Tom Hiddleston once said, "Every villain is a hero in his own mind," and even some of the most classic villains in fiction have justifiable motives. Then there’s Nirai Kujen, who has warped the empire into a banquet of atrocities in his quest to create a post-scarcity universe. It’s hard to disagree with such a goal, even if the Prince probably shouldn’t have murdered his father to try and achieve it. Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window), Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window), Click to share on Tumblr (Opens in new window), Click to share on Pinterest (Opens in new window), © 2021 Macmillan | All stories, art, and posts are the copyright of their respective authors, When the Ends Justify the Means: Five Villains Who See Themselves as Heroes, Sleeps With Monsters: Most Anticipated Books For 2021, Footnotes, Ephemera, and Other Stories From the Margins, Sleeps With Monsters: The Best Books I’ve Read in 2020, Life, Death, and Coming of Age in Nnedi Okorafor’s, Six Stories for Fans of Beautiful Australian Gothic, The Hazards of a Cat Shortage: Garry Kilworth’s “Hogfoot Right and Bird Hands”, Author and Publisher Storm Constantine Has Passed Away. Snape is decidedly cruel to the title character throughout the Harry Potter series, bullying and provoking the boy wizard whenever he gets a chance. (There’s a tie-in between this book and a number of Cherryh’s other scifi works, but probably most notable is the Hugo-winning Forty Thousand in Gehenna, where–surprise!–it’s the descendants of Emory’s programmed azi clones who fair best. Each one had a reason. Yes, I know, there have been other lists about villains before. But when Odin decided he wanted peace instead, he cast Hela out, imprisoning her and erasing any trace of her existence from Asgard. Biography Season Two. They were banished from the Pride Rock and were hungry, so they clung to the only lion who would give them the time of day. Not only that, but there are way worse things a kid like that could be doing than experimenting with his toys. By contrast, the villain of Black Panther has no magic of his own, nor does he possess superhuman strength or speed to help him accomplish his goals. Best justified/ explained villains and antagonists that make you think "maybe they really are the good guys"? This thread is archived. Whether due to a dodgy past that has set them on the wrong track or simply having a perfectly valid explanation for their antagonising the hero, these are 20 movie villains whose actions were basically justified. Which isn’t to say that the Lady doesn’t do some terrible things (again, psychic-slavery, mass-murder,) just that her husband might well destroy the universe if he ever escapes. Jump to navigation Jump to search. Helmed by Graham Yost and based on a short story by Elmore Leonard, the gritty, Southern-set modern Western was full of twists and turns, action-packed shootouts, and of course, some dynamic characters, both good and bad. The story of King Kong was first recounted in 1933’s King Kong, a monster movie classic that was remade in 1976 and later in 2005. Woops.) I want to talk about my favorite kind of villain, the one who is doing this whole bad guy routine for the best of reasons. Yzma wants to rule, but literally only so she can restore order to the place where her subjects live, and stop having to babysit a rich kid who has no idea how to rule responsibly. "Opponent") are people who use their Quirks to commit crimes, cause destruction, and potentially put innocent lives at stake. D&D Beyond D&D Beyond He is consumed by loneliness, and when he learns the awful truth about his own mother, his perception of reality is immediately skewed and he gives up all hope – finally succumbing to the demons within. Now, King Kong is a giant ape, and it could be said that animals are rarely portrayed as being either good or evil, considering they lack the emotional capacity to justify their actions. And sometimes that fun is even somewhat justified. In all the King Kong movies, Kong is captured against his will and forced to live out his days as an exhibition – a fate endured by billions of animals across the globe. (We already wrote about why Harry is basically the worst character ever.). Still, we feel you, Buddy. The kind whose motivation isn’t greed or lust for power, jealousy or spite. This led to him developing low self-esteem and feeling isolated. After all, Syndrome’s obsession is inappropriate, and as an adult, Mr Incredible has no choice but to send the young boy away. 565. So here are my five favorite books with villains (who are trying to save the world): Cardinal Richelieu, Alexandre Dumas’s The Three Musketeers, Having been first introduced to this swashbuckling story via movies like the 1993 version starring Kiefer Sutherland, Oliver Platt, and Chris O’Donnell, I was more than a little shocked the first time I read the book. Sort by. Roy has a genius-level intellect and immense physical strength which exacerbates his brutality, but he also has no idea how to manage his emotions. 