Evil will always triumph, that is a fact that Lord Dark Helmet from Spaceballs once declared. And in the world of fiction, there have been a plethora of vile, sadistic, and evil villains who have etched their names in our minds through their heinous deeds. And today, WatchMojo is counting down the Top 30 Most Evil Characters of All Time.
From the monstrous Sauron to the calculating Nurse Ratched, and from the psychopathic Gus Fring to the deranged and twisted Pennywise, these villains have haunted our nightmares and captured our imaginations. Each of these characters, whether from literature, movies, or television, have left an indelible mark on us with their cruelty, ruthlessness, and sheer malevolence.
But the list doesn’t stop there, with other iconic villains like the manipulative and sadistic Jigsaw, the insidious Emperor Sheev Palpatine, and the enigmatic Joker making our skin crawl with their evil intentions.
These characters, with their dark histories, twisted motivations, and penchant for evil deeds, have cemented their places as some of the most iconic villains in fiction. And while our list may not include every despicable character out there, we invite you to share your favorite villain in the comments below.
So buckle up and get ready to dive into the dark and twisted world of the Top 30 Most Evil Characters of All Time. And remember, evil might always triumph, but that doesn’t mean we can’t enjoy the thrill of a truly wicked villain.
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There’s No Going Back you’ve changed things forever welcome to watch Mojo and today we’re counting down our picks for some of the most vile sadistic and evil villains in fiction break me down with all of your hatred and your journey towards the dark side will be complete number 30 the Sheriff of
Nottingham that’s it cancel the kitchen scraps for lepers and orphans no more merciful beheading and call off Christmas the sheriff of notingham serves largely as a representation and the metaphor is pretty clear the sheriff is the main antagonist in the legend of Robin Hood and as you all know Robin Hood steals
From the rich and gives to the poor Robin Hood steals money from my pocket forcing me to hurt the public and they love him for it yes the sheriff is the very embodiment of Z Rich he is is Covetous he is selfish and he imposes unaffordable taxes on the citizens of
Nating Hamshire he is the very personification of greed and Aus he’s also been portrayed by some true movie Legends perhaps most famously by Alan Rickman and Robin Hood prince of Thieves Rober do you mind Loxy we’ve just been married number 29 the Great Grand High witch of all the world Ral doll’s 1983 dark fantasy story The Witches was adapted to film twice in every version of the tale the grand High witch is the queen of the baddies either I demand maximum results she
Rules over a secret cabal of witches hiding among Humanity as their ancient and terrible leader she’s held power through viciousness and fear these qualities are matched only by her thirst for blood she she’s quite literally dubbed quote the most evil and appalling woman in the world so you know in both
The books and the films she is portrayed as a terrifying hag now I’ve got you and her goal she tries to turn every child in the country into a rodent she figures the parents will take care of the rest number 28 Claude frolo Claude frolo is as evil as they come in the
Hunchback of nraam despite his piety and his Rescue of a baby Quasimoto he is a man with few virtues and who knows our Lord works in mysterious ways even this foul creature May yet prove one day to be of use to me in Victor Hugo’s book he is
Ruled by his Lust For Esmeralda that lust grows into a singular Obsession somehow the Disney version of frolo the character most of us know and hate is even worse this take on the antagonist also emphasizes his bigotry against the Romany how dare you defy me you mistreat
This poor boy the same way you mistreat my people you speak of Justice yet you are cruel to those most in need of your help silence Justice he is driven to eradicate them from the streets of Paris even as he longs to possess as meralda as his own he manipulates Quasimoto for
His own ends and hides his own sin behind his faith it’s horrid number 27 the Borg the original Star Trek series aired amid the Cold War and its antagonists reflected the sentiments at the time the Klingons and romulans respectively came to represent America’s geopolitical foes the warlike Soviet
Union and the subtle communist China when Star Trek the Next Generation aired 20 years later they needed something new interesting isn’t it not a he not a she not like anything you’ve ever seen an enhanced humanoid what is it you want enter the Borg a cybernetic race bent on absorbing
Every other species into a hive mind known as the collective for decades across television and film the Borg have haunted the likes of captains Jean luk Bard and Katherine janway oh and all of us do what all good pragmatists do Admiral compromise when the main words group speaks our resistance is futile
You know you’re not in Friendly company number 26 Voss Montenegro Voss Montenegro is only the secondary bad guy in the 2012 Far Cry 3 game but you wouldn’t know that given how much they featured him in promotional materials from California huh huh well I hope your M mind and your
Papa really really love you because you two white boys you look very expensive and that’s good because I like expensive things when Michael Mando showed up to audition he decided to wing it he crushed it and Ubisoft seemingly knew they had something special on their hands so they
