This is a subject that I have been meaning to write about for some time, yet just have not had enough time on hand to do it properly. The topic says it all…Who is the Greatest Villain?
I will say that right off the top I am probably not the most qualified person in the world to write this post. I simply do not watch enough movies to be able to intelligently debate the topic. However, I’ve seen a few movies and I’ll provide the world with my top five all time bad people.
The parameters are simple as defined. The bad guys have to be human, with no known superpowers. Part Two of this post will deal with the supervillains, and then we’ll create a bracket and put them head to head. While that may not seem fair, keep in mind that some of the physically strongest supervillains almost always have an exploitable weakness (be it intelligence or whatever).
So, without further ado…and not in any particular order as of yet either…
1. Lex Luthor. Lex is the embodiment of the classic super villain that does not possess any superpower other than his extreme intelligence. Unfortunately, the evil is generally only displayed in the comic books. In the movies, he is always portrayed as a scheming real-estate monger. It’s a tough job to always have to fight the Man of Steel.
2. Clarence Boddiker. Robocop’s other bad guy, Dick Jones’ lackey. One could make the argument that Dick Jones had more power, but it was my man Clarence that did all the dirty work.
3. Chong Li. Who can forget the chants of “Chong Li! Chong Li! Chong Li!” that reverberated out of the Bloodsport area as he efficiently disposed of challenger after challenger…until he got to Frank Dux.
4. The Undertaker – Yes…pro wrestling’s Undertaker. I’m not thinking of the incarnation of the character now, or even the previous biker-type character…but rather the character when he first started his run in the WWE (back then in 1990, the WWF). He was unbeatable, unhurtable, and undefeated. One could say that he has a “superpower” with respect to drawing power from the urn carried by Paul Bearer (his manager), but he never was seen employing said powers during his near two-year rise to the World Title (tombstoning Hulk Hogan in the process, albeit with a little help from Ric Flair).
5. Hans Gruber. Alan Rickman played this role to perfection as the ultimate Die Hard bad guy. Despite three sequels, no bad guy has come close to duplicating the cold-bloodedness that Hans did. “I’m going to count to three. There will not be a four.” And needless to say, unfortunately for the Chairman of the Nakatomi Corporation (U.S. division), there wasn’t.
6. Dr. Hannibal Lecter. Easily the most intelligent of the villans on this list, Dr. Lecter possessed both charisma and cunning. His cat-and-mouse game with Clarisse is pure mad genius.
7. Adolf Hitler – Well, for no other reason that he was real, I would think that he would top the list. The man tried to exterminate an entire race – for real – nothing made up about that – during World War II. While I find Hitler to be a most interesting character study, one cannot ignore the fact that he is a monster. Keeping the train of thought a bit lighter, however, Hitler was just evil. There wasn’t really anything villainous about him. When I compile a list of monsters and serial killers, he’ll be right up there though.