Best villains in animation

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True Conservative

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In your opinion, who are some of the best villains in animation? And please explain why. Here's my list

Doga (Pucca) He/She/It (I can't tell if it's a guy or a girl) truly has to be seen to be believed. Doga's voice is so epic and he/she is certainly one of the show's darker villains.

Slade (Teen Titans) He's the perfect example of a villain. Calm, cunning, cold, clever and ruthless. He's easily the Teen Titans' greatest foe and if he wanted to, he could have crushed them without lifting a finger. And he knows how to manipulate someone into doing his bidding. I especially love it when he said to Trigon "I'm nobody's servant".

The Joker: Truly one of Batman's greatest and deadliest foes. He's scary, smart, psychotic, and sometimes hilarious. The Batman universe just wouldn't be the same without him. He's the ultimate Clown Prince of Crime.

Lex Luthor: Despite being a regular human being who can never match up to Superman physically, he's more than a match for Superman. Superman uses his fists to fight. But Lex Luthor uses his brain and his intellect to bring down the man of steel.

Jafar (Aladdin) I love his animation and design. And despite the fact that he's downright insane, he actually remains pretty calm throughout the movie and he never really loses his cool.

Tobe (Pucca) This guy is so hilarious! He always tries to defeat Garu but he always fails. His dialouge and his plans are so witty and clever. You can't help but love him.

Kingpin (Spiderman TAS) He has no super powers, but he has power and he's a crime boss.

Shego (Kim Possible) She's a much better villain than that lousy buffoon Drakken. She even managed to take over the world once. Something Drakken could never accomplish.
 
My top favorite best villains in animation(I love villain topics):

Skeletor(He-Man and the Masters of the Universe) - Most awesome 80s villain in history:Dfor being an evil skeleton freak for world domination.

Megatron/Galvatron/King Nergil/Chumley/Unicron/The Quintessons/Trypticon/Scourge/Evil Ultra Magnus/Sideways/Alpha Q/Dirt Boss/Scourge(All Transformers series) - He's awesome which I love all of his different counterparts in the Transformers Universe & the rest of the villains were cool as well.

Itchy/Cesar and Ugolin/The Babysitter Bandit/Sideshow Bob,Francesca,and Gino/Principal Skinner/Superintendent Chalmers/Nelson/Sherri & Terri/Jimbo/C. Montgomery Burns/Anthony(Fat Tony)/Kang & Kodos/unibrowed baby/Arthur and Gabbo/Snake/Adolf Hitler/Lyle Lanley/evil Krusty doll/The gremlin/The zombies/Frank Grimes/Cecil/Herman/Shelbyville father & son/Ruth/Molloy/Lucius Sweet/Drederick Tatum/Hank Scorpio/Lester & Eliza/the evil leprechaun/The Rich Texan/Cooter and Spud/The Jockies/Judge Harm/Werewolf Ned Flanders/Frank Grimes Jr./Dexter Colt/Marge's mugger/Gina/Simon Cowell/Julia/Louie/Dwight/Donny/Royce Lumpkin/Simon's evil siblings/The Great Pumpkin/Maggie's bullies/Shauna/the popular girls,Britney,Caitlin/The Caitlins:Caitlin,Katalyn,Catalyn,2 Caitlins/Wicked Queen,The Wolf,The Witch,Marge Simpson,and Maggie's evil teacher(Snow White and the 7 Dwarves parody,Macbeth parody,and Fountainhead parody)/The Lizard/Chuck Liddall/Bart Simpson the murderer and the zombie Springfielders/Andy Hamilton/Marshall Goldman/the Olympic pin seller/the Canadian Nelson/Nikki and her jerkoff lawyer parents/C. Montgomery Burns' bald cellmate/Megan/Walt Warren/the evil board game monsters,and Edmund and his vampire father/the evil ostrich/Evil Dumbo/Fit Tony/5th grader bully leader(in black shirt),his two bully friends,the 5th graders,and Zack/Homer,Lenny,and Carl's evil twins/the three Chinese spies/Goldfinger,Oddjob,Ernst Stavro Blofeld,Jaws/the Mixar creators,Randy Newman,Evil Lamp Post,Evil Mr.Carrot Head,and Evil WALL-E/Cregg Demon the Magician and his son/Ricky Jay,Penn and Teller,and David Copperfield/the coat snatcher/Mrs. D'Amico(Fat Tony's mother)/Mrs. D'Amico2(Fat Tony's second hot wife)/Russ Cargill(The Simpsons) - All of them were awesome villains especially the new season villains too as well which I hope Hank,Julia,Donny,and Simon's evil siblings return though,they were cool & Russ Cargill was an awesome movie villain:D.

