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The Greatest Literary Villains of All Time
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<blockquote data-quote="Clint_L" data-source="post: 9610475" data-attributes="member: 7035894"><p>More villains for your consideration:</p><p></p><p>Bob Ewell, <em>To Kill a Mockingbird </em>by Harper Lee. The personification of hateful racism who violates his own daughter, gets a Black man framed and killed for it, and dies while trying to murder innocent children.</p><p></p><p>Lex Luthor, <em>Superman et al</em>. Comics are literature - I'll die on that hill. Which opens up a whole raft of possibilities, but I've gotta go with the perfect antithesis to Superman's dopey strong man. Runner ups: Dr. Doom, Joker.</p><p></p><p>Dolores Umbridge, <em>Harry Potter series </em>by JK Rowling. Sure, Voldemorte is the Big Bad (and should probably be on the list already) but Umbridge is the more relatably despicable villain, IMO.</p><p></p><p>Amy Dunne, <em>Gone Girl </em>by Gillian Flynn. She's already referenced through another character on the list, but I think this scheming, manipulative, and ultimately murderous psycho is more than worthy of her own place.</p><p></p><p>Shere Khan, <em>The Jungle Book </em>by Rudyard Kipling. Come on, how can you have a villains list without the most eloquent man-eating tiger in literature? Okay, short list, but still.</p><p></p><p>Jean-Baptiste Grenouille, <em>Perfume</em> by Patrick Süskind. We used to teach this book, believe it or not, and Grenouille is probably the most disturbing villainous hero you will ever read.</p><p></p><p>Ozymandias, <em>Watchmen </em>by Alan Moore. How did they miss this master manipulator from their list - he's built for that category!</p><p></p><p>Jack Merridew, <em>The Lord of the Flies</em>, by William Golding: Hell hath no fury like a prep school boy scorned.</p><p></p><p>Adults, <em>The Catcher in the Rye</em> by J. D. Salinger. Buncha phonies, the lot of them.</p><p></p><p>The Other Mother, <em>Coraline </em>by Neil Gaiman. Okay, I'm citing some creations from authors who have turned out to be <em>pretty objectionable</em>, but setting that aside, is there a creepier bogeyman?</p><p></p><p>Edit: we could do a whole other list of best villains written by villainous authors!</p><p></p><p>Arkady Ivanovich Svidrigailov, <em>Crime and Punishment </em>by Fyodor Dostoevsky. Ugh, this guy. A supremely sociopathic manipulator, exploiter, and abuser.</p><p></p><p>Count Rugen, <em>The Princess Bride </em>by William Goldman. Sure, Prince Humperdink is the nominal Big Bad, but I'm going to go to bat for the six-fingered "You killed my father; prepare to die!" Rugen. (Not to mention Vizzinni - Goldman gives us THREE classic villains in one book, along with two villains-turned-hero in Inigo Montoya and Fezzick, and another hero posing as a villain in Westley!).</p><p></p><p>Edit: The Wicked Witch of the West, <em>Oz series </em>by L. Frank Baum. I just assumed that she would be on the original list, but I'm not seeing her. Shocking omission - she not only tries to kill a naive waif from Kansas, <em>she even</em> <em>threatens her dog</em>!</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Clint_L, post: 9610475, member: 7035894"] More villains for your consideration: Bob Ewell, [I]To Kill a Mockingbird [/I]by Harper Lee. The personification of hateful racism who violates his own daughter, gets a Black man framed and killed for it, and dies while trying to murder innocent children. Lex Luthor, [I]Superman et al[/I]. Comics are literature - I'll die on that hill. Which opens up a whole raft of possibilities, but I've gotta go with the perfect antithesis to Superman's dopey strong man. Runner ups: Dr. Doom, Joker. Dolores Umbridge, [I]Harry Potter series [/I]by JK Rowling. Sure, Voldemorte is the Big Bad (and should probably be on the list already) but Umbridge is the more relatably despicable villain, IMO. Amy Dunne, [I]Gone Girl [/I]by Gillian Flynn. She's already referenced through another character on the list, but I think this scheming, manipulative, and ultimately murderous psycho is more than worthy of her own place. Shere Khan, [I]The Jungle Book [/I]by Rudyard Kipling. Come on, how can you have a villains list without the most eloquent man-eating tiger in literature? Okay, short list, but still. Jean-Baptiste Grenouille, [I]Perfume[/I] by Patrick Süskind. We used to teach this book, believe it or not, and Grenouille is probably the most disturbing villainous hero you will ever read. Ozymandias, [I]Watchmen [/I]by Alan Moore. How did they miss this master manipulator from their list - he's built for that category! Jack Merridew, [I]The Lord of the Flies[/I], by William Golding: Hell hath no fury like a prep school boy scorned. Adults, [I]The Catcher in the Rye[/I] by J. D. Salinger. Buncha phonies, the lot of them. The Other Mother, [I]Coraline [/I]by Neil Gaiman. Okay, I'm citing some creations from authors who have turned out to be [I]pretty objectionable[/I], but setting that aside, is there a creepier bogeyman? Edit: we could do a whole other list of best villains written by villainous authors! Arkady Ivanovich Svidrigailov, [I]Crime and Punishment [/I]by Fyodor Dostoevsky. Ugh, this guy. A supremely sociopathic manipulator, exploiter, and abuser. Count Rugen, [I]The Princess Bride [/I]by William Goldman. Sure, Prince Humperdink is the nominal Big Bad, but I'm going to go to bat for the six-fingered "You killed my father; prepare to die!" Rugen. (Not to mention Vizzinni - Goldman gives us THREE classic villains in one book, along with two villains-turned-hero in Inigo Montoya and Fezzick, and another hero posing as a villain in Westley!). Edit: The Wicked Witch of the West, [I]Oz series [/I]by L. Frank Baum. I just assumed that she would be on the original list, but I'm not seeing her. Shocking omission - she not only tries to kill a naive waif from Kansas, [I]she even[/I] [I]threatens her dog[/I]! [/QUOTE]
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