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Of late, there has been a discussion raging in another thread about the general rubbish-ness of Abbadon the Despoiler as a Galactic villain. It was even suggested that Skeletor and Megatron, both perennial losers themselves, are laughing behind the Chosen One's back.

So, in that spirit, I ask you, my fellow geeks, just who are the greatest and worst Villains in the SF/Fantasy pantheon? He/She/It can be from any sort of media, comic, film, cartoon, Game etc. Post your picks and tell me why?

My pick for the greatest:

Emperor Palpatine from the Star wars Saga.



Why? He actually did 'it'. He conquered the Galaxy, unlike his many rivals. In a few short years, he went from obscure Senator from some backwater planet to Chancellor to Emperor of a galaxy far, far away. Then he held it against all comers for a good twenty years. Not too shabby. If you include the post 'Jedi' books and comics he evn manages to make several come backs (as a clone no less).

For the Worst:

Le Chiffre from Casino Royale.



The least scary villain ever. Oh no! Not a merchant banker. If he catches me he might freeze my assets! My credit rating might slip! He might even cut up my credit cards! However will we stop his evil machinations? I know, let's play cards with him! It will be far less preposterous than just shooting him in the head.

So far as I can tell off the top of my head, Kefka from Final Fantasy VI is the only villain in the series who actually completed his goal. My vote is for him.

Gotta go with Kefka too. The best villian I've ever seen.

I don't play FF, but from the Wikipedia entry it sounds like he would only count as an also ran. Sure, he made himself a god or whatever but only on one planet. Then apparently he gets offed pretty quickly by the game party from what I can see. On top of all that, he's a clown. Not bad, but hardly the greatest.

Anyways, how about a candidate for worst villain? And some reasons why?

Emperor Palpatine - a mere 20 years? Pffft.

My pick for greatest villain of all time
The Emperor of Mankind. (Warhammer 40,000)

Over the course of his lifetime he:
A) Tricked the Ad-Mech into thinking he was the Omnissiah
B) Wiped out billions of sentient beings
C) Conquered most of the human held worlds in the galaxy, purging those who didnt side with him
D) Set up a galaxy wide belief that racism was the only way to go
E) Planned to put his son (Magnus) on the Golden Throne to power his own webway
F) Pretty much caused the Heresy by acting like a grade A bastich to roughly half his "sons"
G) Became a God

And he would have gotten away with it if it hadn't been for those darn kids.

Worst villain of all time:
Mumm-ra the Ever Living (Thundercats)
So basically he is Immortal, stronger, tougher and god-like in his power, yet every week, every time, he got trapped in his sarcophagus after having his butt kicked by a different Thundercat. He managed to conquer the room he lived (or is that un-lived) in and that was pretty much it. Every attempt to take control of more of the planet was defeated by a guy who couldnt even style his own hair wielding a magic sword which had a pair of built in binoculars and a flashlight. The only villain that comes close to this level of ineptitude is Shredder from Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, but that was supposed to be a comedy.

Not bad, but the fact that he is pretty much dead counts against him don't you think? His control of the galaxy is hardly as complete as the SW Emporer. His is not so much an 'iron' grip as a grip composed of newspapers soaked in water for several days.
He might have been great in his hey day but after being put to bed in his golden cot 10,000 years ago he isn't really that terrifying anymore.
On top of all that, Marine and IG fanboys around the world would beg to differ with your accusation that he is a villain. The Inquisition will be around shortly.

I do agree though, that Mumm-rah was a rubbish villain. But what's with the hating on Shredder? Splinter and the Turtles outnumbered him 5 versus 3 or 4.

I reckon Ivan Drago has to be in the running for biggest under achiever.

On paper, he should have absolutely massacred Rocky. if you look at the stats;

Rocky - 5' 11
Drago - 6' 5

Rocky - 204 lbs
Drago - 261 lbs

Rocky - 74" reach
Drago - 81"

Ivan Drago was training in a state of the art Soviet facility, being pumped full of roids, going home at night to boink Brigitte Nielson (not a bad way to 'release' the pressure of all that training), and was fighting in front of the home crowd.

Rocky was stuck in a barn in Siberia, freezing his nuts off, training with logs. And to top it all off he had his fat, weezing, Danny Devito look-a-like brother in law Pauly to keep him company.

Drago should have made mince meat out of him. Instead he gets beaten and the then Rocky gives an impassioned thank you speech to the crowd which receives a standing ovation both from the crowd and the politicians in attendance, effectively ending the Cold War.

Drago was totally pwned!

John Doe from the movie Se7en has got to be in the running for the biggest achiever.

The man had a plan, the man achieved his plan. Sure, he died, but his death was part of the plan. In fact, by dying, he was a complete success

Supremely intelligent, excellent at planning, completely fearless, total and utter self belief, and a grade A nutter.

WHY SO SERIOUS?

The Joker. Either the one from the comics, the first TV series, Jack Nicolson or The Dark Knight.

Failing that it's got to be this gentlemen in any role but especially the Count.

http://christopherleeweb.com/content/dracula-1

Have you ever read up on Christopher Lee's life? The man was a complete bad-ass both on and off the screen.