I have a perpetual weak spot for villains. I like protagonists well enough most of the time although ever so often the good guys in a book or movie will lose my empathy in favour of the baddies. There are a few interesting theories behind why people identify with villains, but this post isn't about psychology. Besides, that link doesn't cover how the most appealing villains have complex motivations or how darn attractive they tend to be.

But pretty faces and the ability to empathise aren't the only factors involved. A couple of the antagonists made it onto this list because they're awful and I hate them. They are truly bad people.

Movie Loki is a more complex character than cartoon Loki. I personally feel that he’s more chaotic neutral than truly villainous, but that doesn’t alter the fact that he’s done some terrible things. He sets up his own (biological) father and kills him before attempting to destroy Jotunheim entirely in Thor. He causes the deaths of many people in Avengers. In Thor: The Dark World he tips off Kurse, which has the unexpected consequence of causing Frigga’s death.

He really comes into his own in Thor: Ragnarok. Although there are many opportunities to explore his character in the earlier movies, those scenes generally ended up on the cutting room floor. In Ragnarok we see his threat status diminished by Hella’s appearance, which provides an opportunity to see a more rounded personality from Loki. The big question is whether this trend will continue into Avengers: Infinity War (No, I haven’t seen it yet but you can leave spoilers in the comments—I love spoilers).
 

I’m a huge sucker for Marvel villains, and Magneto is one of the reasons why. I remember finding Magneto so compelling when I watched the X-Men cartoon series as a child. I knew he wasn’t always doing the right thing, but I also knew he thought he was and that understanding impacted me deeply. Then the X-Men movie came out with Ian McKellan as Magneto, I got an introduction to his backstory that I either missed when I was younger or did not fully comprehend, and I was hooked.

It’s important to emphasise that Magneto is an asshole. He does have his moments of altruism, but they so often coincide with his grand plans and their ultimate fruition that it’s difficult to discern how genuine his motivations are.
 

Whether you like them or not, the newer Star Wars movies have introduced a complex sense of the grey lying between the light and dark sides of the force. Kylo illustrates this in his struggle to continue choosing the dark side.

Yes, there’s a lot of Grandpa Vader in him. Solo or not, Kylo has inherited the sulky, poor me syndrome that pulled Anakin to the dark side and had Luke sitting on an island where he hoped he’d never be found. Skywalker men and their issues. I’m not saying Kylo’s feelings aren’t understandable, considering what happened between him and Luke, but I truly hope we’ll see a completed redemption arc in the next Star Wars movie.

Does Itachi count as a villain? His actions have been calculated to cause more good than harm but the man does despicable things nonetheless. He forces his younger brother to relive their parents’ murder hundreds of times in repetition and killed many innocent people the night he wiped out his clan (Sasuke wasn’t the only child), never mind all the unnamed and unknown villainy he perpetrated for the Akatsuki.

As is often the case in Naruto, Itachi’s moral integrity is mainly a matter of perception.

Sociopathic, creepy, mad scientist—how could Orochimaru not be on this list? I really hate this guy, so much so that I sided with Sasuke the perpetual moron because I wanted Orochimaru dead so badly. He didn’t stay dead, but still.

Crazy human experimentation that resulted in agonising death, torture, a complete and utter lack of empathy, self-serving motivations, and pretty much everything else about him place Orochimaru firmly in the territory of the true villain.  
 

Dolores Umbridge is the most evil villain in modern fiction. She may be fond of the colour pink and cute kittens but she delights in cruelty (writing lines in your own blood), is a bigot (hatred for non-human magical beings and ‘half-breeds’), and gleefully partakes in systematic oppression (all the education decrees at Hogwarts and the trials held for muggle-born witches and wizards).

If that isn’t proof enough of her malevolence then consider the fact that this woman can cast a patronus charm while wearing a Horcrux. No normal person could summon enough joy to cast this spell when constantly under the malign influence of a Horcrux, unless that evil gave them joy.


What do you think? Which villains do you think are amazing?

June is Audiobook month and Audiobooks.com is celebrating by giving away the first title in a series every week in June. Today's giveaway is for the MG fantasy The Dragonet Prophecy!

Honestly, they had me at dragons.

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Click on the download button and if you're given the option to select OK then you're one of the lucky 500 winners and can download the audiobook for free. If you get the 'Use Credit' option instead then unfortunately, the giveaway is over.

“Why are you so angry, Atticus?” My voice was soft and concerned now.

He blinked, but offered no response.

“I’ve seen men fight before,” I went on, “but I’ve never seen a man as angry at the world as you are. The way you beat that man in your room”—I shook my head with despondency—“the one just now; Atticus, you’re just so full of rage and hate. Why?”

He snorted, as if he’d found my question ridiculous.

“Why?” he mocked incredulously, holding out his hands, palms up. “I’ll tell you why, Thais: at every turn someone wants to rob or maim or kill us; we can’t sleep, night or day, without the thought in our heads as we close our fucking eyes that we might not wake up.” He gestured his arms wildly, his features constricted with indignation. “We’re covering our shit up like animals, sleeping in ditches, watching over our shoulder every second of every day for the chaos to grab us by the ankles and pull us down with it—and you ask why?”

I sat against my quilt, unable to stand to hear this truth. And as if his movements depended on mine, Atticus fell into a crouch in front of me, bouncing on the toes of his boots. I never looked away from the pull of his gaze, trapped by the intensity of it.

“I haven’t slept since you arrived in Lexington City,” he went on. “When I saw you that day, clutching your sister as she was ripped away from you; when you lay on the sidewalk, begging me to help you—it did two things to me, Thais”—he held up two fingers, and then dropped them between his legs—“it fucking killed me; the things I had to do, the part I had to play in not only your fate, but the fate of every girl in those ropes—it fucking killed me! It killed what little was left of my humanity!” His voice had risen with his heated words, his memories, but then he paused to calm himself, lowering his head but for a moment.

I remained motionless, speechless, but my heart began to ache and fill up at the same time. I listened raptly to every word, my heart breaking as he spoke them.

“It killed me,” he repeated. “But then something reached into Hell, grabbed me by the throat and pulled me back. I died that day in the street, Thais Fenwick; I died and then there I was, looking down at you with the eyes of the man I used to be, and I wanted to help you. I still fought with myself after that, but I wasn’t going to let you die or be raped or forced to marry a man you didn’t love—I didn’t know what to do, but I was going to do something, goddammit.”

I sighed. I wanted to hold him, but all I could do was sigh.