Ah, the villains. At first glance, you may think a bad guy is there for one reason: to give the hero someone to punch. And in a broader sense, you may look at a villain as someone who pushes the main character and their stories to new levels.
Videos by ComicBook.com
But when a truly great villain, and specifically a truly great portrayal of a villain comes along (both in the writing and acting), they transcend these notions. You start to look at them as not just their own character, but possibly a protagonist in their own right. To that end, we thought we’d take a look at the villains of comic book films, and the five best we’ve seen on screen so far.
Thanos (Avengers, Guardians of the Galaxy, Avengers: Age of Ultron, upcoming Avengers: Infinity War pt 1 & 2)
Played by: Josh Brolin
Okay, so Thanos has had a grand total of about five minutes of screen time so far, meaning that everything we just said about a great villain is pretty darn hard to argue. But what a five minutes. It all started with another character saying to him, “to challenge them [Earth’s heroes] is to court Death,” and the slight turn of a head and upturn of lips. With that, Thanos arrived. There was an actual conversation in Guardians, where Thanos showed how imposing he can look, and made it clear that his goal was the Infinity Stones, but not much else. However, he’d already built considerable anticipation for his next move. Finally, when the credits scene of Avengers: Age of Ultron came into play, again one line issued out, “Fine. I’ll do it myself.” That alone, the intrigue and the way it’s been played in brief, powerful bursts, is enough to earn him a spot on this list. The fact that he’s the confirmed villain for the massive two-part culmination of three full phases of Marvel Studios films doesn’t hurt his positioning, either.
General Zod (Superman II)
Played by: Terence Stamp
Three words uttered by a fearless, self-assured tyrant. Three words that struck fear instantly in all who heard them. Three words that are so perfectly embedded in the pop culture lexicon that an alteration has become the preferred celebratory catch-phrase for the young Chicago Blackhawks up-and-comer Brandon Saad.
“Kneel before Zod.”
Yes, you may not remember all that much about the second Superman film starring Christopher Reeve as the titular character, but you sure as anything remember that line. The best use came in the attack on the White House. He and his Kryptonian cohorts had taken bullets, and even a bazooka shot, and shrugged them off like nothing. In a moment of total control, Zod entered the Oval Office, and made the President first “rise before Zod,” then made him “kneel before Zod.” It’s just a plain old cool moment. It’s the first time the general public got to see what it would be like to have a power-hungry Superman, and it would never be matched again.
Doc Ock (Spider-Man 2)
Played by: Alfred Molina
While many have fond memories of the first Spider-Man film starring Toby Maguire, the second was where the franchise came into its own (and, sadly, where it also peaked). This was in no small part due to Alfred Molina’s portrayal of Otto Octavius. In the film, much as he has been played in the comics in recent years, Otto was (as most great villains tend to be) a distorted image of our hero, Peter. This was a clearly brilliant man, and a vision of what Peter may have become had he never been bit, or had he continued down his initial path. Driven not by a need for personal power, but for the power to find a misguided justice, Otto was too easy to see more than a little bit of ourselves in. His seminal moment may have been when he overcame his insanity to, in the end, make the sacrificial play; but for our money, Doc Ock’s first conversation with his arms was such a perfect Jekyll/Hyde moment that it cemented him into a place in this list.
Loki (Thor, Avengers)
Played by: Tom Hiddleston
We’ll pause for a moment for the ladies (and let’s face it, most of the guys, too) to swoon. Okay, everyone back with us?
Loki is the ultimate embodiment of everything we talked about in the intro to this story. Indeed, he’s the character I had in mind while writing those words. Think about what Loki has really been through: he was a baby who was going to die, taken by his father’s worst enemy, raised as an adopted son, held in ever-so-slightly lower regard than his “perfect” older brother who was destined to be king, only to discover all this for himself. All he wanted was praise and recognition for his own deeds. Now, he obviously took that to some pretty bad extremes, what with the mass murder and alien invasion destroying a large portion of Midtown and all, but there’s something about his desperate earnestness, even in moments of evil, that make it easy to still look at Loki and see someone who’s just… gone wrong. After all, he is burdened with glorious purpose!
The Joker (The Dark Knight)
Played by: Heath Ledger
He won the Academy Award for his portrayal. It was moving, disturbing, scary, darkly funny, painful, and inspiring to watch. His award came, sadly, posthumously. What’s especially notable about Ledger’s take on The Joker is that he doesn’t fit any of the criteria we have mentioned up until this point. He’s not relatable, he’s not lovable in a twisted way, he’s just a psychotic, dangerous, scary human being. This Joker is a pathological liar, a vicious killer, and a wholly irredeemable person. But the nuances to the performance let you discover another layer of genius upon every viewing, even when you’ve seen the movie well over ten times. As far as ultimate moments, well, there are many, but we have to stick to the pencil trick. That’s the perfect example of dark humor and utter terror put into one little Heath Ledger-sized ball.
Who is your favorite movie villain in a comic book film and why? Sound off in the comments!
