this post was submitted on 15 May 2026
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For me, it would be GLaDOS.

Portal 2 spoilerShe deleted the one remaining human part of herself because it was just too much to deal with. She releases you at the end of Portal 2 as a path of least resistance measure because "killing you is hard."

What about you, what is your favorite media villain?

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[–] Quazatron@lemmy.world 168 points 1 week ago

Here are the test results: You're a horrible person. That's what it says. A horrible person. We weren't even testing for that.

[–] regdog@lemmy.world 89 points 1 week ago (3 children)

Your favourite media villain

Easy answer: Rupert Murdoch

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[–] Grandwolf319@sh.itjust.works 84 points 1 week ago (1 children)

Me reading these comments:

Sorry I had to

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[–] Hux@lemmy.ml 67 points 1 week ago (3 children)
[–] yyyesss@lemmy.world 13 points 1 week ago

But Homer! On your way out if you want to kill somebody, you would help me a lot.

[–] habitualcynic@lemmy.world 12 points 1 week ago

Honestly, he was such an amazing boss

[–] Reverendender@sh.itjust.works 11 points 1 week ago (2 children)

Hammocks? My goodness, what an idea!

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[–] Akido37@lemmy.world 64 points 1 week ago (5 children)
[–] Lupus108@sh.itjust.works 27 points 1 week ago (5 children)

Gul Dukat was the better villain in my eyes. At least he was way more interesting than Kai Winn.

[–] A_Union_of_Kobolds@lemmy.world 13 points 1 week ago* (last edited 1 week ago) (3 children)

My vote as well.

He constantly finds the piece of humanity within whoever hes talking to and then tries to manipulate it.

Its hard to top Gul Dukat.

[–] VindictiveJudge@lemmy.world 10 points 1 week ago

The great thing about Dukat is that he frequently finds his own humanity. You keep thinking that this time he'll do the right thing and start his path to redemption, but he never does. He always chooses to do the wrong thing even though there's clearly good in him and you're always disappointed and even surprised when it happens. He's like the anti-Zuko.

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[–] TheTechnician27@lemmy.world 21 points 1 week ago* (last edited 1 week ago)

I think the counter to that is that:

Tap for spoilerthey completely dropped the ball with her toward the end of the show. She went from, I think, a great allegory for a religious radical right wing capitalizing off her people's suffering but in a way she could genuinely warp her beliefs into thinking was for the greater good...

... to, I mean, come on... Having her go totally crazed with power and disavowing the Prophets wasn't the problem; it's that it was stupid, egregiously paced, totally unearned MacGuffin power without grounded stakes that only served to make an already-rushed resolution to the show feel even more rushed.

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[–] Anarch157a@lemmy.dbzer0.com 57 points 1 week ago (3 children)

Standartenführer Hans Landa.

"That's a Bingo!"

[–] Bahnd@lemmy.world 53 points 1 week ago (2 children)

Prince Arthas Menethil from Warcraft.

[Quietly sweeps WoW:Shadowlands under the rug]

Dudes villian arc is perfect, his fall is entierly of his own making. Playing as him in Warcraft 3, you follow his reasoning and by the time the corruption sets in, its far too late. In the expansions, you play as him in full BBEG mode. Lastly, WoW:Wrath of the Lich King had him as the capstone boss of one of the best expansions and 15 years of buildup.

And they never expanded on his character ever again...

[–] Alcoholicorn@mander.xyz 13 points 1 week ago (2 children)

The Warcraft movie should have just been WC3.

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[–] sem@lemmy.blahaj.zone 12 points 1 week ago

Best cinematic cut scene ever. Succeeding you

[–] FinjaminPoach@lemmy.world 44 points 1 week ago* (last edited 1 week ago) (2 children)

Sorry for such a "capeslop" answer, but:

Kingpin from Netflix Daredevil

He definitely gets a mention. I wish they actually explored what Kingpin wanting to "change the city" meant, though, because the disney+ shows make it seem like he just wants to sell weapons and be rich. They really took a crap on his character after endgame / season3 of Daredevil.

