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I love a good villain. Don’t get me wrong, I love heroes too, but a good villain can really take a story to the next level. There are so many different kinds of villains, and I love them all.
I love the twisted evil ones, the ones where we are rooting for the hero to destroy them completely. I love the complex and multidimensional ones, the ones where we can kind of understand their reasoning, no matter how wrong. I love the crazy, snarky ones. I love the unexpected ones, the ones that we didn’t see coming and that break our hearts when we find out their true intentions. I love the redeemable ones, the ones that have done evil things, but end up doing everything in their power to redeem themselves in the end.
So today I would like to present you 10 of my favorite villains. To avoid spoilers, this does not include some of the unexpected or redeemable ones. So let’s hear it for the completely evil, complex and crazy villains!
The favorite one:
The Darkling from the Grisha trilogy
Ah, I love The Darkling. He’s my favorite by far. I just wanted my Darkling to get his happily ever after even if it meant that the world would end up destroyed. Crazy, but true.
The crazy one:
Bellatrix Lestrange from the Harry Potter series
Talking about crazy, the love I have for Bellatrix knows no bounds. And even though I loved her so, I equally loved her eventual downfall by the hands of Molly Weasley.
The most hated one:
Dolores Umbridge from the Harry Potter series
Ugh. Umbridge really gave Voldemort a run for his money. Such evil, in such a small, pink, cat-loving package.
The complex one:
Holland from A Darker Shade of Magic
I loved Holland from page one. Sure, he did some evil things, but I have a feeling there’s so much more to him and I would love to learn more. (Note: still have to read A Gathering of Shadows so I still have hope this will happen)
The funny ones:
The Greenmantles from The Raven Cycle
Ah, I LOVED the Greenmantles. They were so funny and snarky and I didn’t know whether to fear them or laugh at them.
The creepy ones:
The Freaks from the Razorland trilogy
Zombie-like creatures who eat human flesh and only seem to grow smarter? Yes, I am thoroughly creeped out.
The vile one:
The commandant from An Ember in the Ashes
The fact that this brutal, vile woman is actually the mother of our main hero Elias, who is so good and kind, is just mind-blowing. She’s so evil and I have a feeling we still don’t even know her true intentions or end-game so I’m just super curious to find out.
The double one:
Captain Randall from Outlander
So you accidentally travel back in time, where you immediately have to run from this disgusting villain who also looks exactly like the kind husband you just left behind in your own time. I wouldn’t want to be Claire and have to go through that!
The political one:
President Snow from The Hunger Games
Well, it is creepy if you can just kill of your enemies without ever lifting a finger yourself. Even if we don’t see him himself a lot, his short appearances do have the biggest creep factor. Also, I did love that the movies gave him some more scenes!
The unhinged one:
Queen Levana from The Lunar Chronicles
Crazy villains are already both fun and creepy. Crazy villains who are completely in charge of a whole planet moon? Even better! Or worse, of course!
President Snow is just a bad guy. 🙂 And I’ve seen dolores Umbridge show up a few times already- she must be bad too (I haven’t read past the first one). I agree with what you said though- there’s something about a good villain!
Yes, Dolores Umbridge totally deserves to be on ALL the lists! She may be the most evil of them all 😉
Omg I really want to know more about Snow! He was TERRIBLE but why?!? I would give a lot for a prequel novel about how he rose to power and why he did all that poisoning and everything. I HAVE SO MANY QUESTIONS. *shrieks* And yes, I love villains so much too!!? Like some are squishy cinnamon rolls, and some I love to hate. They just totally make the story! I actually felt bad for Levana after reading Fairest though. It always huuurts my soul when a character turns to villainy because they just weren’t loved enough as a kid. OH AND THE GREENMANTLES YAS. They were so snarky.?
Here’s my TTT!
Yes, I love when we get more information about the villains and their motives! They’re just so much more interesting when you can kind of understand where they are coming from 🙂 I love villains with a tragic backstory especially! They’re just so sad and I just want them to be happy, but then I also want the heroes to be happy so this is difficult. But fun to read 😉
I am reading AGoS, the verdict is still out in my mind as to whether I would classify him as a villain or not. In the first book, he felt more like a pawn to me. I do have Astrid and Athos Dane on my villain list!
I took offense to Umbridge being a cat-lover when I read the HP books. She doesn’t deserve cute, cuddly, cats. She’s on my list as well!
