Top 10 Movie Villains that Turned Out to be Underlings

When a mugger named Willie Lopez shoots Sam dead in this romantic fantasy crime thriller, it initially looks like a random act of street violence. But when the same thug breaks into his girlfriend’s home, it becomes clear that Sam’s murder didn’t happen by chance. At Willie’s apartment, Sam learns that the person who set him up was none other than his best friend, Carl. Obviously, Sam should have picked better friends in life and Carl should have picked less reckless thugs to carry out his schemes.

Mads Mikkelsen was born to play a Bond villain like “Casino Royale’s terrorist financier. Le Chiffre proved to be one of 007’s most commendable opponents yet, giving him a run for his money at the poker table and in the field of action. When Le Chiffre stripped Bond of his gadgets, guns, and clothing, he came close to killing the secret agent once and for all. That is until Mr. White intervened and showed Le Chiffre who really is boss.

For much of this horror flick, it’s believed that a quiet hospital orderly named Zep is the illusive Jigsaw Killer. So after Zep dies, it seems like our two chained-up heroes might get away. Then at the last minute, it’s revealed that Zep was just another victim at the mercy of Jigsaw. Dying from a poison in his bloodstream, Zep was forced to administer Jigsaw’s latest game in order to win the antidote. As for Jigsaw’s true identity, let’s just say he was in plain sight the whole time.

How could anybody possibly outrank Megatron? The word “Mega” is in his name, for crying out loud. Regardless, the Decepticon leader was forced to place his fate in the hands of Unicron after a disastrous battle with the Autobots in this animated feature. Unicron provided the beaten Megatron with a shiny new body and turned him into Galvatron. In exchange, Galvatron and his army help Unicron take out the Autobot Matrix of Leadership. At least it beats working for the Fallen or Sentinel Prime, like in the live action “Transformers: Dark of the Moon”. Sheesh, someone else seems to always be pulling his diodes!

If this beach blond vampire was still technically alive, he’d live life on the edge. Being a rebel without a cause, he naturally attracted plenty of other misguided souls to follow him. As persuasive as David might have been, he wasn’t the true ringleader of the bloodsucking Brady Bunch. The head vampire in this teen horror movie was actually the cool and fun-loving David’s polar opposite, the nerdy stick-in-the-mud Max. If only David had a more caring parental figure, maybe he and his fellow lost boys could have seen the light.

In "Iron Man 3," it looked like Tony Stark had met his match with the Mandarin, the leader of the Ten Rings terrorist group. But after getting a peek behind the emerald curtain, everyone was shocked to learn that the man threatening the free world was nothing more than an actor named Trevor Slattery hired by scientist Aldrich Killian. Chances are you either thought this was the funniest or most infuriating twist ever. One thing’s for sure, though: the oblivious Trevor created a menacing Mandarin who was simply too good to be true.

This foulmouthed, gung-ho sadist gleefully took away Officer Alex Murphy’s life. It turned out to be a huge mistake, as Clarence’s heinous actions ironically created his ultimate foe. Although the resurrected Murphy might seem unstoppable as RoboCop, Clarence appeared just as relentless as a madman with plenty of anti-tank rifles at his disposal. Clarence never would have risen to this position, however, if it weren’t for his employer and weapon supplier, OCP Senior President Dick Jones. Regardless, if any hired goon ever stood a chance at destroying RoboCop, it’s Clarence.

Built like an invincible tank, Bane was the one villain in the Dark Knight’s rogues gallery who managed to do the unthinkable: “break the Bat”. While Bane was a physically intimidating opponent, his plan to bring anarchy to Gotham wasn’t entirely his own. The late Ra’s al Ghul set this plot in motion, leaving his daughter Talia and Bane to fulfill his destiny. Bane might have just been a henchman for the al Ghuls, but he was a henchman any evil mastermind would want in their corner.

Here’s yet another Bond baddie who was only the tip of a much larger iceberg. Dastardly, calculating, and incognito, a villain like Dr. No would have anybody thinking that he’s the big bad boss. While he might have had his own underground base and legion of flunkies, Dr. No was really just a member of SPECTRE, with Ernst Stavro Blofeld truly running the show. Even if he was only a cog in the machine, though, Dr. No knew just how to intimidate any adversary, even one as smooth as James Bond.

Before we work up the ladder to our number one number two man, here are a few honorable mentions:
- Raza
“Iron Man” (2008)
- Mr. Joshua
“Lethal Weapon” (1987)
- Chitauri
“The Avengers” (2012)

When this mysterious Sith Lord first stormed onto the screen, he seemed like the galaxy’s end-all badass. As the “Star Wars” series went on, however, the master of the dark side was revealed to actually be Emperor Palpatine’s loyal servant. Feeding off his greatest fears, Palpatine molded Anakin Skywalker into Darth Vader. As Vader became more machine than man, he only became easier to control. Through the love of his son, though, Vader finally opened his eyes and triumphed over his puppet master. In his last minutes, Vader evolved from manipulated minion to redeemed hero.

Do you agree with our list? Who’s your favorite villainous underling? For more entertaining Top 10s published every day, be sure to subscribe to WatchMojo.com.