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Villains Tier List Maker
Rank villains from film and television, from Darth Vader, the Joker and Voldemort to Thanos, Sauron and Hannibal Lecter.
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Meet every villain (30)
These 30 villains load into the maker above. Each write-up covers what the villain is and what to weigh when you rank it. Facts were last checked on .
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Darth Vader
A leader of the Galactic Empire and one of the two major villains of the original Star Wars trilogy, first seen in the 1977 film. In the prequels he is the Jedi Knight Anakin Skywalker, who becomes a Sith Lord.
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The Joker
A supervillain from DC Comics created by Bill Finger, Bob Kane and Jerry Robinson, who first appeared in the debut issue of Batman on April 25, 1940. Credit for his creation is disputed.
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Lord Voldemort
The main antagonist of J. K. Rowling's Harry Potter novels, who first appears in Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone (1997). He returns in person or in flashbacks in every novel except the third.
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Thanos
A Marvel Comics warlord created by Jim Starlin, first appearing in The Invincible Iron Man #55 in 1973. An Eternal–Deviant from the moon Titan, he is regarded as one of the most powerful beings in the Marvel Universe.
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Sauron
The title character and main antagonist of Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings, who rules Mordor and seeks to conquer Middle-earth with the One Ring. He is also the "Necromancer" of The Hobbit.
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Hannibal Lecter
A character created by novelist Thomas Harris, a cannibalistic serial killer and former forensic psychiatrist. After his incarceration he is consulted by FBI agents to help them find other killers.
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Freddy Krueger
The antagonist of the A Nightmare on Elm Street franchise, created by Wes Craven and debuting in 1984. He is the malevolent spirit of a child killer who was burned to death by his victims' parents.
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Scar
The main antagonist of Disney's The Lion King, introduced in the 1994 film as the envious younger brother of Mufasa. He was first in line to the throne until Mufasa's newborn son, Simba, replaced him.
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Maleficent
The self-proclaimed "Mistress of All Evil," first appearing in Disney's 1959 film Sleeping Beauty. She is based on the wicked fairy in Charles Perrault's fairy tale and the Brothers Grimm retelling.
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Ursula
The villainous Cecaelian sea witch of Disney's The Little Mermaid (1989), voiced by Pat Carroll. She offers Ariel a temporary chance to become human to earn Prince Eric's love within three days.
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Emperor Palpatine
Sheev Palpatine, the main antagonist of the Star Wars franchise, first seen as the Emperor in The Empire Strikes Back (1980). He is also known as Darth Sidious and appears in all three trilogies of the Skywalker Saga.
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Loki
Loki Laufeyson, later Loki Odinson, portrayed by Tom Hiddleston in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. He is the God of Mischief and initially the nemesis of his adopted brother, Thor.
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Magneto
A Marvel Comics character created by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby, first appearing in The X-Men #1 in 1963 as an adversary of the X-Men. He is a powerful mutant.
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Agent Smith
The main antagonist of The Matrix franchise, primarily portrayed by Hugo Weaving in the first trilogy. He is later simply called Smith, and appears in the video game The Matrix: Path of Neo too.
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Hans Gruber
The main villain of the 1988 action film Die Hard, portrayed by Alan Rickman. A thief and criminal mastermind from West Germany, he holds an office building hostage to steal $640 million in bearer bonds.
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Anton Chigurh
The main antagonist of Cormac McCarthy's 2005 novel No Country for Old Men and its 2007 Coen brothers film, in which Javier Bardem won an Academy Award, a BAFTA Award and a Screen Actors Guild Award for the role.
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Norman Bates
A character created by author Robert Bloch as the main antagonist of his 1959 novel Psycho. He has an alter ego, "Mother," and runs the Bates Motel, and Anthony Perkins portrayed him on screen.
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Cruella de Vil
A pampered, glamorous London heiress and fashion designer in Dodie Smith's 1956 novel The Hundred and One Dalmatians. Betty Lou Gerson voiced her in Disney's 1961 animated film.
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Captain Hook
Captain James Hook, the main antagonist of J. M. Barrie's 1904 play Peter Pan and Peter's archenemy. A pirate captain of the Jolly Roger, whose two principal fears are the sight of his own blood and a crocodile.
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Jafar
The main antagonist of Disney's 1992 animated film Aladdin, voiced by Jonathan Freeman, who reprised the role in the Broadway musical. He returns as the titular main antagonist of the sequel The Return of Jafar.
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Hades
The Disney Hercules villain, voiced by James Woods, who is the brother of Zeus and Poseidon. His portrayal is comedic and his hair is a glowing blue flame that turns red when he is angry.
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Gaston
The main antagonist of Disney's 1991 Beauty and the Beast, voiced by Richard White. He is an arrogant and ruthless hunter whose unrequited feelings for Belle drive his conflict with the Beast.
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Dr. Evil
A character portrayed by Mike Myers in the Austin Powers films, the nemesis of Austin Powers and his secret twin brother. He is a parody of James Bond villains, primarily Ernst Stavro Blofeld.
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Michael Myers
The masked killer of the Halloween franchise, who first appears in John Carpenter's 1978 film as a young boy who murders his sister. He returns to Haddonfield, Illinois, fifteen years later.
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Jason Voorhees
The antagonist of the Friday the 13th franchise, who first appeared in the 1980 film as the young son of Pamela Voorhees, portrayed by Ari Lehman. He was created by Victor Miller.
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Pennywise
It, commonly known as Pennywise the Dancing Clown, the main antagonist of Stephen King's 1986 novel It. An ancient entity that preys on the children of Derry, Maine, roughly every 27 years.
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Bane
A DC Comics supervillain created by Chuck Dixon, Doug Moench and Graham Nolan, who first appeared in Batman: Vengeance of Bane #1 in 1993. He is regarded as one of Batman's most enduring enemies.
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Syndrome
Buddy Pine, the main antagonist of The Incredibles, voiced by Jason Lee. He hates people with superpowers and wants to be known as a hero despite having none, and as a kid he idolized Mr. Incredible.
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Gru
Felonious Gru, the protagonist of Illumination's Despicable Me franchise since 2010, voiced by Steve Carell. He starts as a supervillain, and is based on a Dracula-like concept character.
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Gollum
A character from Tolkien's Middle-earth, introduced in the 1937 novel The Hobbit and a major character in The Lord of the Rings. He was a Stoor Hobbit of the River-folk who lived near the Gladden Fields.
Villains tier list questions
Are all of these characters true villains?
Most are the main antagonists of their stories, but some, such as Gru and Gollum, are more complicated. Fans often rank them anyway, because their roles as foils are central to the stories.
Does this list contain spoilers?
The write-ups stick to creators, debuts and premises and avoid plot twists, so they should be safe to read, though knowing who is a villain can spoil some stories.
How should I rank movie and TV villains?
Common criteria include menace, memorability, motive, performance and how fun they are to watch. Many fans rank by genre, such as Disney villains, horror killers and superhero foes.
Sources
Facts on this page were checked against these references on .