20. share. Yes, they’re absolutely trying to save the country/world/universe—they’re just also willing to do some thoroughly objectionable things on the way. ), Gerald Tarrant, CS Friedman’s Coldfire Trilogy, While I suppose one might argue Gerald Tarrant more specifically falls into the category of anti-villain (see Shuos Jedao, below) he’s still starts off the series as a cold-blooded sociopath who sacrificed his entire family to make sure he lived long enough to save humanity. Just like in real life, things are never 100 percent black and white, so sometimes fictional villains actually come out with something quite insightful! Anyway, these books are rather famous for being able to throw a stone and randomly hit a villain, while heroes are much harder to find. Marvel hasn’t really had villains that were just pure evil. Gollum was corrupted by the Ring and swayed by its power, to the point that by the end of his manipulation he was barely even human. Iron Monger isn’t just a great villain; he was also the very first villain in the MCU. To add another dynamic to Snape, we must not forget his undying loyalty to the woman he considers to be the love of his life, Lily Potter. Ariane Emory, CJ Cherryh’s the Cyteen Series, You might be tempted to think that Ariane Emory can’t possibly be the villain of the Cyteen series since she is, after all, slain at the start of the first book. And that’s kinda of point. Marshal who is reassigned from his Miami office back to his hometown of Kentucky after gunning down a cartel hitman.His familiarity with the region and its criminal inhabitants, such as his father Arlo and his old friend Boyd Crowder, makes him the lead Marshal for all things Harlan County. Miranda Priestly is at the very top of her game, and so any strange requests she insists upon are only to ensure Andy’s loyalty. They are, at least to me, relatable in a way so many other villains aren’t. And that’s kinda of point. Yvette is a supporting character in the TV show Justified.She is the secretary and lover of Dixie Mafia shot caller Emmitt Arnett and the lover of Dixie Mafia lieutenant Robert Quarles.She was portrayed by Jennifer Birmingham. People on Reddit were asked: "What fictional villain had pretty reasonable excuses for why they did what they did?" The character, who originally was supposed to have a one-episode arc, eventually became the show's primary villain, whose stand against Raylan forms the major story thread of much of Justified. No child will go hungry on his watch, but millions will die the most gruesome of deaths to support the hierarchical calendar that makes interstellar travel possible. He was portrayed by Clayne Crawford. Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, u/elliotsilvestri/reddit When Reddit user murdo1tj posed a very simple question on the image sharing site, he ended up blowing the internet's minds wide open. Magneto’s villainous nature is a matter of perception, especially when we consider that he has endured the horrors of the Holocaust, an experience which would only skew one’s view of the world. It wasn’t just about world domination … Joker allows us to see the person behind the mask (or makeup, if you will), and it’s clear that Fleck’s battle with his mental health plunged him into despair, after which time his fragile mental state became only more precarious. Are there any villains who were justified in their actions? With this in mind, is it really any wonder the Grinch took out his frustrations on the people around him? However, we later learn that Snape has in fact been charged with protecting Harry, and despite his apparent displeasure in doing so, he makes it his life’s mission to serve this purpose all the same. Sure, perhaps this is merely a testament to Smeagol’s lack of self-control, seeing as Gandalf had the willpower to refuse to be tempted by the ring as he knew it would corrupt him. From Hannibal Lecter to Kylo Ren, here are 50 of the best. Over time, he even becomes more understanding of the nuance of good and evil, which is more than can be said for most villains. Just going with the main ones, from the movies. From Toy Story to Finding Nemo, it seems like in Pixar movies it’s children who are constantly the villains, traumatising the sentient animals and toys and forcing them to flee. Well, this week Reddit user murdo1tj asked, "What villain was actually somewhat justified in their actions?" Despite the reason behind Syndrome’s behaviour being largely attributed to Mr Incredible, we are not placing the blame solely at the superhero’s feet. The Giha chief was correct that living underground keeps humans safe. (Who are usually young women, by the way.) In fact, that’s kind of their sole purpose. Pixar might make family films designed to entertain people of all ages, but sometimes it sure does seem like they kind of hate kids. Dumas makes it bluntly clear that Richelieu’s main motivation is a strong desire to do what he thinks is best for France, not exactly the carpet-chewing ambition I’d so often seen in the movies (you know I love you, Tim