Rewrote the character a criminal with substance use disorder around the actor Montenegro is an absolutely off-the-wall monster with a love for violence in other words he’s a nightmare and the perfect foil for protagonist Jason Brody did I ever tell you the definition of Insanity oh Jesus after all Voss is who Brody could become if he allows himself to go dark nobody wants to confront that version of themselves number 25 lady McBeth before Cersei Lannister there was Lady McBeth come you Spirits attend on Mortal Thoughts unsex me here and fill me from the crown to the
Toe toop full of direst Cruelty both were Noble women using their positions to leverage whatever power they could in a cruel patriarchal system things ultimately end poorly for both of them similarly to Iago in athell lady MC Beth manipulates behind the scenes she Whispers poison into her husband’s ear
And sets him on a murderous path and even though she winds up a tragic figure she’s also something of a monster even if it’s not the traditional kind after all the consequences of her actions are brutal and real and wind up affecting her too in the play’s Final Act she
Loses her grip on reality imagining blood on her hands that won’t wash off will these hands now be clean no more of that my Lord no more of that overwhelmed she takes her own life number 24 Mr Hyde despite being introduced way back in 1886 Mr Hyde is still synonymous with
Evil such is the stand power of a wonderfully written villain as you probably all know Edward Hyde represents the evil traits of protagonist Henry Jackal nothing unlike his kind and moral counterpart Mr Hyde is completely merciless and is willing to indulge in vices and perform actions that Jackal is
Not willing to do including murder Dam my sweet Dam my d D my little bride perhaps the story has remained so relevant due to its topicality and universality after all who Among Us hasn’t had to repress sinful or perhaps even violent urges throughout our lives jeel could not
Resist the temptation and it completely ruined his life now let that be a lesson to you bam there he is there’s your man number 23 Carnage Cletus Cassidy part red alien symbiote part murderer Cletus Cassidy there’s no denying that Carnage is one of the most deranged villains in all of
Marvel Comics as a child Cassidy was a well-established killer before he even learned how to drive when he becomes the Symbiote first host Carnage is cemented as a truly unparalleled Menace In the Maximum Carnage storyline of the 1990s the villain drenches the streets of New York and blood it doesn’t
Stop there either also causing destruction in Texas among other places Carnage’s ruthlessness is profound and its powers are nothing short of impressive an evil and dangerous combination that makes for one of Spider-Man’s scariest foes there you are death to you father no not you father you number 22 Ganon Ganondorf Ganon is much like shaon he is massive he wields some incredible pieces of mystical magic and he wants nothing more than to rule the world he originally appeared in an imposing borlik form before obtaining his signature humanoid appearance in Ocarina of Time still imposing just in a different way he also serves as the very embodiment of evil not just because of his awesome stature dangerous abilities and the use of the Triforce of power but also because he’ll use a variety of evil methods to obtain his desires including political manipulation Ganon is easily
One of Gaming’s most iconic and most Unstoppable Villains number 21 Fire Lord oai despite originally being the primary antagonist of the show Fire Lord oai is a villain with surprising depth for media aimed at children oh that’s just beautiful on the one hand voice actor Mark Hamill plays him as a straight stist he’s more than
Willing to kill and burn in order to exert his will on the world as the series goes on however we understand that oai is both a victim and perpetrator of generational trauma his family was brutal and his relationship with his father whom he ultimately killed speaks volumes although he had
The opportunity to transcend his past he instead carried on the cycle of abuse with his own children rise and fight Prince Zuko I won’t fight you you will learn respect and suffering will be your teacher number 20 Kevin Thompson killgrave AKA purp man Marvel’s Jessica Jones introduced killgrave aka the
Show’s take on the purple man into the MCU killgrave is a textbook example of the popular idiom hurt people hurt people oh oh everyone calm down you’re killing the mood Jessica I’m not surprised to see me you got to know I’d come for you in the show we learned that his parents cruel
Experiments gave him the ability to control people’s minds talk about holding a lot of power and let’s just say he doesn’t really use it for good making him a villainous force to be reckoned with he could destroy free will with a single spoken word as evidenced by the horrors he inflicts on Jessica
Jones and his other victims th Death By A Thousand Cuts do it one this is an absolute Menace number 19 Pennywise it despite a bibliography spanning decades Pennywise is arguably Stephen King’s greatest creation where you going yet if you lived here you’d be home by now come Jo the clown
It you’ll float down there we float down there of course it serves as the very personification of evil itself as it takes on whatever form its victim is afraid of most and it does this because get this it makes its victims tastier yeah it’s pretty depraved and
Like Freddy Krueger it has a massive ego and constantly taunts its victims with horrific visuals and cocky asdes you want to play lugie oh and let’s not forget that it is actually a shapeless and eon’s old alien that comes from something called the macroverse we’ve got quite literally a