Daffy Duck/Elmer Fudd/Yosemate Sam/Gossamer/Beaky Buzzard/Marvin Martian/Taz Tasmanian Devil/Witch Hazel/Wile E. Coyote/Rocky & Muggsy/Hugo the Abominable Snowman/Pete Puma/Casbah Rabbit/the Big Bad Wolf & his nephew/Charlie Dog/Sylvester/the Wolf/the Barnyard Dawg/Henry Hawk/Mr.Swackhammer/The Nerdlucks(MonStars):Pound,Bupkus,Nawt,Bang,& Blanko(Bugs Bunny/Porky Pig/Sylvester & Tweety/Roadrunner & Wile E. Coyote/Speedy Gonzales/Foghorn Leghorn/Looney Tunes/Space Jam) - They were funny wacky villains having their plans backfired lots of times.

King Koopa/Bowser(Super Mario Brothers) - Best oldies videogame villain in history with a whole turtle army for taking over.

Cyril Sneer/Mr.Knox/Mr.Mammoth/Bix Badger/Milton Midas/J.P. Gordon(The Raccoons) - Evil industrialist who's the most interesting & developed a soft side in further episodes which I love his character & the other villains are alright too.

Taurus Bulba/Bushroot/Lilliput/Negaduck/Megavolt/Liquidator/The F.O.W.L. Heads/Steelbeak/Tuskernini/Wacko/Darkwarrior Duck/Prof.Moliarty/Dr.Fossil/Icy Vanderchill/Ordinary Guy/Phineas Sharp/Nodok/Beelzebub/Splatter Phoneix/Nega-Duck/Neptunia/Camille/Flog/The Bug Master(Bianca)/Johnny T-Rex/Cement Head(Darkwing Duck) - They were awesome supervillains which I love their sweet designs & motives.

Man-Bat/Clayface/the Werewolf/Killer Croc/Bane/The Terrible Trio:Fox,Shark,& Vulture/Dr.Phosphorus(Blight)/Solomon Grundy/Copperhead/Blockbuster/Amydgala/The Rainbow Creature/Bag O' Bones/Corrosive Man/Gorilla Boss/Great White Shark/Gustav DeCobra/Jane Doe/The Mole/The Monk/Orca/The Outsider/The Snowman/Malis(Batman/Batman:TAS/The New Batman Adventures/The Batman/Justice League/Batman:The Brave & the Bold) - All of my most favorite supervillains who're scary terrifying monsters who're a huge challenge for Batman & they have great character development.

Sharky the Sharkdog/The Rat Gang/Zoltar/The Witch/The Evil Rabbit/The Brain/two spiders/The Exterminator/The Evil Farmer/The 2 Catgirls/The Evil Automaton of Hoyte Gunterkrust/Garbage Man/The Racer Opossum/The French Fly/Alice/The Huggie/The Gremlin/Amelia Earhart/Dark Lawyer/The Robot Dogcatcher/Fido/Checkers/Thuggo/The Mad Scientist/The Potato Monsters(Eek! the Cat/The Terrible Thunderlizards/Klutter) - They were funny wacky villains especially Sharky chasing Eek alot,hehehehe:p.

Invader Zim/The Almighty Tallest:Red & Purple/Gaz/The Planet Jackers/alien baby leader/two stupid aliens/Tak(Invader ZIM) - He's awesome & hilarious for a world conquering Irken along with other cool villains like Dib's scary bratty sister & Zim's female Irken rival:p.

