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Who do you think is the greatest villain in literature?

How you define "greatest" and "villain" is up to you.

do historical characters count as well or just fictional?

Corran Horn wrote:do historical characters count as well or just fictional?

Sure. They can count.

I didn't really have specific "rules" in mind when I made the topic, just thought it'd be interesting.

Very interesting topic - thanks for the idea Mordack.

Pennywise the Dancing Clown, aka Bob Gray, aka IT. I still hate clowns.

And no, the movie was a travesty. Ignore it.

Steerpike from Mervyn Peake's Gormenghast

So compelling that he's arguably the hero. There's something ever so slightly inspiring about Steerpike's meteoric ascent to power. He starts from nothing and comes from nowhere, but plots/schemes his way to the very top. He has everybody by the balls, and none of them realise until it's too late. Totally badass, totally machiavellian and totally awesome.

Honorable mentions:

Satan from John Milton's Paradise Lost

Iago from Shakespeare's Othello

Kurt Dussander from Stephen King's Apt Pupil

God in the Old Testament. Demanding the sacrifice of your children, advocating genocide, insisting in jealousy that any family member who attempted to sway you into another religion must be choked to death - they don't get worse than that.

This is more a collection of beings of evil. But the biggest dystopic villain has to be:

Big Brother from 1984 by G. Orwell.

Hmm...

Most memorable villain: Severus Snape from HP. Nothing is quite so villainous as treachery, and the emotional ties that the reader had in connection with Snape's victim made his murderous act that much worse.

Greatest, as in most powerful, villian: Sauron from LotR.

Most villainous villain: Big Brother from 1984.

Spam Bot wrote:God in the Old Testament. Demanding the sacrifice of your children, advocating genocide, insisting in jealousy that any family member who attempted to sway you into another religion must be choked to death - they don't get worse than that.

Huh! That God is actually a personal hero of mine....

Artemis Entreri was good. (Forgotten Realms, Drizzt Do'Urden novels)
Cersei Lannister (song of Ice and Fire)
Agamemnon

Sure there must be lots more... Oh well.

Taure wrote:
Most memorable villain: Severus Snape from HP. Nothing is quite so villainous as treachery, and the emotional ties that the reader had in connection with Snape's victim made his murderous act that much worse.

Ah. I guess you don't subscribe to the view that he's going to redeem himself in the final act and turn out to be an anti-hero.

I'll agree that Snape is a great character. My favourite, in fact, and one of the saving graces of the Harry Potter series. My jury's still out on where his true loyalties lie though.

Mordack wrote:

Taure wrote:
Most memorable villain: Severus Snape from HP. Nothing is quite so villainous as treachery, and the emotional ties that the reader had in connection with Snape's victim made his murderous act that much worse.

Ah. I guess you don't subscribe to the view that he's going to redeem himself in the final act and turn out to be an anti-hero.

I'll agree that Snape is a great character. My favourite, in fact, and one of the saving graces of the Harry Potter series. My jury's still out on where his true loyalties lie though.

I don't think Snape is a villain... in four days I'll probably be proved wrong... but I don't think he is really bad. Something just doesn't sit right... it seems too simple.

Of the stories I've read...two villians stand out in my mind...


The Baron Harkkonenn of the Dune Series...if ever there was a better portrayal of a depraved and disgusting human being, I challenge you to present it. He is easy to hate, forcing you to ally with the story's protaganist Paul Mua'dib...who is arguably an even greater villian, because he initiates a bloody Ji'had that slaughters billions...because the Baron had his father killed, and took his family holdings...


Perhaps my favorite though, is the Vala known as Morgoth from the Lord of the Rings...


A being born of beauty, who became twisted and ugly as he came to envy creation...eventually becoming the very essence of evil, cast beyond the borders of the universe for eternity for the atrocities he wrought...

ah... yes... melkor... thats a nice evil character...

the High Captain of Angband isnt too bad either... (Gothmog, lord of balrogs)

Knare wrote:This is more a collection of beings of evil. But the biggest dystopic villain has to be:

Big Brother from 1984 by G. Orwell.

damn it i was gonna run with V for Vendetta, but you basically beat me to the punch

Zeratul wrote:ah... yes... melkor... thats a nice evil character...

the High Captain of Angband isnt too bad either... (Gothmog, lord of balrogs)

Must admit I've not heard of Gothmog...but now I'm probably going to look him up...


I did like Ungoliant though...you have to admit that a creature so evil that the evil overlord decided it was best to just let her be, is probably a fair contender for best villian...