Top 30 Most Evil Characters of All Time

The Sheriff of Nottingham serves largely as a representation, and the metaphor is pretty clear. The Sheriff is the main antagonist in the legend of Robin Hood, and as you all know, Robin Hood steals from the rich and gives to the poor. The Sheriff is the very embodiment of said rich. He is covetous, he is selfish, and he imposes unaffordable taxes on the citizens of Nottinghamshire. He is the very personification of greed and avarice. He has also been portrayed by some true movie legends, perhaps most famously by Alan Rickman in “Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves.”

Roald Dahl's 1983 dark fantasy story, “The Witches” was adapted to film twice. In every version of the tale, The Grand High Witch is the queen of the baddies. She rules over a secret cabal of witches hiding among humanity. As their ancient and terrible leader, she’s held power through viciousness and fear. These qualities are matched only by her viciousness and thirst for blood. She’s quite literally dubbed “the most evil and appalling woman in the world,” so, you know. In both the books and the films, she is portrayed as a terrifying hag. And her goal? She tries to turn every child in the country into a rodent. She figures the parents will take care of the rest.

Claude Frollo is as evil as they come in “The Hunchback of Notre Dame.” Despite his piety and his rescue of a baby Quasimodo, he is a man with few virtues. In Victor Hugo’s book, he is ruled by his lust for Esmeralda. That lust grows into a singular obsession. Somehow, the Disney version of Frollo - the character most of us know and hate - is even worse. This take on the antagonist also emphasizes his bigotry against the Romani. He is driven to eradicate them from the streets of Paris, even as he longs to possess Esmerelda as his own. He manipulates Quasimodo for his own ends, and hides his own sin behind his faith. It’s horrid.

The original “Star Trek” series aired amid the Cold War, and its antagonists reflected the sentiments at the time. The Klingons and Romulans respectively came to represent America’s geopolitical foes: the warlike Soviet Union, and the subtle Communist China. When “Star Trek: The Next Generation” aired 20 years later, they needed something new. Enter the Borg: a cybernetic race bent on absorbing every other species into a hive-mind known as “The Collective.” For decades, across television and film, the Borg have haunted the likes of captains Jean-Luc Picard and Kathryn Janeway – oh, and all of us. When the main words a group speaks are “resistance is futile,” you know you’re not in friendly company.

Vaas Montenegro is only the secondary bad guy in the 2012 “Far Cry 3” game, but you wouldn’t know that given how much they featured him in promotional materials. When Michael Mando showed up to audition, he decided to wing it. He crushed it, and Ubisoft seemingly knew they had something special on their hands. So they rewrote the character, a criminal with substance use disorder, around the actor. Montenegro is an absolutely off-the-wall monster with a love for violence. In other words, he’s a nightmare, and the perfect foil for protagonist Jason Brody. After all, Vaas is who Brody could become if he allows himself to go dark. Nobody wants to confront that version of themselves.

Before Cersei Lannister, there was Lady Macbeth. Both were noble women using their positions to leverage whatever power they could in a cruel, patriarchal system. Things ultimately end poorly for both of them. Similarly to Iago in “Othello,” Lady Macbeth manipulates behind the scenes. She whispers poison into her husband’s ear and sets him on a murderous path. And even though she winds up a tragic figure, she’s also something of a monster – even if it’s not the traditional kind. After all, the consequences of her actions are brutal and real, and wind up affecting her, too. In the play’s final act, she loses her grip on reality, imagining blood on her hands that won’t wash off. Overwhelmed, she takes her own life.

Despite being introduced way back in 1886, Mr. Hyde is still synonymous with evil. Such is the staying power of a wonderfully written villain. As you probably all know, Edward Hyde represents the evil traits of protagonist Henry Jekyll. Unlike his kind and moral counterpart, Mr. Hyde is completely merciless and is willing to indulge in vices and perform actions that Jekyll is not willing to do, including murder. Perhaps the story has remained so relevant due to its topicality and universality. After all, who amongst us hasn’t had to repress sinful, or perhaps even violent, urges throughout our lives? Jekyll could not resist the temptation and it completely ruined his life. Now let that be a lesson to you!

