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Most sympathetic and least sympathetic animated villains
- Thread starter Nisee S
- Start date
Pizazz (Jem & The Holograms) I'd say is a sympathetic villain. Here you have a spoiled, unrelenting brat who throws (rather violent) tantrums when she doesn't get her way? Why does that make her sympathetic?
It's because her father allows her to be this way by buyig her everything she asks for, and had never done anything even remotely near parenting, being more concerned with running his business and making money, which ironically, is why Pizazz's mother left him.
Had her father actually taken the time to raise her properly, her and Jem/Jerrica might have actually been allies against Eric Raymond, who by all means, was completely unsympathetic, barring maybe one instance (The Princess & The Singer where him and Misfits stop a plot that would have killed Jem and her group in a bombing)
It's because her father allows her to be this way by buyig her everything she asks for, and had never done anything even remotely near parenting, being more concerned with running his business and making money, which ironically, is why Pizazz's mother left him.
Had her father actually taken the time to raise her properly, her and Jem/Jerrica might have actually been allies against Eric Raymond, who by all means, was completely unsympathetic, barring maybe one instance (The Princess & The Singer where him and Misfits stop a plot that would have killed Jem and her group in a bombing)
hawksiowarock
New member
Macbeth from "Gargoyles" has to be the most sympathetic.
As for Demona, you're supposed to understand her, not sympathize with her. But...
As for Demona, you're supposed to understand her, not sympathize with her. But...
shineman08
New member
Terra from Teen Titans, I don't like her at times but she made for an interesting character. Not really evil, but willing to do the wrong thing in order to have control of her powers. With her, I actually feel only partially sympathetic. She didn't really give the Teen Titans a fair chance. They fed her, gave her a home and extended their friendship to her only to nearly be killed for it. :shrug:
I'm pretty neutral about most villians. With Zuko, who I know will do the right thing when the times calls for it, is someone I sympathize with. He's always got a conflict going on, and he acutally makes it convincing at times.
I'm pretty neutral about most villians. With Zuko, who I know will do the right thing when the times calls for it, is someone I sympathize with. He's always got a conflict going on, and he acutally makes it convincing at times.
gamer5311996
New member
Demona is not sympathetic overall, but there are sympathetic elements to her, she isn't a complete monster, even though she is not sympathetic in the end.
http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/CompleteMonster
Now Judge Claude Frollo is a racist, genocidal, lustful old man, there is someone who has no sympathetic elements. Fire Lord Ozai is a fascist, child abusing, genocidal tyrant, there is a complete monster.
I will say Gobby from the Spectacular Spider-Man cartoon is revealed to be a complete monster, but for spoiler reasons, I won't go into why.
The Gargoyles universe Dr. Anton Sevarius seems like a bigger monster then Demona.
http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/CompleteMonster
Now Judge Claude Frollo is a racist, genocidal, lustful old man, there is someone who has no sympathetic elements. Fire Lord Ozai is a fascist, child abusing, genocidal tyrant, there is a complete monster.
I will say Gobby from the Spectacular Spider-Man cartoon is revealed to be a complete monster, but for spoiler reasons, I won't go into why.
The Gargoyles universe Dr. Anton Sevarius seems like a bigger monster then Demona.
I can't think of many right now, but I'll try my best
Most Sympathetic
1. Dr Robotnik (Sonic X)- Sure he was sort of evil, but he did have his moments and sometimes could be very comical. He even helped out Sonic and even teamed up with him sometimes. In fact, in one episode, Chris and Cosmo were attacked and injured by a new villain. Dr Robotnik showed up and basically said "I don't like the way you attacked Chris and Cosmo! It's one thing to take them prisoner and threaten them, but when you actually hurt somebody, that's going too far!" Even when Sonic and Robotnik fought, Robotnik never fought to kill him.
2. The Toilenator (Kids Next Door) - Even though he wants to be a villain, he's not evil. He's actually kind of nice. Even if he is extremely incompetent.
Least Sympathetic
Frieza (Dragonball Z) - He's a heartless and sadistic monster who blew up 2 planets (almost eliminated an entire race because of it), enjoys brutally torturing his enemies before killing them, killed almost all of the nameks, and made Krillin explode. He also took Vegeta from his father when he was a little boy and said that if he didn't do whatever he wanted, he would kill his father. Even after Vegeta did everything that he asked, Frieza still killed his father. There's nothing sympathetic about that!
Most Sympathetic
1. Dr Robotnik (Sonic X)- Sure he was sort of evil, but he did have his moments and sometimes could be very comical. He even helped out Sonic and even teamed up with him sometimes. In fact, in one episode, Chris and Cosmo were attacked and injured by a new villain. Dr Robotnik showed up and basically said "I don't like the way you attacked Chris and Cosmo! It's one thing to take them prisoner and threaten them, but when you actually hurt somebody, that's going too far!" Even when Sonic and Robotnik fought, Robotnik never fought to kill him.