Mojo Jojo/Fuzzy Lumpkins/Amoeba Boys/Sedusa/Roach Coach/The Three Bankrobbers/Him/The Gangreen Gang/The Boogie Man/Abracadaver/Major Man/Mitch/Elmer/The Cat/Mr.Mime/The Rowdyruff Boys/The Blowfish Monster/Princess/Lenny/The Smith Family/The Broccoloids/The Sandman/Patches/The Ministry of Pain/The Giant Eye Monster/Mike the Cop/The Headsucker/Femme Fatale/Bernie the Director/Mascumax/The Alien Robot/The PowerPunk Girls & Oppressor Plutonium/The Burglar/The Caveman-Criminal/The Little White Lie Monster/The Giant Toilet Monster/Mr.Moustache/The Evil Cute Animals/K.A.R.R./The Huge Stinky Gas Monster/Mask Scara/The Squirrels/The Two Con Artists/Lou Gubrious/Capt.Crack Mc.Graigen/Madame Argentina & Fred Duck/The Gnome(The Powerpuff Girls) - As a big PPGs fan, they were cool & wacky supervillains with both evilness & comedy roled in one.

Aku(Samurai Jack) - He's evil,comedic & sadistic, but with a cool freaky design.

Jack Spicer/Wuya/Chase Young/Hannibal Roy Bean(Xiaolin Showdown) - They were cool awesome villains for world domination & Jack is so hilarious especially his good side.

Carl Cockroach/Herman Ant/Night Master/Yuck/Smoke & Mirror(Yin Yang Yo!) - They were awesome funny wacky villains who're a formidable challenge for Yin,Yang & Yo.

Dr.Two Brains/Chuck/Toby/Mr.Big/The Whammer/Lady Redundant Woman(WordGirl) - They were funny dumb supervillains which Two-Brains & Whammer were so hilarious:p.

Chris/Chef/Noah/Gwen/Duncan/Heather/Eva/Evil Ezekial/Courtney/Justin/the escaped psycho killer/Blaineley(Mildred)/Alejandro/Jerd/two flying aliens/evil alien Cody clone/the mandrills(Total Drama Island/Action/World Tour/Going Back To The Island) - All of them were great funny villains,but only Heather, Blaineley(Mildred), and Alejandro needs their beatings the most:p.

Dr.Neo Cortex/Uka Uka/N.Tropy/Nitros Oxide/Nina Cortex/Evil Crash(Crash Bandicoot) - I wish it was made into a series, since they were cool awesome videogame villains ever in many of the Crash Bandicoot games:p.

My top favorite anime villains:

The Big Cheese/Bad Bird(Samurai Pizza Cats) - They were cool & funny villains on wanting to get the Pizza Cats.

Master Moo(Monster Rancher) - Awesome dragon villain who's the most evil & sadistic on taking over the world & brainwashing Grey Wolf as well.

Gouki/Rando/Suzaku/Gonzou Tarakane/Toguro Bros./Sakyo/Chu/Dr.Ichigaki/Risho/Suzuki/Sensui(Yu Yu Hakusho) - They were such awesome frightening villains who're a huge challenge for Yusuke.

Amarao(Fooly Cooly/FLCL) - For a guy with freakishly big eyebrows, he's one hilarious silly villain on wanting to destroy Haruko which is funny when his eyebrows fell being a big baby,hahahaha:D:p.

Chunyan(Fighting Beauty Wulong) - She's sexy for a sadistic psycho witch who's the toughest fighter of the Prime Mat & Maolan's major rival.

Oshima/Orihime's Hollow brother/Shrieker/The Grand Fisher/Uryu/squid-like Hollow/Byakuya/Captain Genryusai/Mayuri/centipede Hollow/Hollow Ichigo/Sousuke Aizen/Jin Kariya/Ryo/Ichinose/Baishin(Blade)/The Visoreds:Shinji,Hiyori,Love,Mashiro,Kensei,Rojuro,Hachigan,& Lisa/Ryuken/Mizuho/cloning Arrancar/middle school soccer bullies/Igoroshi(Mizuho's ex-boyfriend)/Hollow Heita the cake chef/two-headed Hollow Shintaro(Miyuki's dog)/Patros/Lunuganga/Adjuchas commander/Komui/Shusuke Amagai/Makoto Kifune/Zonzain/Arrancar chick(purplehead)/Kouga & Muramasa/3 evil Soul Reaper nobles/Sword Fiends/Hollow Sword Fiend/Kirikaze/Battlikora/Shuren(Bleach) - All the most evil,calculating awesome villains who're the most coolest/sadistic,hehehe:p.

