Post by Deleted on Jul 1, 2012 6:07:44 GMT -7
Just idle curiousity, here: Who are your all-time favourite fictional villains, from any era, and from any medium, and why? They don't have to be of any particular number, or in any particular order - I'm just interested in seeing who they are!
Obviously, this excludes anti-heroes and the like, since they actually are on the side of good, even if they don't always want to admit it.
Mine are as follows;
Dr. Albert W. Wily (From the Mega Man video game series by Capcom): Dr. Wily is the most tenacious bad guy I've ever encountered, and, more than that, he's always depicted in a very human fashion - he has actual reasons for what he does (including, but not limited to, not treating robots poorly, as many other humans in his time do), even if he goes about achieving his goals wrongly. This means that he's never depicted in a black-and-white fashion, which makes him considerably more interesting than most villains. Moreover, he's created a lot of robots (with a couple of them essentially being like man-made humans), and even though all of them were created for evil deeds, a number of them have turned out to be good people regardless - thus proving that no matter where you come from, you can still do good and be a good person. Dr. Wily has a number of good points, such as aiming to be the best that he can be, and never giving up, and he puts them to good use, too!
--
Quellor (From The Adventures of Teddy Ruxpin): When I was a kid, I tended to take Quellor a fair bit more seriously than he's often depicted on-screen. After all, he's already depicted as a wily mastermind type, and he has a somewhat scary and imposing appearance - take out some of the slapstick elements, and he comes across as even more formidable. As villains go, he's quite wise, and pays attention to ancient legends and stories in order to ensure that his organisation can remain in power. Moreover, he managed to capture or otherwise get the good guys on the run a number of times - that's the mark of the sort of villain that you should be afraid of!
--
Charn (From the educational BBC TV series, Through the Dragon's Eye): Charn is a great villain - he's intimidating, always manages to get his way, he has a bird-like skull covering most of his face, has imposing horns atop his head, and has exposed ribs and guts, and electrically-charged claws that can reduce most residents of the land of Pelamar (the place that he hails from, and was banished from for his past evil deeds) to puddles of goo with just one blast! Moreover, he's ruthless and not afraid to zap everyone in sight in order to prove a point - and in order to take control of the world's life-force in order to take control of the land. He's persistent and sticks to his guns 'til the very end, at which point his plans quite literally go up in smoke after his defeat at the hands of Gorwen the dragon. Frighteningly, if not for the fact that he could not read, he would have been successful.
--
Dr. Claw (From Inspector Gadget): The greatest unseen character of all time! Dr. Claw, as with many of the others on this list, is persistent and tenacious, but you can't help but wonder if he's every bit as dim as Inspector Gadget is, since he never realises that it's not Gadget who keeps foiling his plans! He's also notable for never actually being seen - you only ever see his metal-gloved right arm - leading to every single person who watches the show having a different impression of what this mastermind with nigh-unlimited resources really looks like. This is pretty unique, and gives greater viewer involvement as a result, because everyone has a unique experience. The official showing of his appearance in the form of an action figure, and in a SNES game, was disappointing, as was the dire live-action movie, and for me the depictions in these will never replace the way that I imagine Dr. Claw to be.
--
General Woundwort (From the book Watership Down): A rabbit who is cruel and ruthless, General Woundwort is not only bitter and twisted, he's also very successful at what he does. The worst part is that his plans started out with good intentions - to prevent further deaths of the rabbits in his warren, known as Efrafa - but he went way too far with them, turning the warren into a police-state where rabbits are marked from birth and always monitored, with strict punishments should they disobey orders (which he sees as something that will put everyone at risk of being found by humans). Eventually, and inevitably, he seems to meet his downfall, though his body was never found, but his legacy goes on as a sort of bogeyman throughout his species, placed at the centre of tales told by mother rabbits to their kittens in order to teach them good behaviour - or at least scare them into it.
--
Falcon (From the movie Stuart Little 2): Falcon is less of a villain than most of those on this list, and more a criminal who's also a bully. He's manipulative, and forces other birds into assisting him in casing houses and stealing from them, and he's also amusingly sarcastic in the process. Of course, even after trying to kill the mouse who stands up to him - Stuart Little - he fails, and ultimately gets his comeuppance when Stuart returns to set things right. Falcon ends up being dinner for a hungry cat, and it really feels like he got what he deserved, in the end.
--
This is just a small selection for the sake of keeping this post brief (I have more favourites that I've left out), but I'm pretty sure that these guys represent some of the upper echelons of my favourite villains of all time.