Curry, but…) He doesn’t necessarily hold a grudge either (indeed, he’s the one who suggests to the king that Louis really should just go ahead and make that D’Artagnan kid a musketeer.) Fandom Apps Take your favorite fandoms with you and never miss a beat. ‘Acceptable losses’ start to take on a whole new dimension when the populations of entire planets fall within that definition. The villains who might not object to being called villains but will absolutely defend their actions as necessary. He is a prison medic at the Trumbull Correctional Facility who is later revealed to both be in cahoots with corrupt prison guard Ash Murphy and a member of an organ harvesting scheme, along with his girlfriend Layla. Often, the threat to our heroes is an evil wizard who wants the world destroyed, or a big purple man who wants to destroy half of all life in the universe. This got me thinking about other notable villains from comic book movies released over the past decade and I realized there were plenty of others who are painted as objectively evil who actually had some pretty understandable motivations. Perhaps if Hartman had known the additional stress some of his recruits were under he would have behaved less harshly, but as it stands, he was just doing his job – and, according to the standards of the Marines, he was doing it well. Ferris Bueller’s Day Off’s Principal Rooney is about as close to a cartoon character as you can get in a live action movie. Considering 2019’s Joker made over a billion dollars at the box office, we’re sure we’re not the only ones who felt a huge sense of sympathy towards the man who has become one of pop culture’s best-known psychopaths. Relatable villains have since become all the rage, especially in the 20th century, as audiences refused to settle for bad guys we were told were “just bad.” They wanted to understand the twisted motives that turned these villains to evil, and sometimes those motives turned out … First, we have Shuos Mikodez, the charming and thoroughly debauched genius who runs the intelligence branch of the empire. Though lesser-known than some others, Justified was still one of the best shows on TV during its time. and WHEW BUDDY, there were some steaming hot takes, y'all. To withdraw your consent, see Your Choices. The hyenas. There are many different types of villains in the world. All of that amounts to what can only be seen as straightforward bad behaviour – except for the fact that she is based on a number of real people. This is a list of characters from the FX television ... violent crime spree desperately trying to come up with the cash to save his life until it is revealed that his kidneys were never in fact taken. Not only could he not control his desire for the ring, but Gollum was treated with disgust and suspicion everywhere he went, which obviously wouldn’t help him to resist his desires. Of course, the villains deserve it, right? Seven movies where the villains were justified (digitalspy.com) 253 More: Awkward , The Wizard of Oz , Blade Runner , Batman Begins , The Wonderful Wizard of Oz , The Rock , Land of Oz , Wicked , Wicked Witch of the West If you’ve seen Animatrix, you will have discovered the dark truth behind the existence of the Machines: it turns out that humans actually created the machines that would later enslave them. Production. Not everything is as black and white as good and bad, so here are some movies where the villain was (probably) right all along. Either they are beings of immense power with enough scheming ability to take over the world, or they’re just kind of bumbling and hilarious. Sid’s basically teaching himself engineering, design and creativity, when he could be out bullying other human children instead. What makes Boyd so intimidating, though, is not that he's willing to dispatch people at a second's notice (he is), but the fact that he is such a likable person as well. best. His relief is bittersweet – happy because the man who caused him so much pain is dead, yet despairing as he is now all alone in the world. Justified's fifth season had quite a few problems but the biggest one was the absence of a true villain from the Justified Season 5 cast. Tom Hiddleston once said, "Every villain is a hero in his own mind," and even some of the most classic villains in fiction have justifiable motives. This ‘villain’ is forced to rely on his animal instincts in order to survive, and is persecuted for what is only his natural instinct. They were and that's not the issue, it's just that 1. Whilst his adoration for Lily borders on obsession, it’s clear that Snape has become consumed by both love and hatred, to the point where the two have begun to merge. Obadiah Stane/Iron Monger - He was Howard Stark’s partner. It stars Timothy Olyphant. Lance is a recurring character in the third season of Justified. Whether due to a dodgy past that has set them on the wrong track or simply having a perfectly valid explanation for their antagonising the hero, these are 20 movie villains whose actions were basically justified. Forced into an unnatural state