Greatest Villian of all Time (Repoll, more options)

[William Ronald]

I voted for Iago, from Shakespeare's Othello.


A villain who pretends to be your friend, and appears to be helping you while he devises your fall is frighteningly realistic.

True, a lot of the names on here represent a supernatural level of evil. However, I have seen the sort of evil Iago represents in real life. It is often hard to combat.

I do have a certain fondness for the Joker and many of the other villains on this poll. Bester would also be a good choice.

Ming the Merciless from the 1980s Flash Gordon movie, in my opinion, is more evil than Darth Vader. The fellow had no qualms about torturing his own daughter.

 

[Oogar]

Double post. removed this one.

 

[Oogar]

And for good reason. Dr. Evil, the greatest villain, OF ALL TIME! Umm, no, don't think so. Might as well throw in the paperboy from Better Off Dead.

The greatest villain should be instantly recognizable by pretty much everyone. All those entries that submitters think they're scoring "kewl" points for based on obscurity are duds.

Based on his portrayal in The Empire Strikes Back, Vader should absolutely dominate all such polls. Glad to see he's in first.

On some level I would have to agree, but the person who established the poll dictated the parameters. By the inclusion of certain names Trix chose to have a more open view. If you wanted a sadly realistic view of the greatest villian of all time I would be required to vote that each man is his own greatest villian. Everyone has one person who knows all of the flaws that plague them, the person who can sabatoge even the greatest moments in ones life. In literature this is usually turned into some "Dark Side" or a characters Madness, often it is a brother, or a close friend. If we look deep enough we can see the dark truth, we destroy ourselves, and that is the only victory we can find, to overcome our own destructive impulse.

Wow, that is depressing.

 

[Kai Lord]

On some level I would have to agree, but the person who established the poll dictated the parameters. By the inclusion of certain names Trix chose to have a more open view. If you wanted a sadly realistic view of the greatest villian of all time I would be required to vote that each man is his own greatest villian. Everyone has one person who knows all of the flaws that plague them, the person who can sabatoge even the greatest moments in ones life. In literature this is usually turned into some "Dark Side" or a characters Madness, often it is a brother, or a close friend. If we look deep enough we can see the dark truth, we destroy ourselves, and that is the only victory we can find, to overcome our own destructive impulse.

Wow, that is depressing.

Nah, even if you subsribe to the idea that we are each "our own greatest villain" because of our "dark sides" then you still have varying levels of "villainy." Someone who gives in to his dark side and smokes crack and then dies is different than someone who gives in to his dark side and murders 1,000 innocent people.

But even the idea that "we are our own greatest villain" doesn't hold water. I'm sorry but a young girl who is molested by her father has a greater villain in her life than herself.

Well aren't we all warm and fuzzy now? I think I'll go watch Se7en to cheer myself up....

 

[Oogar]

Nah, even if you subsribe to the idea that we are each "our own greatest villain" because of our "dark sides" then you still have varying levels of "villainy." Someone who gives in to his dark side and smokes crack and then dies is different than someone who gives in to his dark side and murders 1,000 innocent people.

But even the idea that "we are our own greatest villain" doesn't hold water. I'm sorry but a young girl who is molested by her father has a greater villain in her life than herself.

Well aren't we all warm and fuzzy now? I think I'll go watch Se7en to cheer myself up....

I differ with you only in definition. I do not feel that criminal is the same as villain. Just my opinion. And though by definition the child molester is a villain, I was thinking in the terms of fiction. I accept that your eyes see a greater villain in reality.

 

[GnomeWorks]

As a devout FF fan for 10 years, I had to say, 'Sephiroth'.

 

[Old Fezziwig]

I voted for Iago, from Shakespeare's Othello.


A villain who pretends to be your friend, and appears to be helping you while he devises your fall is frighteningly realistic.

I'd second this one. If you wanted to, you could argue that Iago is really the main character of this play, because he drives most of the action. Othello himself mostly reacts to the mechanations of Iago. I'm not saying it's the right interpretation, but an interesting one at least. You can also prove it using Aristotle's Poetics, if you like, which is a pretty cool exercise. I think it's actually part of what makes the play neat, aside from Shakespeare's incredible craftsmanship as a playwright. Of course, in the end, I'd rather read Lear, but...

Best,
tKL