Part-red alien symbiote, part-murderer Cletus Kasady, there’s no denying that Carnage is one of the most deranged villains in all of Marvel Comics. As a child, Kasady was a well-established killer before he even learned how to drive. When he becomes the symbiote’s first host, Carnage is cemented as a truly unparalleled menace. In the “Maximum Carnage” storyline of the 1990s, the villain drenches the streets of New York in blood. It doesn’t stop there, either, also causing destruction in Texas, among other places. Carnage’s ruthlessness is profound, and its powers are nothing short of impressive – an evil and dangerous combination that makes for one of Spider-Man’s scariest foes.

Ganon is much like Shao Kahn. He is massive, he wields some incredible pieces of mystical magic, and he wants nothing more than to rule the world. He originally appeared in an imposing boar-like form before obtaining his signature humanoid appearance in “Ocarina of Time.” Still imposing, just in a different way! He also serves as the very embodiment of evil, not just because of his awesome stature, dangerous abilities, and the use of the Triforce of Power, but because he will use a variety of evil methods to obtain his desires (including political manipulation). Ganon is easily one of gaming’s most iconic, and most unstoppable, villains.

Despite originally being the primary antagonist of the show, Fire Lord Ozai is a villain with surprising depth for media aimed at children. On one hand, voice actor Mark Hamill plays him as a straight sadist. He's more than willing to kill and burn in order to exert his will on the world. As the series goes on, however, we understand that Ozai is both a victim and perpetrator of generational trauma. His family was brutal, and his relationship with his father, whom he ultimately killed, speaks volumes. Although he had the opportunity to transcend his past, he instead carried on the cycle of abuse with his own children.

“Marvel's Jessica Jones”’ introduced Kilgrave, a.k.a. the show’s take on the Purple Man, into the MCU. Kilgrave is a textbook example of the popular idiom “hurt people hurt people.” In the show, we learn that his parents' cruel experiments gave him the ability to control people’s minds. Talk about holding a lot of power – and let’s just say he doesn’t really use it for good, making him a villainous force to be reckoned with. He could destroy free will with a single spoken word, as evidenced by the horrors he inflicts on Jessica Jones and his other victims. This is an absolute menace.

Despite a bibliography spanning decades, Pennywise is arguably Stephen King’s greatest creation. Of course, It serves as the very personification of fear itself, as it takes on whatever form its victim is most afraid of. And It does this because – get this – it makes its victims tastier. Yeah, It’s pretty depraved. And, like Freddy Krueger, It has a massive ego and constantly taunts its victims with horrific visuals and cocky asides. Oh, and let’s not forget that It is actually a shapeless and eons-old alien that comes from something called the Macroverse. We’ve got quite literally a little bit of everything here, including some Lovecraftian madness! What’s not to love?

If you take the power and malice of Thanos and add in the Purple Man’s mind-control ability, you basically get Darkseid: one of the worst villains to come out of DC comics. Darkseid is part of an alien race known as the New Gods, immortal and almost invincible. He rules his fiery planet Apokolips without mercy, bending his subjects to his will by any means necessary. But that’s not all. He’s also in search of the Anti-Life Equation, a power that would essentially allow him to enslave all life after taking away free will. Because of that quest, he has destroyed countless lives, and done so in brutal fashion. Evil barely begins to describe it.

If we’re going by the “The Lion King is just ‘Hamlet’ for kids” argument (which we totally should, because it’s true), then Scar is the cartoon equivalent of King Claudius. Only, he’s a lot worse. Whereas Claudius showed some remorse for his actions, Scar is totally unrepentant. Not only is he conniving, but he’s also not above killing his own nephew to obtain complete and total control. This guy is cold. Everyone intrinsically hates Scar because we’ve been living with his misdeeds since childhood. He’s a fantastic introduction to elements of depravity, greed, and total selfishness. And fascism. Children have to learn about it eventually!

Agent Smith is a sentient computer program and the principal villain in “The Matrix” franchise. Smith is essentially the head game warden in the nature preserve called the Matrix. His job is to maintain order and, hopefully, find a way to destroy the free human city of Zion. But he’s also defined by an utter disdain for humanity, and his resentment fuels unforgivable, callous behavior. When Neo kills Smith at the end of the first film, he inadvertently frees him from the confines of the Matrix’s laws. With his newfound freedom and power, Smith seeks to dominate every person and program on earth. He threatens all life, both artificial and organic, forcing them to join forces to defeat him – yikes.