All the netflix DD villains were just golden. What a ride.


Primal Fear:Aaron Stampler, and his defence attorney Martin Vail.

Aaron Stampler and Martin Vail in Primal Fear

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[–] Zonefive@sh.itjust.works 34 points 1 week ago (3 children)

Omar Little, The Wire

“I got the shotgun. You got the briefcase. It’s all in the game, though, right?”

[–] roofuskit@lemmy.world 25 points 1 week ago (1 children)

I would not have thought of Omar as a villain. The man even takes a stand against criminals killing people not in the game.

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[–] zr0@lemmy.dbzer0.com 30 points 1 week ago
[–] IWW4@lemmy.zip 28 points 1 week ago

If favorite is a villain whose motivation was pure and got perverted by his obsession and still awesome:

General Woundwort

If favorite = one i hate the most, it is a tie between:

Joffrey

Ramsey

If favorite is a villain who is cool as hell it is a tie between

Voldemort

Hans Gruber

[–] NotASharkInAManSuit@lemmy.world 28 points 1 week ago
[–] radiofreebc@lemmy.world 26 points 1 week ago (2 children)

Biff Tannen, because we should have seen the signs.

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[–] Kaput@lemmy.world 25 points 1 week ago (2 children)

Jean-Baptiste Emmanuel Zorg. He's a monster.

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[–] Texas_Hangover@lemmy.radio 25 points 1 week ago (2 children)

I've always been fond of Magneto. He's a dick about it, but I see where he's coming from.

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[–] LillyPip@lemmy.ca 24 points 1 week ago* (last edited 1 week ago) (1 children)

GLaDOS is mine, too.

(spoilers ahead, play it if you haven’t)

In my first playthrough, I didn’t see it coming, and I felt like she was my friend. That was a relationship twist I’ve never had in a game, and I really appreciated what they did there.

e: if you’re looking for other game recs that fuck with you, I’d say What Remains of Edith Finch.

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[–] Makeitstop@lemmy.world 23 points 1 week ago* (last edited 1 week ago) (1 children)

Scorpius from Farscape is a fantastic villain. He was meant to be a one off villain of the week for a clip show. By the time the episode was finished it was a two parter that had only a few seconds of clips, and instead set up the plot elements that would drive the rest of the series, with Scorpius at the heart of it all.

He's one of the rare genius villains that's actually written well enough to seem smart. He's ruthless but not unreasonable. He's horrific, but also charming. He's a bottomless pit of hatred and vengeance, and yet he is cold and calculating, perpetually in control. I've heard him described as mirror universe spock turned up to 11 and I kind of agree.

Plus, we also get Harvey.

See also: David Xanatos. Imagine if Bruce Wayne put all that effort and planning into villainy, mad science and sorcery, theoretically for money but really just for the fun of it. Now give him an Iron Man suit and the voice of Jonathan Frakes. He's an evil genius that's so good at what he does that his name is literally synonymous with plans can only end in a win.

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[–] InterestingUsername@lemmy.ml 22 points 1 week ago
[–] aeronmelon@lemmy.world 21 points 1 week ago (1 children)

“I am burdened with glorious purpose.”

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[–] WanderWisley@lemmy.world 20 points 1 week ago

One of my favorites as an adult, and one that scared the living shit outta me as a kid. Jude Doom from who framed Roger Rabbit.

[–] Cherry@piefed.social 19 points 1 week ago

Andrew Scott as Moriarty he was so fun
image

[–] Naz@sh.itjust.works 18 points 1 week ago (3 children)

There's something genuinely compelling about SHODAN.

They're malignant, objective evil, yet when they talk about their goals and ambitions, they seem almost benevolent, which makes them even more unsettling.

It's like something telling you to calm down while it's sawing off your legs to replace them with mechanical versions because it's "improving you".

You didn't ask to be improved.

