posted
Achille. Nuff said. I love psycho villans. But actually, I think that the Joker is a pretty cool dude. I wonder how crazy these two bastards could get if they ever met. Which is obviously impossible since Achille was killed by Bean...
Posts: 3389 | Registered: Apr 2004
| IP: Logged |
posted
I'd have to say Lucifer. Not only has he managed to (pretty successfully) battle a supreme diety for thousands of years, but his reputation has become such that millions of evil-doers everywhere give him credit for things he didn't even need to have a hand in.
Posts: 6394 | Registered: Dec 1999
| IP: Logged |
posted
"You brought Red Jello to the picnic? You hussy. Red is Lucifer's color. Who helped you pick Red, was it, oh I don't know...SATAN!!!!"
Yes, but the Church Lady on SNL is more evil. She did evil and had you believing she was fighting Lucifer while doing it.
Posts: 11895 | Registered: Apr 2002
| IP: Logged |
posted
Emperor Palpatine, most especially in Return of the Jedi and Revenge of the Sith (novel). I think it's just the voice in the movie and the friendly evil in the book that makes him #1.
Posts: 17164 | Registered: Jun 2001
| IP: Logged |
quote:Originally posted by Scott R: >>Not only has he managed to (pretty successfully) battle a supreme diety for thousands of years
Well. . .from a certain point of view, the Devil is just a tool for God to further His plan.
From that POV, Lucifer isn't successful, he's pathetic.
Yeah, I knew that was coming, but by that standard, all villainy is just a tool to further God's plan, so Lucifer is still the top tool, no?
Posts: 6394 | Registered: Dec 1999
| IP: Logged |
posted
Define "great". Do you mean, "Wow, that villain is great!" or the worst and most villainous villain of all time?
Posts: 12266 | Registered: Jul 2005
| IP: Logged |
posted
Yeah, we need to define what great is. If it's the most successful villain (meaning successful at doing the villain thing), I'd probably have to go with Joker. I mean he shot a Robin and a Batgirl (paralyzing the latter), he killed a Robin, he's always pushing Batman's buttons, he kills at least one person every time he breaks out of Arkham Asylum. He's just an insane villain.
Posts: 1960 | Registered: May 2005
| IP: Logged |
posted
Batman came close to killing him recently (maybe 2 years ago?), but Commisioner Gordon stopped him (saying that Batman would be as bad as the Joker if he killed him).
Posts: 1960 | Registered: May 2005
| IP: Logged |
He was fanatical, but rational and intelligent about it. He also had the backing of the galactic powers that be. Scary.
Posts: 5462 | Registered: Apr 2005
| IP: Logged |
posted
He's out, in my mind, because he was human enough to convert in the end. A truely "great" villain, is a villain to the bitter end.
Posts: 6394 | Registered: Dec 1999
| IP: Logged |
My vote goes to Doctor Robotnik. Or for pure, unadultered evil with zero sympathizable qualities, Kevin of Sin City fame.
Posts: 4313 | Registered: Sep 2004
| IP: Logged |
posted
I'm going to go with Bill Sykes. At the moment, it'll change when I start listening to/watching/reading something else.
Posts: 4655 | Registered: Jan 2002
| IP: Logged |
quote:Originally posted by starLisa: Jim Gordon is a twit. The bloody Joker paralyzed his daughter, for crying out loud.
I think The Killing Joke gave us a pretty good look at Gordon's reasons for not letting Batman kill the Joker after that happened, too. He's definitely an idealist, but I don't think being against cold-blooded revenge makes him a twit.
For comic book villains, the Joker has always been one of my absolute favorites. The whole "Should Batman kill the Joker?" debate is revisited so well so many times (The Killing Joke, Dark Knight Returns, Hush, and especially in Kingdom Come, to name a few) that I have a hard time picturing Batman's central story arc without the Joker. Plus, he's got style, he delights in all the horrible things he does, and he's the perfect counterpoint to the Batman. I like the idea that the best weapon against the greatest detective's methodical logic and investigation is just sheer insanity.
quote:Originally posted by starLisa: Jim Gordon is a twit. The bloody Joker paralyzed his daughter, for crying out loud.
Of course, by the time this Crisis is over, she'll probably be all better.
Actually, just a few issues ago in Birds of Prey, her paralysis was cured (due to some kind of techno organic thing or something). So yeah, she's technically all better now.
Posts: 1960 | Registered: May 2005
| IP: Logged |
posted
Recently, somebody said that the Psycho Villian is a cop-out, since his motivation is that he's crazy.
I think it CAN be, if you use it to replace any reasonable motivation at all. Why did he do that? Because he's crazy!
But I also think you can have a villian who does really awful stuff that is still understandable. Like that guy in Hart's Hope who rapes a little girl? No, wait... that was the good guy In any case, I thought it was really cool that she gave him diarhea for 300 years. Heh, heh.
quote:Originally posted by Olivet: I thought it was really cool that she gave him diarhea for 300 years.
It was more like he was cursed with irritable bowel syndrome -- alternating constipation and diarrhea. Also embarrassing itches. Now that's a villain with a creative streak.
Posts: 10397 | Registered: Jun 2005
| IP: Logged |