OT: Favorite Movie Super Villains...

We are currently in a golden age of Superhero movies and TV Shows
And with the heroes comes the villains. Some of them have been great, some have been terrible and a lot have been forgettable. I think one guy even won an Oscar.
So in the interest of mindlessly ranking things, what are your favorite on screen supervillains?
Feel free to pick from TV or the Movies, just as long as they are live action, no cartoons.

Also feel free to pick more than one version of the same character. Like if you want both Ian Mckellen and Michael Fassbender as Magneto or both Jim Carrey and Frank Gorshin’s Ridders.
Now I am doing ten, but if you don’t feel like writing that much, you can do six or four or even one. As long as it’s your favorite on screen comic book villain. And try to be specific as to why.

Now I have been putting this list off for some time, but since IMDB is on its last legs (probably Trumps fault) I think it’s time.

Oh and spoilers and what have you…




10. Two Face - Tommy Lee Jones
Batman Forever
First off, it’s not fair to lump this film together with Batman and Robin. Yes this film is more aimed at children than the Burton films, but here it works. Batman and Robin, not so much. And for the record, Schumacher wanted to make it darker, the studio didn’t want to do that. I’m still waiting on the director’s cut for this film. Anyway though, I love Tommy Lee Jones as Two Face. Is it over the top, oh yeah. But it looks like he’s having fun. I love the costume, the half black, half purple tiger striped suit. He’s got his henchmen in the gimp masks with the tommy guns with the neon trim. Schumacher loves his neon. And the two girlfriends, Debi Mazar and Drew Barrymore in their slutty little teddy’s. But really it’s was the energy he brought to the role. “LETS START THIS PARTY WITH A BANG.” “WHY WON”T YOU JUST DIE!”
And he had some other good lines too. “One man is born a hero, his brother a coward. Babies starve, politicians grow fat. Holy men are martyred, and junkies grow legion. Why? Why, why, why, why, why?”

Oh and he had a bad ass death. Falls into that watery pit, and yet he still catches his coin.






9. Zemo – Daniel Bruhl
Captain America Civil War

The biggest problem with the MCU is a lack of compelling villains. Still though, Daniel Bruhl did a great job here. He wasn’t over the top, no costume, no grand schemes, he didn’t even enjoy what he did. He just wanted the Avengers dead and he didn’t care what he had to do to get that done. And considering what happened can we really blame him. The scenes with him on the phone, talking to the old voice mails, were devastating. And Bruhl killed it. He had a real slow burn intensity thing going on.
I love the scene where he’s in his little bunker glaring at Captain America. He wasn’t yelling or screaming or carrying on. But you could tell how much he hated him.

And I liked his last scene with the Panther.
“I'm sorry about your father. He seemed a good man, with a dutiful son.”
Hope we see him in a sequel.



8. Bane – Tom Hardy
The Dark Knight Rises
Okay yeah, I had a hard time understanding some of what he said, still though, he was bad ass. The costume was great, that leather coat, and the mask. It was designed to look like the mandibles of a spider. And Hardy was ripped. That fight with him and Batman in the sewers, was brutal. I think Batman knew from the beginning of that fight that he was going to lose. And I love that speech he gave outside the prison, when he had Harvey Dent’s picture. “Do you accept this man's resignation? Do you accept the resignation of all these liars? Of all the CORRUPT.” He definitely had the whole despot thing down. Still there was something kind of tragic about his character. That scene at the end where he had to put his mask back together while fighting Batman, it was both tragic and kind of pathetic. I
know a lot of people didn’t like the twist but I did. It was unexpected and come on, who hasn’t done something stupid for a woman.





7. Ajax – Ed Skrein
Deadpool
Now I know nothing about this character or Deadpool in general. The first time I saw it, I didn’t love it. Reynolds was a little much. But upon further viewing this movie definitely grew on me.
And this guy was great as Ajax. No costume, no big speeches, no grand scheme. He’s just a guy with a 9 to 5 job. A job he performs brutally and efficiently. He brought such a menacing presence to his character. That one scene where Reynolds is in the hospital bed and says, “How tough can he be with a name like Francis.” Just the moment where the guy Ajax looks up. I thought to myself, ‘Oh this guys in trouble. Ed Skrien did a lot with just a little look. And that final fight with the axes was pretty bad ass. Oh and his number two, Angel, was pretty hot. A big girl, and hot.




6. The Shredder – James Saito
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles
Okay so this movie might seem a little silly by todays standards, but I still love it. Also it’s important to keep in mind that this is one of the earliest real superhero movies. You had Superman in 78, Batman in 89 and this in 1990. While some of the later films were a bit silly (Vanilla Ice comes to mind) this one is still a classic. It had that dark 90s grittiness that you just don’t see anymore. And James Saito was great as the Shredder. I remember being a little kid watching this movie, that scene where The Shredder was first introduced, it is burned into my mind. You see his shadow first, the music swells and then he comes in. With that long cape dragging behind him. Okay his plan to use children as an army of thieves doesn’t make a huge amount of sense, still he was bad ass. James Saito did a lot with eyes, that was really the only part of his face you could see behind the mask, but he still did a lot. Brought a lot of intensity. And I love that final fight on the roof. With most superhero fights, while the hero is usually outmatched at first, eventually they overcome their opponent. Think about the rematch between Bane and Batman in Rises. But here it’s implied that the turtles really are no match for the Shredder, they are just teenagers after all. In the final fight, four against one, they still couldn’t stop him. The whole fight only Leo landed a blow.
And I love the scene where The Shredder finally took of his mask. Saito looked pissed.