So, guys, who are your favourite villains, and why?
Obviously, this excludes anti-heroes and the like, since they actually are on the side of good, even if they don't always want to admit it.
Mine are as follows;
Dr. Albert W. Wily (From the Mega Man video game series by Capcom): Dr. Wily is the most tenacious bad guy I've ever encountered, and, more than that, he's always depicted in a very human fashion - he has actual reasons for what he does (including, but not limited to, not treating robots poorly, as many other humans in his time do), even if he goes about achieving his goals wrongly. This means that he's never depicted in a black-and-white fashion, which makes him considerably more interesting than most villains. Moreover, he's created a lot of robots (with a couple of them essentially being like man-made humans), and even though all of them were created for evil deeds, a number of them have turned out to be good people regardless - thus proving that no matter where you come from, you can still do good and be a good person. Dr. Wily has a number of good points, such as aiming to be the best that he can be, and never giving up, and he puts them to good use, too!
--
Quellor (From The Adventures of Teddy Ruxpin): When I was a kid, I tended to take Quellor a fair bit more seriously than he's often depicted on-screen. After all, he's already depicted as a wily mastermind type, and he has a somewhat scary and imposing appearance - take out some of the slapstick elements, and he comes across as even more formidable. As villains go, he's quite wise, and pays attention to ancient legends and stories in order to ensure that his organisation can remain in power. Moreover, he managed to capture or otherwise get the good guys on the run a number of times - that's the mark of the sort of villain that you should be afraid of!
--
Charn (From the educational BBC TV series, Through the Dragon's Eye): Charn is a great villain - he's intimidating, always manages to get his way, he has a bird-like skull covering most of his face, has imposing horns atop his head, and has exposed ribs and guts, and electrically-charged claws that can reduce most residents of the land of Pelamar (the place that he hails from, and was banished from for his past evil deeds) to puddles of goo with just one blast! Moreover, he's ruthless and not afraid to zap everyone in sight in order to prove a point - and in order to take control of the world's life-force in order to take control of the land. He's persistent and sticks to his guns 'til the very end, at which point his plans quite literally go up in smoke after his defeat at the hands of Gorwen the dragon. Frighteningly, if not for the fact that he could not read, he would have been successful.
--
Dr. Claw (From Inspector Gadget): The greatest unseen character of all time! Dr. Claw, as with many of the others on this list, is persistent and tenacious, but you can't help but wonder if he's every bit as dim as Inspector Gadget is, since he never realises that it's not Gadget who keeps foiling his plans! He's also notable for never actually being seen - you only ever see his metal-gloved right arm - leading to every single person who watches the show having a different impression of what this mastermind with nigh-unlimited resources really looks like. This is pretty unique, and gives greater viewer involvement as a result, because everyone has a unique experience. The official showing of his appearance in the form of an action figure, and in a SNES game, was disappointing, as was the dire live-action movie, and for me the depictions in these will never replace the way that I imagine Dr. Claw to be.
--
General Woundwort (From the book Watership Down): A rabbit who is cruel and ruthless, General Woundwort is not only bitter and twisted, he's also very successful at what he does. The worst part is that his plans started out with good intentions - to prevent further deaths of the rabbits in his warren, known as Efrafa - but he went way too far with them, turning the warren into a police-state where rabbits are marked from birth and always monitored, with strict punishments should they disobey orders (which he sees as something that will put everyone at risk of being found by humans). Eventually, and inevitably, he seems to meet his downfall, though his body was never found, but his legacy goes on as a sort of bogeyman throughout his species, placed at the centre of tales told by mother rabbits to their kittens in order to teach them good behaviour - or at least scare them into it.
--
Falcon (From the movie Stuart Little 2): Falcon is less of a villain than most of those on this list, and more a criminal who's also a bully. He's manipulative, and forces other birds into assisting him in casing houses and stealing from them, and he's also amusingly sarcastic in the process. Of course, even after trying to kill the mouse who stands up to him - Stuart Little - he fails, and ultimately gets his comeuppance when Stuart returns to set things right. Falcon ends up being dinner for a hungry cat, and it really feels like he got what he deserved, in the end.
--
This is just a small selection for the sake of keeping this post brief (I have more favourites that I've left out), but I'm pretty sure that these guys represent some of the upper echelons of my favourite villains of all time.
So, guys, who are your favourite villains, and why?
Usually in the middle of an otherwise normal conversation. It's funny to see people's reactions! 