Little bit of everything here including some love crafty and Madness what’s not to love number 18 dark side if you take the power and Malice of Thanos and add in the purple man’s mind control ability you basically get dark side one of the worst villains to come out of DC Comics
I will stride across their bones and bask in the glow of anti lifee and all of existence shall be mine dark side is part of an alien race known as the new Gods Immortal and almost Invincible he rules his fiery Planet apocalypse without Mercy bending his subjects to
His will by any means necessary AR but that’s not all he’s also in search of the anti-life equation a power that would essentially allow him to enslave all life after taking away free will anti lifee is found Toad and we will stop at nothing to possess it ready the
Armada we will use the old ways because of that Quest he has destroyed countless lives and done so in brutal fashion evil barely begins to describe it number 17 scar if we’re going by the The Lion King is just Hamlet for kids argument which we totally should because it’s true then
Scar is the cartoon equivalent of King Claudius life’s not fair is it only he’s a lot worse whereas claudus showed some remorse for his actions scar is totally Unrepentant long live the king not only is he conniving he’s also not above killing his own nephew to obtain complete and total control run away and never Return kill him this guy is cold everyone intrinsically hates scar because we’ve been living with his misdeeds since childhood he is a fantastic introduction to the elements of depravity greed and total selfishness and fascism children have to learn about it eventually number 16 agent Smith agent Smith is a sensient
Computer program and the principal villain in The Matrix franchise Smith is essentially the head game warden in the Nature Preserve called The Matrix as you can see we’ve had our eye on you for some time now Mr Anderson it seems that you’ve been living two lives his job is to maintain
Order and hopefully find a way to destroy the free human city of Zion but he’s also defined by an utter disdain for Humanity and his resentment fuels unforgivable callous behavior when Neo kills Smith at the end of the first film he inadvertently frees him from the confines of the matrix’s laws with his
Newfound freedom and power Smith seeks to dominate every person and program on Earth we’re not here because we’re free we’re here because we’re not free there’s no escaping reason no denying purpose because as we both know without purpose we would not exist he threatens all life both artificial and organic
Forcing them to join forces to defeat him yikes number 15 jigsaw hello Michael I want to play a game it doesn’t get much more depraved than the jigsaw killer unlike most movies of it ilk the sof franchise actually personified jigsaw by giving him a tragic backstory and a legitimate motivation but that
Doesn’t make him any less sick of all the traditional horror movie Killers jigsaw is easily one of the most psychotic not only because he forces his victims to harm and traumatize themselves if they survive but because he genuinely believes he’s doing good those who don’t appreciate life do not
Deserve life he’s not just some mindless and Unstoppable killer that walks around in a mask he’s just a man with a really sick and twisted sense of righteousness not to mention an obscene imagination most people are so ungrateful to be alive but not you not anymore number 14 Hannibal Lecter people
Will say we’re in love Hannibal is a highly intelligent man who once worked as a forensic psychiatrist before being imprisoned for you know cannibalism there’s something intrinsic and Primal about fearing Hannibal Lector one look into his emotionless eyes is enough to set off some instinctual warning Bells pett about poor Catherine
Though ticktock ticktock ticktock Tick Tock it’s like looking into the eyes of a lion you just know this thing is going to overpower you and eat you for dinner without a second thought plus Hanah often uses his intelligence to his benefit resulting in his ever elusive
Nature I do wish we could chat longer but I’m having an old friend for dinner bye it doesn’t get much scarier than Hannibal Lector not when it comes to human villains anyway number 13 homelander while originally written for the boys Comics homelander has evolved into a pop culture icon in the Amazon
Prime video adaptation homelander your boys [Applause] Okay can I can I get a selfie of course you can in a world where most superheroes are also terrible people homelander is the worst of the worst draped in the stars and stripes his patriotic facade only serves to mask a self-absorbed sociopathy he isn’t just an evil Superman homelander is worse
He’s the personification of toxic masculine inity at its worst he’s a bigot a misogynist and a parody of many politicians today sometimes well these things just happened wait this happened before how many times well no hold on guys my point is we all have the same goals don’t we
Unfortunately he’s not channeling some unrealistic far-fetched villainy that’s scary enough to make matters even scarier though there appears to be a subset of fans who love him unironically number 12 Keva Palazo the Final Fantasy video game series is host to a wide variety of villains ranging from the evil priests evil mercenaries
And in one case an evil tree yet after 15 installments and countless spin-offs this maniacal gesture from the sixth installment of the series Remains the most evil of the lot here comes kka Bo let’s teach them a thing or two or three to put it simply KFA views all life all