5. General Zod – Terence Stamp
Superman and Superman II
Richard Donner had grand plans for the Superman series. Unfortunately they were never fully released and we ended up with one and half films from Donner before the series was handed over to lesser men. Still we got some pretty good stuff. Especially from Stamp. His character had such an air about him. Not like the other villains. He carried himself like he was....well like he was a general and all that that entails. Think about the scene in the beginning, where he is getting sentenced to the Phantom Zone. He has absolutely no power whatsoever. And what did he say. “The vote must be unanimous, Jor-El. It has therefore now become your decision. You alone will condemn us, if you wish, and you alone will be held responsible by me.” Strong words for someone about to be sent to the Phantom Zone. And when he turns him down “ You will bow down before me! No matter that it takes an eternity, you will bow down before me - you, and one day, your heirs!” That’s a great line.

And I love the scene where he wants the President to kneel in front of him. And that other guy does it. “You are not the President. No one who leads so many could possibly kneel so quickly.” This guy’s sharp.
What’s also interesting about his character and puts him above your average villain, is his response to victory. While most villains are happy to conquer to the world, he seems depressed. Think about that scene where they’re in the White House and Ursa is trying to cheer him up. She tells him , that he is master of all he surveys. “So I was yesterday. And the day before.” Without the fight, he’s grown bored and listless. Or think about the scene where him and his crew are tearing up that small town. The Army gets sent out and they tear them apart. Easy, the army barley slows them down. “Is there no one, on this plant who can even challenge me?” He’s a real solider and without a fight he doesn’t know what to do.

Oh and in the Donner Cut, you get to see him use a machine gun.
That was cool.



4. The Joker – Jared Leto
Suicide Squad
People are too hard on the DCU. Granted some of the choices they’ve made are a little odd. While I’m not a huge fan of the MCU, they did take their time making the movies. DCU is rushing things a bit. Still, I loved Suicide Squad. And I loved Jared as the Joker. Yes, yes, I know everyone loves Heath Ledger and he did do a good job but the Nolan films were a little to self-contained. They handcuffed themselves trying to make everything so super realistic. I like that the DCU is a bit more surreal. And Jared did that great. I loved the look. The tattoos, the teeth, the whole Pimp demeanor. It looked bad ass. I know some people didn’t like it. I watched one online review where the reviewer said that Jared’s Joker was ‘to’ crazy. I didn’t think so. It’s the Joker, he’s supposed to be a crazy psychotic *beep*. And I really liked the relationship between him and Harley. Margot Robbie killed it as Harley. I can’t wait to see both of them in a new Batman movie. Giving the Joker a love interest makes him more developed and more like a three dimensional character. I’ve heard some people complain that having the Joker care about Harley makes him less evil, but I don’t think so. Even Hitler had a woman. They weren’t married long, but by all accounts they did love each other. Same thing here. And they had great chemistry. I love the scene in the Ace Chemical Factory.
“Would you Die for Me?”
“Yes.”
“Hmmmm that’s to easy. Would you…..would you live for me?”

And I also the love the scene in the nightclub, where is messing with Common.
“I love this guy, he’s so intense.”
And if you haven’t seen it yet, definitely check out the extended cut. Apparently there are still a ton of Joker scenes that we haven’t seen but you do get a few more in the extended cut.
And he had that Purple Lambo, that was a beautiful car.

3. Top Dollar - Michael Wincott
The Crow
Michael Wincott looked so bad ass in this role. That head of long straight black hair. His vintage wardrobe. He had that nightclub headquarters, with his naked half sister Bai Ling. It’s implied they had a sort of incestuous thing going on. Either way it was a sweat set up. Now the Crow was never really completed and the producers and the director had to rush and scramble to finish the film, for obvious reasons.
There were a lot of interesting scenes that were never finished. This film definitely could have been better if they hadn’t killed the lead.
Still what we got was pretty good. Top Dollar is an interesting villain. It’s implied that he has been successful for so long and that he has been on ‘Top’ for so long that he has grown complacent and bored. Spending most of his time in hazy depressed malaise. Depression and malaise were big things in the 90’s and this movie is pure 90’s. It’s not overt but it is there and it adds a little more to his character. Even the Crow coming back from the dead, barley got him excited. Still Wincott brought such a ruthless intensity to the character. He also had a real mean streak. Like an overgrown school bully. And he had some great lines to. “Well there he is. The avenger. The Killer of Killers.”
Wincott has a great voice for villainy.
But my favorite scene has got to be the one, where he has all minions together and he’s trying to get them all pumped up for Devils Night.
“I want you boys to go out there and light fire so big, it gets the gods to remember us again. I want you to come here, look me in the eye, and say ARE WE HAVING FUN OR WHAT!”
I know they have been talking for years about a remake and while it could be interesting, come on. The charms of this film cannot be recreated.
“