It doesn’t get much more depraved than the Jigsaw Killer. Unlike most movies of its ilk, the “Saw” franchise actually personified Jigsaw by giving him a tragic backstory and a legitimate motivation. But that doesn’t make him any less sick. Of all the traditional horror movie killers, Jigsaw is easily one of the most psychotic - not only because he forces his victims to harm and traumatize themselves (if they even survive), but because he genuinely believes he’s doing good. He’s not just some mindless and unstoppable killer that walks around in a mask. He’s just a man with a really sick and twisted sense of righteousness, not to mention an obscene imagination!

While we’re on the subject of intelligent villains, let’s go ahead and talk about Hannibal the Cannibal Lecter. Hannibal is a highly intelligent man who once worked as a forensic psychiatrist before being imprisoned for, you know, cannibalism. There’s something intrinsic and primal about fearing Hannibal Lecter - one look into his emotionless eyes is enough to set off some instinctual warning bells. It’s like looking into the eyes of a lion – you just know this thing will overpower you and eat you for dinner without a second thought. Plus, Hannibal often uses his intelligence to his benefit, resulting in his ever-elusive nature. It doesn’t get much scarier than Hannibal Lecter. Not when it comes to human villains, anyway.

While originally written for “The Boys” comics, Homelander has evolved into a pop culture icon in the Amazon Prime Video adaptation. In a world where most superheroes are also terrible people, Homelander is the worst of the worst. Draped in the stars and stripes, his patriotic facade only serves to mask a self-absorbed sociopathy. He isn’t just an “evil Superman.” Homelander is worse – he’s the personification of toxic masculinity at its worst – he’s a bigot, a misogynist, and a parody of many politicians today. Unfortunately, he’s not channeling some unrealistic, far-fetched villainy – that’s scary enough. To make matters even scarier though, there appears to be a subset of fans who love him unironically.

The “Final Fantasy” video game series is host to a wide variety of villains, ranging from the evil priests, evil mercenaries and in one case; an evil tree. Yet after 15 installments and countless spinoffs, this maniacal jester from the 6th installment of the series remains the most evil of the lot. To put it simply; Kefka views all life, all culture, hell, all of existence; as worthless, a means to fuel his desire for destruction. He’ll even betray his own allies without a second thought just because he feels like it. Yet even when he manages to devastate the world and obtains godlike powers, that’s still not enough for him.

As any loyal “Breaking Bad” viewer knows, Gus Fring was an (almost) unstoppable villain, ruthlessly efficient in running his empire, unafraid to.. make cuts, if you know what we mean. Throughout the series, he buried his true, calculated self behind the mask of a respectable local business-owner. When in reality, “The Chicken Man” has a spine of pure steel, and is someone that you really do not want to mess with. Fans were over the moon when the drug lord was brought back in season 3 of “Better Call Saul”-- you can’t replicate that kind of evil. Between his savage rivalry with Lalo Salamanca and his countless misdeeds, he’s a vile one.

Despite the campy sequels and his colorful personality, Freddy Krueger is undeniably one of the scariest slashers in movie history. For one thing, there’s literally no escaping him. You can’t run away, you can’t hide, and you can’t outthink him – you’ll have to sleep eventually, and when you do, Freddy will be waiting. He was a monster in real life as well, as he earned the nickname Springwood Slasher due to his propensity for torture and murder. His finger knives and horribly burnt face are also literally the stuff of nightmares. To make matters worse, he’s also incredibly cocky and isn’t above viciously taunting you before he finishes you off. He’s a walking smorgasbord of scares

The true horror and villainy of Nurse Ratched isn’t just that she is a terrible person. It’s also that she’s the callous, unfeeling face of a dehumanizing system. In “One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest,” patients are boxes to check and sources of income rather than people to genuinely treat. Their humanity is an inconvenience to Nurse Ratched, and she doesn’t care to stop to truly see the individuals in her care. She has ice in her veins, and only cares about things going her way in the psychiatric institution. The fact that there are real-life Nurse Ratcheds out there in the world makes her all the more horrifying – we see the worst of humanity in her, and it’s not pleasant.

Cormac McCarthy, the Coen brothers, and of course Javier Bardem all helped create one of the greatest villains in recent years. Anton is the primary antagonist of McCarthy’s “No Country for Old Men” and the resulting movie adaptation, and we never thought a guy with that kind of haircut could be so menacing! Like many of McCarthy’s villains, Chigurh is more of a walking, talking metaphor than a three-dimensional character. And what Chigurh represents is certainly up to interpretation, although many fans and scholars have debated elements of death, chance, and fate. Is he Death itself? Does he represent remorseless fate? Either way, he’s a stone-cold and emotionless killer, and there is nothing scarier than that!