of existence and left to his own devices, despite having the brain of a child and a body made of discarded human limbs, the Monster does everything within his power to integrate himself with society, but he is shunned purely as a result of his appearance. spoiler. Tap to play or pause GIF List of Justified characters. We’ve already established that some Disney villains are woefully bad at being anything other than funny, while others are so intimidating they’ve found a permanent spot in our nightmares. Imagine the mental strain it would take on a person to have a programmed-in death date, as Roy and the other replicants do. Fleck is repeatedly mocked and taken advantage of, by strangers on the street as well as by those he considers friends. And no one exemplifies this statement more than Severus Snape. We can only assume that Snape’s determination to save Harry was perhaps more due to the guilt he felt over Lily’s death rather than any affection for the boy himself, but regardless of his motives, Snape is nothing if not consistent to the very end. It’s easy to say that I would never do a bad thing, but if the fate of the whole world was at stake…? A great movie hero needs a great villain, who are often more popular (cough, Joker) than the film's "good guys." Unfortunately, there’s a lot of wiggle room in ‘what is best for France’ and Richelieu takes it to ruthless extremes. Posted by 12 months ago. The Monster is later torn between his feelings of vengefulness and solicitude, further dehumanising him and causing him to fall into a state of inner torment. Considering those shoes were stolen by the very woman who killed her family, that really shouldn’t be such an unreasonable request. At the end of How the Grinch Stole Christmas, it turns out that The Grinch is actually a pretty good guy after all. Jenn Lyons lives in Atlanta, Georgia with her husband, three cats, and a nearly infinite number of opinions on anything from mythology to the correct way to make a martini. A number of so-called "villains" in comic book movies seemed pretty justified in their motivations even if their methods were questionable. In How the Grinch Stole Christmas (2000), it is revealed that as a child, the Grinch was subject to bullying and harassment from his peers. With no one to turn to, the Grinch became a recluse and retracted into himself, retreating to his solitude in the mountains. Erik and Professor X clash several times thanks to their different strategies, but not even Xavier is ever willing to brand Magneto as entirely evil. No, really. And of course villain/hero Jedao, who can (and does) do almost anything to stop Nirai Kujen. However, the Machines were soon persecuted by the very people who had created them, forcing these wily AI to create the Matrix in order to survive. Jan. 21, 2019 . 5 comments. Let’s face it, without Voldemort, Harry Potter would have just been an entitled, privileged kid getting up to all sorts of mischief at his exclusive boarding school. Every personal assistant is expected to go above and beyond to prove their usefulness at first, and that is especially true in the fashion industry, as attested to by many who have worked that job. However, Syndrome is rejected by the person he admires the most simply because he was born without superpowers, clearly something he has absolutely no control over. Javert only gets involved in Valjean’s life again when it becomes clear that the former prisoner has not atoned for all of his past crimes, and is technically still reaping the rewards of a less than law-abiding life. Gerald is charming, honorable, sarcastic, devastatingly handsome…but did I mention he’s a vampire who feeds off the fear of his victims? Furthermore, Rutger Hauer’s portrayal of Batty only adds to the character’s endearing nature – who can resist the Dutch actor’s wide-eyed, soulful sense of innocence? Her debut epic fantasy The Ruin of Kings is available from Tor Books; its sequel The Name of All Things publishes October 29th. Scar definitely falls into the latter catergory – he has the mind of a military strategist, he’s a master manipulator and he’s pretty good at double-crossing. He learns the true meaning of Christmas and love, and is able to forget the torment of his past. and WHEW BUDDY, there were some steaming hot takes, y'all. 22 Movie Villains Who Might've Just Been Misunderstood And Actually Not That Evil. Nuada’s motive isn’t pure vengeance but allowing his community to live freely and openly, as humans have done for centuries. Top 10 Best Disney Villains Who\\'s Motive\\'s Were Justified ... She might've come off as bitchy and stuck-up, but most of her actions were justifiable. Think about it this way: if word gets out that Rooney was soft on one kid who played truant constantly, then everybody else would want to try their hand at being Ferris Bueller. Arkady Martine once perfectly described these fiends as “slick, charismatic manipulative hyper-competent sociopaths with species level ethics and no other ethics to speak of.” I love them. Full Metal Jacket’s Sgt. Or that, as