2. Catwoman – Michelle Pfeiffer
Batman Returns
I’m showing my age a little here, but Batman Returns was one of the first movies I ever saw in the theaters. My mother thought it was just some kid’s super hero movie. It wasn’t. I loved this movie though, even if I was horrified by some of it. I was only 5. And I loved Michelle Pfeiffer as Catwoman. She played the part perfectly. First off she’s so hot. She looks like a doll. And she looked damn good in that costume. But more than that she played the part perfectly. That scene where she tore apart her apartment was heart breaking. And the scene where Walken tried to kill her was great.
“It’s not like you can just kill me.”
“Actually it’s a lot like that.”
The costume was great to. The way it was stitched together. It was supposed to look like she was barely held together. There was a real tragic element to her character but there was also something playful about her. Think about that scene in Shrek’s department store, where she’s wrecking the place. And then she starts using her whip as a jump rope. And then she come out of the store. “Meow” And BOOM. The whole place blows up behind her. That was cool. Now a lot of times with the Catwoman character, she ends up becoming an anti-hero. Think about the Dark Knight Rises, that awful Halle Berry movie or the Hush graphic novel. What is good about this, is that even though there is a tragic sort of heroism to her character, she is still very much a villain. The end is especially tragic. Where Batman is trying to reach her, and it seems like she is considering it, but she just couldn’t. Then comes out the Taser, “How about a Kiss Santa Clause.”
That’s a great ending.
I also really liked the whole 9 lives thing. Granted it doesn’t make a lot of sense how she keeps surviving things that should have killed her but to me it fits. This whole film really is like a giant surreal urban fairy tale. So the sort of quasi mystical element I think works really well. Like there might be something mystical going on or maybe not. It’s better to keep it vague. The Catwoman movie with Halle Berry, they took the mystical elements t to far.






Honorable Mentions:
Stephen Dorff – Deacon Frost
Samuel L Jackson – Mr. Glass
Jesse Eisenberg – Lex Luthor (watch it again, it grows on you)
Christopher Walken – Max Shrek





1. The Joker – Jack Nicholson
Batman
I know, I know this is not very original. And I did struggle with the number one spot. But if it would be dishonest to put anyone else there. Jack really is the man. Granted, we’ve had a lot of good Jokers.
I loved Jared Leto has the Joker, as I’ve already mentioned. Ledger did a really good job too. And in the animated world we’ve also had a lot of good Jokers like Mark Hamill and John DiMaggio. But Jack is still the best. I mean the guys been nominated 12 times. He really is a master at playing villains. And he brought so much to the Joker. Even before the acid bath. That scene in the alley where he met Detective Eckhardt. You see his silhouette, with the trench coat and the fedora.
“You see, you can make a good decision when you try.”

That was bad ass. The whole retro 40’s look this movie had, it just fit Batman so perfectly. Burton really added so much to the Batman Universe. It’s a shame he only got to direct two movies.
Really thought, Jack was born to play this role. Well this and Jack Torracne are his best villain roles. The insanity, the personality, the purple suit. It fit his character so well. Okay the Prince songs were a little odd, but this movie was made in the 80’s. And Jack had some great lines.
“Tell me something, my friend. You ever dance with the devil in the pale moonlight?”
“What do you Want?
“My face on the one dollar bill.”
“You must be joking.”
“Do I look like I’m joking?”

“Never rub another man's rhubarb”

“And now, folks, it's time for "Who do you trust!" Hubba, hubba, hubba! Money, money, money! Who do you trust? Me? I'm giving away free money. And where is the Batman? HE'S AT HOME WASHING HIS TIGHTS”
“Jack? Jack is dead, my friend. You can call me... Joker. And as you can see, I'm a lot happier.”
“I make art until someone dies.”

And I don’t know why but I always loved this line.
“You wouldn’t hit a guy with glasses would you.”
I do love, that when Batman and the Joker finally square off, he’s totally unequipped to fight him.

And I know some people had a problem with the fact that in this universe the Joker is the one who killed Batman’s parents but to me it’s perfect. For one, the scene where the parents gets killed is amazing. Now we’ve seen this scene many times, in Gotham, Batman Begins and BvS but this one was the best. And the guy they got to play the young Jack was great. And it adds to the whole duality thing this movie pushes. You know the Joker created Batman and Batman created the Joker.
And it served a practical purpose as well. With comics, you can tell a lot of stories over time and really build the tension and animosity between the Joker and Batman. With a movie everything has to get condensed. And having the Joker be the one that killed Batman’s parents, right away that sets up why Batman hates him so much.
Oh and the Joker also had a bad ass death scene.

Anyway that’s my list. Sadly we only a few days left of IMDB, but do your best.

I’d love to hear what you guys think and remember you don’t have to do ten. For the sake of saving time feel free to do a smaller list.