A hero's only as good as his...

[KillerMuffin]

...weapon! And Herc yanks the fish out to battle the horsey guy.

I think that this may be true in real life where heros are out to do hero things and not sell mags/comics/movies/popcorn.

In the world of pop culture a hero is a dime a dozen. I think that a hero is only as good as his (or her) villains.

So, in popular culture, what makes a good villain? A great one? Who's your all-time fave-bad guy and why? How has this uber-villain made his/her opposing hero/ine/s all that much better? We love our good guys, but I think we love our bad guys just a little bit more.

 

[Weevil]

The all time greatest villain is and always will be Kool-Ade.

I still get shivers whenever I hear Oh Yeah!

 

[mig]

My Hero is

Jaws

In the Bond movies.

He makes Roger Moore look so much prettier.

 

[Oliver Clozoff]

Darth Vader is probably my fave bad guy. Although Episode I sucked royally, I thought Darth Maul was a kick-ass villain. How damn evil-looking was he? The only problem was we didn't get any character development with him -he was just a nasty-looking meanie. Vader, on the other hand, was the good guy turned bad and you can see a lot of his ambivalence. The Emperor, though - pure evil.

Man, I love Star Wars.

 

[enslaved lioness]

i dont have a specific one but i love all of the bumbling bad guys in the comedy movies. the ones you end up feeling sorry for in the end because they just cant seem to win no matter what.

of course i always did have a soft spot for the coyote in the cartoons too.

 

[Azwed]

Gonna have to agree with Oliver. Darth Vader is probably the best villian in pop culture for all time.

"All too easy." Can't you just hear him say it.

 

[Paradyce]

of course i always did have a soft spot for the cyote in the cartoons too.

Yes!! Just once, I want to see the coyote get the road runner!!!

 

[Marxist]

That dude from the original DIE HARD was not only evil, but smart and believably pathological. He made Bruce Willis seem brilliant.

 

[cymbidia]

I have to third OC's Darth Vader. He's the very best, mostly because he is so real, possessing, as he does, unexpectedly contradictory soft spots.

Beyond him, and going for more of the cartoonish bad guy, i gotta say that the Terminator bad guys are perennially among my favorites. There's something so possible about them, you know? It doesn't really totally completely stretch credibility to imagine them as coming to pass sometime in the maybe not-so-distant future.

 

[enslaved lioness]

Yes!! Just once, I want to see the coyote get the road runner!!!

lol

and maybe see an ACME product that worked like it was supposed to!

 

[CelestialBody]

 

[Sparky Kronkite]

Actually......

A here is only as good as his/her.....

Humility.

 

[KillerMuffin]

My favorite villain is, by far, the Joker.

There is something about him that's very attractive as a bad guy. He's insane, he's maniacal, he's scary, he's a genius, he's possible. A lot of people fear clowns. They look like a ghastly version of a human being and they behave in ways that can be interpreted badly. The Joker brings out all the psychosis and revels in them. He is pure evil. A lot of villains aspire to be evil, but the Joker actually makes it. Batman would be pretty much an uninteresting nobody if his villains weren't so fabulous. Catwoman, the Riddler, the Penguin, Two-Face, Bane, Poison Ivy, the Joker.

I like Sabertooth as well. He's the darkside of humanity gone really, really amuck. He indulges his every whim without thought or consequence. He is completely psycopathic without being psychotic.

 

[Paradyce]

lol

and maybe see an ACME product that worked like it was supposed to!

That too!!!!

 

[Fly_On_Wall]

I think the best villins are
A) those who were once friends with the hero. Sabertooth, two-face, Magnito
B) Those who don't admit they are the bad guy, who think they are fighting for the right of good. John Travolta in swordfish Magnito among others.

so the best villan of all time has to me Magnito in my books. he is manipulative, he would die to get his job done, cause he believes it is the right one. Even though Xavier is out to stop him, the two refuse to harm one enother cause they were friends and respect each other, and odd but true would die to save the other.

So Magnito is the all time Villan.

 

[Renegade]

My favorite villain is, by far, the Joker.

There is something about him that's very attractive as a bad guy. He's insane, he's maniacal, he's scary, he's a genius, he's possible. A lot of people fear clowns. They look like a ghastly version of a human being and they behave in ways that can be interpreted badly. The Joker brings out all the psychosis and revels in them. He is pure evil. A lot of villains aspire to be evil, but the Joker actually makes it. Batman would be pretty much an uninteresting nobody if his villains weren't so fabulous. Catwoman, the Riddler, the Penguin, Two-Face, Bane, Poison Ivy, the Joker.

Dammit. Right when I was going to make a smartass post to this thread, I had to read this post. And I agree with everything you said about the Clown Prince of Crime. But now I can't be a smartass with my responce. Damn, just damn. *kicks at the floor*

 

[~heyjoe~]

Hannibal is my favorite bad guy!

 

[Marxist]

Hannibal is my favorite bad guy!

Joe, have you been peeking at my member page? That's the painting Hannibal was talking about.

What about Kaiser Soze in The Usual Suspects? Mythical, yet tangible to the very end.

 

[enslaved lioness]

i also like a story or movie that keeps me guessing who the bad guy or girl is.

any villian who can keep hidden until the very end from both the hero and audience/readers is a good villian.

 

[Xander]

That dude from the original DIE HARD was not only evil, but smart and believably pathological. He made Bruce Willis seem brilliant.

Hans Gruber aka Alan Rickman, I believe it was.

 

[OUTSIDER]

Hans Gruber aka Alan Rickman, I believe it was.

Yes Alan Rickman make's a great bad guy......there's a story that when he was playing the baddie in the Robin Hood prince of thieves film they cut a load of footage with him in cause he showed Costner up for the bad actor he is......DCL might be able to shed more light on the story.

 

[Xander]

Yes Alan Rickman make's a great bad guy......there's a story that when he was playing the baddie in the Robin Hood prince of thieves film they cut a load of footage with him in cause he showed Costner up for the bad actor he is......DCL might be able to shed more light on the story.

I kinda liked him in Dogma, An unusual role for him to play an angel and the voice of God.

 

[OUTSIDER]

I've not seen it yet but I'll keep my eye's open for it

 

[Xander]

I've not seen it yet but I'll keep my eye's open for it

Please do, I like that movie a lot Outsider....throws out some pretty interesting questions as well

 

[KillerMuffin]

I was watching the Goof Troop (my mutts) playing for a moment, watched the pup take off with some underwear, and went yelling through the house regarding death and fur coats.

What does everyone think of Cruella DeVille? She's been purported to be one of the finest villains of our time and certainly in Disney.