2. The Toilenator (Kids Next Door) - Even though he wants to be a villain, he's not evil. He's actually kind of nice. Even if he is extremely incompetent.
Least Sympathetic
Frieza (Dragonball Z) - He's a heartless and sadistic monster who blew up 2 planets (almost eliminated an entire race because of it), enjoys brutally torturing his enemies before killing them, killed almost all of the nameks, and made Krillin explode. He also took Vegeta from his father when he was a little boy and said that if he didn't do whatever he wanted, he would kill his father. Even after Vegeta did everything that he asked, Frieza still killed his father. There's nothing sympathetic about that!
MarKayla-Chica-Mayla!
New member
Least sympathetic, hmm...I'd have to agree with Claude Frollo. Scar in The Lion King is another contender from the Disney films, though.
Personally, I wouldn't consider Macbeth a villain since that implies a certain amount of evil or maliciousness. If we broaden this slightly to "antagonist" then I would completely agree. In my opinion Macbeth got a pretty raw deal in his backstory, immortality aside, and the only times he acted "evil" were when he was being controlled by a spell. Heck, I even sympathize with him in Pendragon, where he was fighting King Arthur over Excalibur...he had good reason to think he might have been qualified for it, and ultimately he accepted his defeat with dignity.
I may be parsing but Macbeth is one of my favorite characters in Gargoyles, so it seemed worthwhile to make the distinction.
Personally, I wouldn't consider Macbeth a villain since that implies a certain amount of evil or maliciousness. If we broaden this slightly to "antagonist" then I would completely agree. In my opinion Macbeth got a pretty raw deal in his backstory, immortality aside, and the only times he acted "evil" were when he was being controlled by a spell. Heck, I even sympathize with him in Pendragon, where he was fighting King Arthur over Excalibur...he had good reason to think he might have been qualified for it, and ultimately he accepted his defeat with dignity.
I may be parsing but Macbeth is one of my favorite characters in Gargoyles, so it seemed worthwhile to make the distinction.
Agreed. MacBeth was never really a *villain*, he was just a guy who got a raw deal and became bitter over time. In a way he was ultimately the flipside of Demona/Xanatos. He didn't want world conquest/immortality, he just wanted to die in peace, which he could't get because of his pact with Demona.
Looking back at all of his appearances, he actually had proper reasoning for most of his schemes pre/post Avalon centered episodes.
Looking back at all of his appearances, he actually had proper reasoning for most of his schemes pre/post Avalon centered episodes.
I am a bag of sandwiches
New member
I actually found Talia on Batman: TAS sympathetic as a character, at least to an extent. I also felt sympathy for the Digimon Kaiser, though the series' poorly written plot twists post that ruined it - I was bsaically feeling sympathetic for nothing.
Likewise, on X-Men: TAS I felt horrible for Evil Morph - he was just tortured, depressed and uncertain.
And I gotta love Hank Scorpio - he's a villain, but he just wants what's best for his employees. I love his line - Homer's come to explain that his family's not happy, in the middle of a massive raid. In turn, Hank's line: "Homer, I'm disappointed, but I want what's best for you."
Being that I actually find Naruto's villains more interesting than the main characters, I actually felt sympathy for Itachi when he was
By contrast, I have absolutely no sympathy whatsoever for Mayuri Kurotsuchi.
Likewise, on X-Men: TAS I felt horrible for Evil Morph - he was just tortured, depressed and uncertain.
And I gotta love Hank Scorpio - he's a villain, but he just wants what's best for his employees. I love his line - Homer's come to explain that his family's not happy, in the middle of a massive raid. In turn, Hank's line: "Homer, I'm disappointed, but I want what's best for you."
Being that I actually find Naruto's villains more interesting than the main characters, I actually felt sympathy for Itachi when he was
killed by Sasuke
By contrast, I have absolutely no sympathy whatsoever for Mayuri Kurotsuchi.
Numba one Mommies Gurl!
New member
Hmm well i usually don't sympathise as much with the less civilized villains such as The Regurgitator or so forth, but with those like Doctor Doofenshmirtz who are likeable and civilized people. Many villains seem positively savage and allow their emotions to control them, whereas more civilized ones such as Mr Burns or Drakken or Doofenshmirtz or Hank Scorpio are more sympathizable with because they are likeable people who just happen to be the antagonist. Indeed in many cases they are more likeable than the heroes who are often very weird and stupid people imo. Now i've nowt against miss Possible or that Bart Simpson fellow but darn it to blazes if you... look here see the point is that umm Mr Burns is normal...