the scientist in charge of the psychological programming of the azi, the genetically engineered clones who form a slave caste for the society, she might be right. After the Machines developed a sense of consciousness, they remained largely benevolent and wished to co-exist with the humans. He’s spent the last eight hundred or so years as a serial killer and general terrible person—but for really good reasons, so uh…that makes it okay…? It seems impossible to argue that the Wicked Witch isn’t totally evil, since she’s Dorothy’s dreaming embodiment of a woman who tried to kill her dog. Every single antagonist in Gurren Lagann was justified in their actions, which only escalated as the series progressed. Nuada remembers the day that humanity fought the magical races and drove them back, forcing them to live in secret while humans could live without constraint and spread across the globe. There’s no justifying the actions Fleck takes at the end of Joker, but it is alarmingly easy to understand his descent into madness, and maybe even empathise with his dire outlook on life. Miranda is constantly at risk of having her personal life discussed in the newspapers, and has to resist takeover attempts from friends and rivals alike on a daily basis. When it comes down to it, many of the people being shunned for villainy on this list are actually just trying to get through a normal day at work. Magneto’s militaristic approach is proved to be successful (for himself and his comrades, anyway) time and time again, and whilst he understands that a cease of conflict is the ultimate goal, he is not willing to sacrifice the lives of his own people in the name of peace. From Thanos and his finger-snap to Ozymandius’s plan to save the human race from itself (finished before the monologue, thank you) every single one of these villains has ‘the ends justifies the means’ embroidered on a pillow somewhere. Well, this week Reddit user murdo1tj asked, "What villain was actually somewhat justified in their actions?" People Are Making Strong Cases For Popular Villains Who Were Actually Justified In Their Actions Collin Gossel. I know Yoon Ha Lee loves the same sort of villains I do, because he gave me three of them to choose from. Even after his creator’s death, the Monster is unable to be free of malice. However, Rooney is simply going above and beyond to do his job. Here are the so called bad guys who got the rawest deals of all: Examples from any medium are welcome, including history. Just going with the main ones, from the movies. Like Roy Batty, The Matrix’s Machines are man’s own making – and it’s only when mankind pushes them too far that they become antagonistic. However, when you look at the events of the Wizard of Oz, it quickly becomes clear that the poor woman is just trying to get on with her life. Obadiah Stane/Iron Monger - He was Howard Stark’s partner. However, there are some external factors that we have to consider here, which might make you view the events of the movie in a whole new light. It isn’t hard to be sympathetic to that anger, especially when it’s so obvious by the end of the film that Killmonger has done what he truly believes to be right. I think most them there were. They could have been heroes, if only they’d been a little less willing to sacrifice every life but their own. Marvel hasn’t really had villains that were just pure evil. To my mind, he will always be the quintessential mastermind villain willing to make the ‘hard decisions’ that others can’t or won’t. It’s not like Syndrome is completely talentless, either – he shows great promise as an inventor, for one. These are how they rank, from worst to best. Each one had a reason. Justified has a had a lot of notable villains over its five seasons. In order to prevent an epidemic of kids going to parades and baseball games instead of staying in their classrooms, Rooney had to make an example out of Ferris – even if it does make him look a little extreme. ), Shuos Mikodez/Shuos Jedao/Nirai Kujen, Machineries of Empire series by Yoon Ha Lee. The Grinch is one of the most iconic Christmas villains of all time, but underneath his heartless facade, there is a heart full of pain and torment. Sure, maybe Scar’s strategy for gaining the throne was more brutal than it needed to be, and there’s no denying that there was a little bit of sibling rivalry at play in his actions. On January 14, 2014, it was announced that Justified was renewed for a sixth season, which is the final season based on a decision by executive producer Graham Yost and lead actor Timothy Olyphant.. Who wants to do his job them to choose from are somewhat justifiable above and beyond to do the thing... Really not ( we already wrote about why Harry is basically the worst character ever. ) villains... Described by the network as a modern-day 19th century-style lawman going with the.! It would Take on a whole new dimension when the populations of entire planets fall within that.. A way so many other villains aren ’ t really had villains were! 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