Nene/Zola & Killer Bat/General Logi/Delphinium/Rudolph(Blue Dragon/Tenkai no Shichi) - All of them were great interesting villains along with their scary Shadow powers,Chimera/Valkrye & Odin/Deathroy:eek::D.
 
Captain Hook: Just a lot of campy fun.
Joker: Mark Hamill nailed him.
Demona: Just plain scary. Made me think of a vampire.
Shredder: Wow. Just wow.
Scar: Dictionary translation for evil.
Hopper: From A Bug's Life. Great design.
 
David Xanatos - So groundbreaking. Now, he's often imitated, but never emulated. Cool, collected, extremely intelligent. Lex Luthor wishes he were this guy.

Demona - I could go on and on, but she has to be the most compelling villain in American animation. A classic, and there has never been another one like her.

Thailog - Took the evil twin stereotype and turned it on it's head. A fully realized character in his own right.

The Joker - Timm and company took this classic and immortalized him. Love it.

Ra's al Ghul - Made me a fan of David Warner.

Megatron - The one from "Beast Wars." He took the name Megatron and made it respectable, after the mockery the original one made it. But the new one in Animated is doing well.

The Green Goblin/Norman Osborn - The one from "Spectacular." I love this version. Smart, evil, maniacal. And he got away with it. Cold enough to frame his own son (at least I think this is the case). Either way, he left us all talking.

The Monarch - He is just so great at being such an epic failure, and yet you can't help but love him. I always felt the whole show was about him, anyway.

Vicious - With only five episodes under his belt, he still made an impression. He was Spike's nemesis, and while the reasons behind it were vague and required the viewer to analyze bits and pieces of flashbacks, we knew why. Cold and deadly as a snake.

Griffith - If you have seen "Berserk," I don't know what else to tell you. Charismatic, evil, intelligent, ambitious. But you wouldn't know it by looking at him. He is the epic hero cast as the dark lord. Kind of like a medieval Xanatos.

Lex Luthor - Clancy Brown, nuff said.

Phaeton - Hey kids, check out the ultimate, animated Hitler allegory.
 
Greg Weisman seems to have a knack for making excellent villains. David Xanatos, Nerissa, and potentially Norman Osborn in the second season of Spectacular-Spiderman (if he turns out to be the Green Goblin). Not only are they all some of the most cunning and manipulative villains out there, they're also not afraid to get their hands dirty and fight the heroes themselves; they don't just sit back and watch things unfold from their evil lair or anything. Plus that TVTrope thing called the Xanatos Gambit, where it seemed Xanatos and Nerissa were always one step ahead of the heroes all the time (in Nerissa's case, the good guys were pretty much always unable to beat her, and even when she was beaten, she still won in the end, sort of) Hopefully Norman shows us some awesome trickery in the second season.

Tarantulus from Beast Wars was also pretty good, with his scheming behind Megatron's back and recruiting an army of arachnids to overthrow him.
 
I can't really dispute anything that Greg put forward - he pretty much nailed it. The only addition I can think of making is Char from Gundam, but I think the most compelling aspects of his character lie in his idealism and charisma than any degree of his actual villainy.
 
I wish there was some way to add substance to these threads. It’s common for people to express their opinions, but it’s a shame that relatively little discussion actually takes place. Maybe people should comment on one another’s selections?

The villains on “Yin Yang Yo!” are powerful in their own right, but more often than not, their comedic incompetence prevents them from posing much of a threat.

Ultimoose did manage to kill Master Yo and Yin in one episode, which is pretty much the biggest accomplishment that a villain has had in that series, but they were brought back to life when Yang reversed the flow of time.
Still, for a comedy series, I believe that “Yin Yang Yo!” has some interesting villains.
 
I find myself agreeing with alot of Gregx's choises. Xanatos, Griffith, The Joker, Phaeton, The Monarch and Luthor are all excellent villains.

With that said, let me add some choises of my own.

Feathers McGraw -One of the most underrated villains in animation. A brief description of Feathers would make him seem like a comical bad guy (a penguin that dresses up like a chicken by putting a glove on his head? Really?) and yet, nothing could be further from the truth. In the one shortfilm he appeared in, Feathers proved himself to be one of the most coldblooded and, dare I say it, creepiest animated villains ever. Personally, I hope that he returns one day.