Culture hell all of existence is worthless a means to fuel his desire for Destruction he’ll even betray his own allies without a second thought just because he feels like it yet even when he manages to devastate the world and obtain Godlike Powers that’s still not enough for him it’s not enough d destroy more I’ve got to destroy more number 11
Gus Fring as any loyal Breaking Bad viewer knows Gus Fring was an almost Unstoppable villain ruthlessly efficient in running his Empire unafraid to make Cuts if you know what we mean I don’t think we’re alike at all Mr White you are not a cautious man at all
Throughout the series he buried his true calculated self behind the mask of a respectable local business owner when in reality the chicken man has a spine of pure steel and is someone that you really do not want to mess with fans were over the moon when the drug lord
Was brought back in season 3 of Better Call Saul you can’t replicate that kind of evil between his Savage rivalry with loo salamona and his countless misdeeds he is a vile one wow that explains everything I am glad you are satisfied number 10 Freddy Krueger please God this is
God despite the campy sequels and his colorful personality Freddy Krueger is undeniably one of the scariest slashers in movie history for one thing there’s literally no escaping him you can’t run away you can’t hide and you can’t outthink him you’ll have to sleep eventually and when you do Freddy will
Be waiting he was a monster in real life as well as he earned the nickname Springwood Slasher due to his propensity for torture and murder hello I’m your boyfriend now Nancy his finger knives and horribly burnt face are also literally the stuff of nightmares to make matters worse he’s
Also incredibly cocky and isn’t above viciously taunting you before he finishes you off he’s a walking smorgus Board of scares you number nine nurse ratchet the true horror and villainy of nurse ratchet isn’t just that she’s a terrible person it’s also that she’s the callous unfeeling face of a dehumanizing system this
Ratchet yes Mr Cheswick I asked you a question I heard your question Mr Cheswick and I will answer your question as soon as you’ve calmed down okay in One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest patients are boxes to check and sources of income rather than people to genuinely treat
Their human ity is an inconvenience to nurse ratchet and she doesn’t care to stop to truly see the individuals in her care she has ice in her veins and only cares about things going her way in the psychiatric institution don’t don’t have to tell her Miss ratchet I don’t have to tell
Her your mother and I are old friends you know that the fact that there are real life nurse ratchets out there in the world makes her all the more horrifying we see the worst of humanity in her and it is not pleasant number eight Anton chur what’s the most you
Ever lost on a coas sir the most you ever lost on a CO toas I don’t know I couldn’t say cormack McCarthy the Cohen Brothers and of course heavier bardam all helped create one of the greatest villains in recent years Anton is the primary antagonist of McCarthy’s No Country for Old Men and
The resulting movie adaptation and we never thought a guy with that kind of haircut could be so menacing like many of McCarthy’s villains shagar is more of a walking talking metaphor than a three-dimensional character you mean the nature of this conversation I mean the nature of you and what shur represents
Is certainly up to interpretation although many fans and Scholars have debated elements of death chance and fate is he death himself does he represent remorseless fate either way he’s a stone cold and emotionless killer and there is nothing scarier than that that you got no cause to hurt me
No but I gave my word you gave your word to your husband number seven Joffrey Baratheon please let me go home I won’t do any treason I swear mother says I’m still to marry you so you’ll stay here and Obey Game of Thrones was filled with complex and three-dimensional characters and even
The most evil characters weren’t portrayed as mustache twirling cartoon villains aside from Joffrey Baratheon well and Ramsey Bolton you in the game if you can figure out who I am and why I’m torturing you and I win the game if you beg me to cut off your finger but
Joffrey Takes the Cake he has absolutely zero redeeming qualities and even his selfish and conniving family thinks he’s the worst killing you would send your brother a message but my mother insists on keeping you Al he’s a perfect representation of a spoiled child given way too much power
He kills on a whim and often without thinking of the consequences treats his citizens and family like dirt and Roots his entertainment in the suffering of others and to make matters worse he’s a total crybaby his painful death could not come fast enough he’s choking I’m
The poor boy number six Hans Landa Landa is arguably Quenton Tarantino’s greatest villain what are you aware that they call you the J precisely not only is he a brilliantly written character but he’s played with a inspiring reverence by Kristoff Waltz who went on to win like all of the
Awards Landa takes pride in being Wicked and feared egotistically embodying his nickname by using manipulative tactics and a false sense of friendliness to kill Jewish people souen he’s also a complete monster who hides behind his admittedly alluring charm he is fiercely intelligent and is able to outsmart his enemies at every
