to destroy Auschwitz: "Everything they've built will fall! And from the ashes of their world, we'll build a better one!"
To the X-men via Cerebro after disarming the world of its nukes: "You can fire your arrows from the Tower of Babel. But you can never strike God!"
Final line while being killed by Jean Grey's Phoenix Force: "All is revealed!"
Favorite scenes:
Unfortunately I could not find any of my favorite scenes as legitimate videos online because Fox and Disney blocked them! :-/ So, here are the trailer videos instead: Teaser Trailer, Official Trailer, and Final Trailer. The movie is now available online on Disney+ though. :) My favorite scenes are the infamous Auschwitz scene, the scene where he disarms the whole world of its nukes and other powerful weapons, and the final battle scene.