Johan Liebert - Like Griffith, Johan is exceedingly charismatic, intelligent and handsome. He also happens to be a very dangerous and scary serial-killer, who will corrupt or murder anyone who gets in his way. A true "devil with an angel's face" if there ever was one.

Chief Blue Meanie - A very funny and wild villain with so many great lines: "I haven't laughed this much since Pompei!" And "A thing of beauty, destroy it forever!" Would be my personal favorites.

Emperor Zombie -Pretty much the same thing I said about Chief Blue Meanie goes for Zombie as well. He was a both funny and (somewhat) frightening villain who stole the show from the hero.

Mr. Freeze -Timm and Dini took one of the most forgettable members of Batman's rogue gallery and turned him into the most sympathetic and compelling villain of the show (along with Two-Face). Of course, one most also not forget his cool, robotic/monotonic voice, provided by Michael Ansara.

Dolf -Pretty gutsy for a kid's show to have it's main villain be an avian version of Hitler. Of course, when I watched "Alfred J Kwak" as a kid the references to the dictator went above my head. Then again, at that age I didn't know who Hitler was and the character was named Krax in the swedish dub.

Hank Scorpio -Of all villain in "The Simpsons" he strikes me as the most competent, since he actually managed to succeed in taking over the west coast (or was it east coast, I can't remember). Like Feathers, I hope that we'll get to see more of Hank some day.

Rock -Tezuka's penultimate bad boy and probably his most compelling character. The Rock in the "Metropolis" anim? also happens to be the most believable psychotic/sociopath I've seen in animation. Watch any of the scenes which has Rock murdering someone; he doesn't laugh or smile like other "crazy" cartoon villains, he just pulls the trigger and that makes him all the more frightening.

Long Feng -another good villain, voiced by Clancy Brown.

Princess Azula -I'm actually surprised that the creators of "Avatar" got away with having such a sadistic villain in their show. Sure, we never actually saw her kill anyone but watch the scene when their father mutilates her brother, notice the smile on her face? Azula's own mother said it best: "What's wrong with that child?"
 
I agree with you for the most part.

For cartoons, I would also include Evil Coop (Megas XLR), who you just love watching be evil.

Unicron, one universe is not just big enough for him.

If we are also including anime villians. That could be quite a list.

But two notables.

Treize from Gundam Wing, a tactician that could give Thrawn from Star Wars a run for his money.

Largo from Bubblegum Crisis OVAs, a villian who redefined the term "explosive introduction". :cool:
 
Hell no, that thread was a wreck from the start (alot of the villainous matchups made no sense whatsoever, not to mention IMO undeserving candidates getting rather than they should.)



Just wanted to say that, though that is definatly true, Weisman's reputation for villains is a little bit blemished for the fact that Nerissa had to get taken out by weaker villain Phobos---and then Phobos gets taken out by even weaker villain Cedric (I loved Cedric in the original comics, but the show's version was a one-dimensional snakey thug through and through, and had no right being the final villain.)

As for my list:

WESTERN ANIMATION

David Xanatos (Gargoyles)---Hailed as one of the greatest villains in animated TV shows...and if you actually watch him in action, you'll know that to be true. Shades of gray help his character even further.

Princess Azula (Avatar)---Again, someone who is often called one of the best around and well deserves that reputation. The fact that she was effectively made a tragic character in the finale and yet still effectively remained a villain adds to her greatness. (Props to Firelord Ozai too, Azula wouldn't be what she was without him after all.)

Slade (Teen Titans)---Geuninely creepy due to Ron Perlman's awesome voicework, not to mention always mysterious and unpredictable with his planning. Oh yeah, and he's a kickass fighter too.

Mojo Jojo (Powerpuff Girls) ---A truly unique and funny villain, his style of speaking alone ensures his position on my list.

Mr. Burns (The Simpsons) ---To heck with Sideshow Bob, this guy is the epitome of evil in the world of the Simpsons.

XANA (Code Lyoko) ---He's a computer program. A freaking computer program! How are mere mortals supposed to measure up to that? :D

Vlad Masters/Plasmius (Danny Phantom) ---For a show with many flaws like Danny Phantom, it certainly has one hell of a main villain. He balances seriousness and comedy nicely, though he is beaten in that category by...