“Game of Thrones” was filled with complex and three-dimensional characters, and even most of the evil characters weren’t portrayed as mustache-twirling cartoon villains. Aside from Joffrey Baratheon. Well, and Ramsay Bolton. But Joffrey takes the cake. He has absolutely zero redeeming qualities, and even his selfish and conniving family think he’s the worst. He’s a perfect representation of a spoiled child given way too much power. He kills on a whim (and often without thinking of the consequences), treats his citizens and family like dirt, and roots his entertainment in the suffering of others. And to make matters worse, he’s a total cry baby. His painful death couldn’t have come fast enough.

Landa is arguably Quentin Tarantino’s greatest villain. Not only is he a brilliantly written character, but he is played with awe-inspiring reverence by Christoph Waltz, who went on to win, like, all the awards. Landa takes pride in being wicked and feared, egotistically embodying his nickname by using manipulative tactics and a false sense of friendliness to kill Jewish people. He’s a complete monster who hides behind his admittedly alluring charm. He is also fiercely intelligent and is able to outsmart his enemies at every turn. Even in the end he is able to worm his way out of trouble (well, mostly) by betraying Hitler and the Nazi Party to the Basterds. The smartest villains are always the scariest.

Don’t let the everyday name fool you – Michael Myers is not human. Well, he is, but not really. Michael Myers also goes by The Shape or The Boogeyman, which is perhaps a more apt description. Michael is arguably the most influential slasher in movie history, as his template was used for countless villains throughout the years. Slow but menacing and unrelenting, totally unkillable, completely emotionless and silent, and seemingly without a shred of humanity. The first “Halloween” implies that nothing made Michael evil; he was simply born into it. And that’s a horrifying summation of humanity. Some people are just empty and soulless, and that is not a comforting thought.

Once again, we have a villain who represents the very concept of evil itself. Sauron was never meant to be much of a character - he was always meant to serve as a representation of evil, greed, and the fallibility of man. He makes a ring to rule Middle-Earth, and most people caught in the ring’s vicinity (especially humans) are drawn to and corrupted by its promises of unimaginable power. But even the brief glances of Sauron we do get, like his striking immensity, formidable armor, the fiery Eye of Sauron, and his guttural whispers are enough to scare us senseless. Even in scenes not directly involving Sauron or the ring, his oppressive presence and promises of destruction are felt. He is an omnipotent evil incarnate.

We’ve all had bad teachers, but none quite like Dolores Umbridge. However, we’re starting to realize that some of the greatest villains are really just analogs of dictators - and that’s where He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named comes in. Voldemort is this to the magic world. He unequivocally believes in blood purity, he leads a devout following of violent and prejudiced minions, and he wishes for complete and total control of the magical world. He also has dark magic on his side and people are literally afraid to say his name out of fear and traumatic memories of the First Wizarding War. You have to be a special kind of evil for people to fear your very name! Like Sauron, the threat of Voldemort hangs over the early novels, even when Voldemort himself is incapacitated. He is universally feared, and his evil presence is unrelenting.

The Joker is easily one of the most prolific villains in modern history. Joker is an OG Batman villain, having first appeared in the debut issue of “Batman” in 1940. Since then, he and his psychotic ways have popped up in animation, video games, movies, TV shows… you name it. Joker is one of the most enticing villains not because he’s fun and novel (although he certainly is that), but because he’s cunning, manipulative, and intelligent. This is perhaps best displayed in “The Dark Knight,” when The Joker constantly outsmarts and manipulates everyone and remains one step ahead of his targets. Despite displaying no superhuman characteristics, The Joker remains the most threatening and dangerous villain in comic book history. And that’s saying something!

Darth Vader is certainly an iconic villain, but he’s not the evillest. You know, seeing as how he turns good. No, that distinction belongs to Emperor Palpatine. Palpatine doesn’t get a lot of screen time in the original trilogy, but he still makes one sinister impression. Most of Palpatine’s characterization comes from the supplemental material and prequel trilogy, where we witness his progression from cunning and devious politician to full-blown tyrant. He proceeded to reign over the most tyrannical and abusive regime in history and became the very embodiment of evil within the “Star Wars” Skywalker Saga.