Turn even in the end he’s able to warm his way out of trouble well mostly by betraying Hitler and the Nazi party to the in glorious bastards the smartest villains are always the scariest gentlemen I have no intention of killing Hitler and killing GES and killing ging and killing bourman not to mention
Winning the war single-handedly for the Allies only later to find myself standing before a Jewish tribunal if you want to win the war tonight we have to make a deal number five Michael Myers don’t let the everyday name fool you Michael Myers is not human I met this six-year-old child
With this blank pale emotionless face and the blackest diet well he is but not really Michael Myers also goes by the shape or the boogeyman which is perhaps a more apt description Michael is arguably the most influential Slasher in movie history as his template was used for countless villains throughout the
Year ear all right all right come on where’s my beer well can’t you answer me slow but menacing and unrelenting totally unkillable completely emotionless and silent and seemingly without a shred of humanity No the first Halloween implies that nothing made Michael evil he was simply born into it and that is a horrifying summation of humanity some people are just empty and soulless and that is not a comforting thought number four Sauron once again we have a villain that represents the very concept of evil
Itself Sauron was never meant to be much of a character he was always meant to serve as a representation of evil greed and the fallibility of man in the land of Mordor in the fires of M Doom the dark lord Sauron forged in secret a Master Ring to control all others and
Into this ring he poured his cruelty his malice and his will to dominate all life he makes a ring to rule Middle Earth and most people caught in the Ring’s vicinity especially humans are drawn to and corrupted by its Promises of unimaginable power but even the brief glances of Sauron we
Do get like his striking immensity formidable armor the fiery eye of Sauron and his guttural whispers are enough to scare us senseless you cannot die I [Applause] see in even in scenes not directly involving Sauron or the ring his oppressive presence and Promises of Destruction are felt he is an omnipotent evil incarnate
A great eye lidless breathed in flame s he is gathering all evil to him number three Voldemort we’ve all had bad teachers but none quite like Dolores Umbridge students will raise their hands when they speak in my class however we were starting to realize that some of the greatest
Villains are really just analoges of dictators and that’s where he who must not be named comes in Voldemort is this to the Magic World he unequivocally believes in blood Purity he leads a devout following of violent and Prejudice minions and he wishes for complete and total control of the magical world I confess
Myself disappointed he also has dark magic on his side and people are literally afraid to say his name out of fear and traumatic memories of the first Wizarding War you have to be a special kind of evil for people to fear your very name a few years ago there was one
Wizard that went as bad as you can go and his name was his name was maybe you wrote it down no I can’t spell it all right Voldemort like Sauron the threat of Voldemort hangs over the early novels even when Voldemort himself is incapacitated he is universally feared
And his evil presence is unrelenting number two the Joker The Joker is easily one of the most prolific villains in modern history I’m a man of my word Joker is an OG Batman villain having first appeared in the Debut Issue of Batman in 1940 since then he and his
Psychotic ways have popped up in animation video games movies TV shows you name it give me one reason why I shouldn’t have my boy here pull your head off how about a magic trick Joker is one of the most enticing villains not because he’s fun and novel although he
Certainly is that but because he’s cunning manipulative and intelligent I wanted to see what you do and you didn’t disappoint you let five people die then you let Dent take your place even to a guy like me that’s cold this is perhaps best displayed in the dark night when the Joker constantly
Outsmarts and manipulates everyone and remains one step ahead of his targets despite displaying no superhuman characteristics The Joker Remains the most threatening and dangerous villain in comic book history and that’s saying something before we continue be sure to subscribe to our Channel and ring the bell to get notified about our latest
Videos you have the option to be notified for occasional videos or all of them if you’re on your phone make sure you go into your settings and switch on notifications number one Emperor she Palpatine AKA Darth cidus Darth Vader certainly is an iconic villain but he’s not the evilest where are those
Transmissions you intercepted what have you done with those PLS no you know seeing as how he turns good no that distinction belongs to Emperor Palpatine Palpatine doesn’t get a lot of screen time in the original trilogy but he still makes one Sinister impression what is thy bidding my
Master there is a great disturbance in the fource most of Palpatine’s characterization comes from the supplemental material and prequel trilogy where we witness his progression from cunning and devious politician to full-blown Tyrant are you threatening me master Jedi the Senate will decide your fate I am the Senate he proceeded to
Reign Over the most tyrannical and abusive regime in history and became the very embodiment of Evil Within the Star Wars Skywalker Saga did our vile minations keep your favorite villain off our list let us know in the comments below I can’t when a problem comes along
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