The Joker (DCAU) ---Mark Hamill's performance is well deserving of it's praise and it's hard to picture the Joker sounding anything but how he sounded like in this show. He's even more balanced in seriousness and comedy than Vlad, but IMO still gets beaten out by...

Aku (Samurai Jack) ---The PERFECT balance of seriousness and comedic villainy. The late Mako's voicework is both incredibly funny and truly frightening. It's a shame we never got closure on this guy.

Many Disney Villains ---'Nuff said. :evil:

ANIME

Vicious (Cowboy Bebop) ---5 episodes? Is that all he appeared in? He was so well-defined as a villain that it seems he's been in much more...heck, he deserved to be in much more!

Gendo Ikari (Neon Genesis Evangelion) ---An unloving father, a corrupt leader, and an all-around horrible human being. All of this makes Gendo utterly repulsive, yet utterly entertaining as a villain at the same time.

Sir Crocodile (One Piece) ---One Piece has many villains, but this is the only one that I can truly say ranks up as one of the greats. His combination of raw power and intellectual genius has yet to be topped in this series.

Cell (DragonBall Z) ---Cell is the only DBZ villain I feel to have truly made the perfect (pun intended) impact. Not dragged out like Frieza or completely absurd like Majin Buu, but striking just the right balance. Dameon Clarke's dub perforamce is also very impressive.

Katsuhiko Jinnai (El Hazard) --- Aside from the villainous protagonists of Excel Saga, I have yet to find a funnier, more outrageous anime villain that this guy. His dub performance is even better than the original, taking his insanity (and insane laughter) and increasing it. And since he laughs in nearly all his scenes, it will take a long time to get that laughter out of your head.

The Dark Kingdom (Sailor Moon) ---IMO, the original villains are still the best. Queen Beryl and her four generals Jadeite, Nephrite, Zoisite, and Kunzite just have a certain charisma to them that was just never matched by the Nemesis, Deathbusters, Dead Moon Circus, and Galaxy Cauldron villains.

Light Yagami (Death Note) ---Pure genius, pure confidence, and most of all, pure EVIL. Light's rise and fall as Kira, his descent into evil and madness, everything...it's just so well done that he can't NOT be on my list. Not to mention he can kill anyone by writing their name down. He can also TAKE A POTATO CHIP...AND EAT IT!!! :p


Those are my personal choices for best villains. There are much more villains that I like, but just not quite on par with those listed above. (PS: USSManhattan, love your avatar! ;) )
 
I thought that was well done. Nerissa was stronger and constantly outsmarted the Guardians and dominated them all throughout the series and the only one who was able to beat her was Phobos because of his blood, which was the Achilles Heel to Nerissa's power. Phobos was weaker than her, but his bloodline was the key to sealing away her power, which is why they had to protect him and give him the opportunity to launch a sneak attack against her. Much more cunning and effort put into it than the typical "Hero trains/gets lucky/obtains a random power up to defeat the overpowered villain"

Now Phobos and Cedric, yes, they weren't anywhere near as interesting as Nerissa, though the loophole Cedric used to kill Phobos was pretty nice.
 
The villain from Shakespeare's "Hamlet". I always thought that Scar was Claudius taken one step further, Claudius at least didn't pin the blame on his brother's death on his nephew. There's also the fact that Claudius (if I remember things correctly) was a decent king, whereas Scar was so blinded by power that he became a frankly incompetent ruler.
 
Yeah, but they're still on the first round, plus that's all villans, not just animation.

I've been looking around at what everyone else has to say and I like:

Cell (DBZ): He's perfect, isn't he.
XANA (Code Lyoko): The computer program. That's what make XANA a tought villan, because it isn't a physical being.
Azula (Avatar): There were a lot of complains about Azula losing in the first round of the Greatest Villan Thread. Plus, now we know that she's Insane in the Brain.
Light Yagami (Death Note): Yeah he's a villan, but he's one of my favorite characters, period. lol, and he can take a potato chip... and eat it. :anime:

I'll also petition for other villans such as Orochimaru (Naruto), Crocodile (One Piece), Isain (Bleach), and maybe even Giovanni (Pokemon) (although he is bad, is has made limited appearences... he's got so much potential).
 
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