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[–] SnotFlickerman@lemmy.blahaj.zone 17 points 1 week ago (1 children)

Favorite Sci-Fi Villain: SHODAN from System Shock/System Shock 2

Favorite Fantasy Villain: The Nothing from Neverending Story

Favorite Bond Villain: Elliot Carver from Tomorrow Never Dies because the writers touched on something quite prescient here about media moguls wanting to control society a la Rupert Murdoch and Mark Zuckerberg.

Favorite Disney-esque Villain: Raphael from Baldur's Gate III for his "Raphael's Final Act" song.

Favorite Actual Disney Villain: Lord Hater from Wander Over Yonder

Favorite Action Villain: Hans Gruber from Die Hard

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[–] TheDarkQuark@lemmy.world 17 points 1 week ago (4 children)
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[–] fireweed@lemmy.world 16 points 1 week ago (2 children)

Silco from Arcane.

I often struggle with media villains, finding them unrealistic or unconvincing, but Silco is just so well-rounded and well-written, he elevates the quality of every other character he interacts with. In a series full of near- and actually-superpowered people, this weak, middle-aged man is the most terrifying and influential of them all.

spoilerHis absence from season two is one of the reasons why it flops compared to season one; Ambessa and Viktor are good characters, but weak villains.

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[–] Murse@slrpnk.net 14 points 1 week ago (4 children)
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[–] ThatWeirdGuy1001@lemmy.world 13 points 1 week ago (1 children)

Handsome Jack.

Best hero to villain in a game yet. Plus dude had charisma for days so even though he was a clear cut asshole you couldn't help but love his antics.

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[–] AnarchoEngineer@lemmy.dbzer0.com 13 points 1 week ago (2 children)

Idk who my all time favorite is, but I just finished rewatching Clone Wars and man I had forgotten how much I liked Hondo Ohnaka

Maul: “Filth! You will pay for your insolence!”

Hondo: “Insolence?! We are pirates! We don’t even know what that means.”

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[–] NaibofTabr@infosec.pub 13 points 1 week ago* (last edited 1 week ago) (2 children)

Ming the Merciless

as played by Max von Sydow in the 1980 film Flash Gordon

Ming is this potentially goofy over-the-top villain, but Sydow's portrayal makes him dignified, threatening, majestic and malevolent, never laughable.

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[–] Tattorack@lemmy.world 13 points 1 week ago (1 children)

I've always liked Dr. Doom a lot. Never had a good adaptation in movies, but he's great in the comics.

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[–] Blubber28@lemmy.world 12 points 1 week ago (1 children)

An old one, but the Emperor from Gladiator. His death is among the most satisfying in movie history. Absolutely amazing performance by Joaquin Phoenix.

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[–] Hadriscus@jlai.lu 12 points 1 week ago (2 children)

The Prophet of Truth from Halo 2. Cunning bastard, one of 3 prophets at the helm of an immense alien civilization, manages to get the other two eliminated, apppropriating all the power, creating a martyr and exacerbating the passion against the human enemy in the process, observes that one caste (the Sangheili) is a little too smart to keep buying his lies so replaces them with a more brutish, loyal caste, the Jiralhanae...

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[–] CorvusCornix@piefed.social 12 points 1 week ago (1 children)

Oh, it's you. It's been a looong time; how have you been? I've been really busy being DEAD. You know? After you murdered me? Look, we both said a lot of things you're going to regret, but I think we can put our differences behind us. For science. You monster.

I find... we'll just say "the villain" of Undertale compelling, but it's one of my favorite games so I'm a little biased.

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[–] Kushan@lemmy.world 12 points 1 week ago (5 children)

I'm going to pick a slightly more obscure one: Kane from Command & Conquer.

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[–] kubok@fedia.io 11 points 1 week ago (4 children)

Joe Morden in Babylon 5. I do not know much about the actor, but he was cast perfectly.

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[–] naught101@lemmy.world 11 points 1 week ago (2 children)

Killmonger from Black Panther. He had a pretty valid perspective, for the most part

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[–] Agent641@lemmy.world 11 points 1 week ago (4 children)

Genuinely the scariest movie villain

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