Anyway here some other examples I can think of:
Sympathetic:
BTAS Mr. Freeze is a villain who is very sympathetic, because his life was actually destroyed by forces beyond his control and he had a reason to be mad, he had a reason to desire revenge beyond the petty reasons most villains want revenge.
TAS Magneto: This character seemed to strike a good balance between being an antagonist and remaining a gray character, he was forceful with his views about mutant rights, but wasn't some fanatic who become so obsessive he lost his humanity. He even respected the X-Men and helped them out now and again, which provides a contrast to the more evil villains of the series, like Sinister and Apocalypse.
Unsympathetic:
Ferris Boyle seems to only exist in BTAS in order to have a monster to ruin Mr. freeze's life and make him look sympathetic.
The Grundel from Ghost busters is pretty damn unsympathetic too, considering he was created to subtly or not so subtly warn children about pedophiles, he comes off as a creepy, vile loathesome creature. Its like merging a demon with a pedophile and you would get the Grundel.
The Toyman from Superman: Doomsday seems to exist for no reason then justify the Superman clone becoming a Knights Templar villain. He was creepy child killer and frankly i didn't feel bad for him when the superman clone violently killed him.
Also Billy Kinkaid from the spawn cartoon was pretty bad too, he again was a child killer and there is scenes describing what he did to his victims.
Also from the East: Johann from Monster seems very unsympathetic, would it a long while to detail why, that's how long his list of crimes are.
Sympathetic:
BTAS Mr. Freeze is a villain who is very sympathetic, because his life was actually destroyed by forces beyond his control and he had a reason to be mad, he had a reason to desire revenge beyond the petty reasons most villains want revenge.
TAS Magneto: This character seemed to strike a good balance between being an antagonist and remaining a gray character, he was forceful with his views about mutant rights, but wasn't some fanatic who become so obsessive he lost his humanity. He even respected the X-Men and helped them out now and again, which provides a contrast to the more evil villains of the series, like Sinister and Apocalypse.
Unsympathetic:
Ferris Boyle seems to only exist in BTAS in order to have a monster to ruin Mr. freeze's life and make him look sympathetic.
The Grundel from Ghost busters is pretty damn unsympathetic too, considering he was created to subtly or not so subtly warn children about pedophiles, he comes off as a creepy, vile loathesome creature. Its like merging a demon with a pedophile and you would get the Grundel.
The Toyman from Superman: Doomsday seems to exist for no reason then justify the Superman clone becoming a Knights Templar villain. He was creepy child killer and frankly i didn't feel bad for him when the superman clone violently killed him.
Also Billy Kinkaid from the spawn cartoon was pretty bad too, he again was a child killer and there is scenes describing what he did to his victims.
Also from the East: Johann from Monster seems very unsympathetic, would it a long while to detail why, that's how long his list of crimes are.
pinksparkles4
New member
How could I forget Magneto, his TAS incarnation was arguably the most powerful portrayal I've ever seen, David Hemblem's voice has never left me - even with the tradition of inexplicably turning him over to Xavier's side.
Sympathetic
Team Rocket ( Jessie, James, and Meowth) - They are so unlucky, and they never win. I find myself rooting for them more often than the good guys, because seriously they need a lucky break.
Unsympathetic
Kuro (One Piece) He wanted to slaughter the townspeople of Ussop's village for "good measure". For what? Then he announced he would kill his crew. Why? He was not even going to return to be a pirate, what did he plan? Seriously, more cruel than Arlong.
Team Rocket ( Jessie, James, and Meowth) - They are so unlucky, and they never win. I find myself rooting for them more often than the good guys, because seriously they need a lucky break.
Unsympathetic
Kuro (One Piece) He wanted to slaughter the townspeople of Ussop's village for "good measure". For what? Then he announced he would kill his crew. Why? He was not even going to return to be a pirate, what did he plan? Seriously, more cruel than Arlong.
Baby Girl Due - 25/11/08
New member
World from Foster's Home for Imaginary Friends "Destination Imagination" is very sympathetic to me.
Locked inside a toychest without any friends. Someone who had everything any kid would ever want, except the very thing he'd want the most. I can't blame him for being so off-kilter.
Locked inside a toychest without any friends. Someone who had everything any kid would ever want, except the very thing he'd want the most. I can't blame him for being so off-kilter.
And it's kinda funny how he was far more more appreciative of Frankie as a person than her would-be rescuers have ever been throughout the show's entire run. I don't blame Frankie AT ALL for choosing to stay with him instead of going back to being unappreciated at her old job. If the show continued for another season, I would've liked to see World (in his new plush body knitted by Frankie at the end of the movie) become at least a semi-regular.