Here’s my TTT: https://4thhouseontheleft.wordpress.com/2016/10/04/top-ten-tuesday-favorite-book-villains/
I so want to start AGoS soon, but I’m trying to make myself wait because otherwise the wait for book 3 will be too long 😉 but I’m super excited to start it, so I don’t know how much longer I’ll be able to hold back from reading it!
And you are so right: Umbridge does not deserve cat cuddling at all! 🙂
I think Dolores was the most terrifying for me because she could have been real and was just ALWAYS THERE. I agree, i love when we get backstory to the villains because then they become more of a person and I always feel a mix of empathy and hate for them which is always fun 🙂
Yes, exactly! She was not some Voldemort-type, super evil wizard, but her evil was so real and that made her even more scary! I hate her so much that she’s the exception to the rule: she is the one person where I don’t think having a backstory would make me like her even a little bit more!
Oh I definitely would hate her without or without knowing her motivations, Although, I did love her character in A Very Potter Musical and all the gif worthy moments that provided.
We have quite a few in common! Umbridge Definitely tops my most hated list. Jack Randall, Bellatrix, and Snow are so vile. I think Bellatrix is really interesting, though. She was certainly crazy.
Yes, Bellatrix was definitely vile and crazy, and yet I still couldn’t help but like her 🙂 A backstory from her POV would be weird but interesting!
I love how you have named each of your villains, totally agree with all of them!
Snow and Umbridge made my list this week too. I can’t believe I forgot Bellatrix, she was a pretty crazy villain, I have always loved Helana Bohem Carters portrayal of her int he films, she just gets her perfectly in my opinion.
Also agree on The Commandant. I’m literally just about to start A Torch Against the Night and I’m so excited to delve back into this world and see where it’s taken next!
I really need to read more Schwab!
My TTT
Thanks! You’re so right, Helena Bonham Carter was the PERFECT Bellatrix! I couldn’t have imagined her any differently!
Oh, I hope you’ll enjoy A Torch Against The Night! I just finished it last week and I really loved it <3
And yes to more Schwab! I've only read one book by her so far and I can't wait to read more too!
President Snow made my list too! Umbridge is a great one too…she’s scarier than Voldemort because her evil is so normal. There totally are people like that in the world.
Yes, exactly! She feels so real and that’s what makes her even scarier than Voldemort.
Excellent list! President Snow and Umbridge made mine as well. I didn’t include Levana since I’ve just started The Lunar Chronicles but I can already tell she’s going to be one I love to hate. My TTT
Thanks! Snow and Umbridge have definitely become some iconic villains 🙂 Oh, I’m pretty sure you will still love to hate Levana! She’s the perfect Evil Queen!
The Darkling has made a lot of lists this week, and it makes me so happy 🙂
My TTT.
Ah yes, The Darkling! I agree, he deserves all the love! He’s my favorite villain ever 😉
I have not read many of those but I agree on the crazy one Bellatrix Lestrange was awesome >.>
Yes she was! I totally have a weak spot for the crazy villains 🙂
I like how you did that!!! President Snow and Levana are such great villains!! I need to read HP so I can understand all the villains there. Great list!!
Thanks! Snow and Levana have become pretty iconic I think 🙂 And Harry Potter does have some of the best villains!
Bellatrix scares me ?? would not want to meet her in a dark alley
So true! I like her as a character but I NEVER want to meet her in real life 🙂
Love both your picks for the crazy/unhinged ones! I think what makes them so interesting is that you can’t apply logic or reason to their actions.
And poor Claire in Outlander… that must be horrible for the villain to be a physical copy of her husband!
Thanks! Yes, you’re exactly right, that is why the crazy ones are so intriguing 🙂
And I definitely wouldn’t want to be in Claire’s situation!
I really loved the way you made the list 🙂 I really hated Umbridge too. Everything she does is just so irritating. Especially the “hem, hem”. And worst thing is there’s actually people like Umbridge in the real world too. Greenmantles were definitely funny for me. Almost too much, I think. I started to wonder how they got so much power in the first place.
Thanks! Yes, the “hem, hem”! It’s such a classic, annoying line already 😉
Yes, the Greenmantles were perhaps a little too funny to be scary!
I’ve not read the “Outlander” books nor have I watched the show (beyond the pilot), but I was already creeped out by Randall from that alone! Plus it doesn’t help that I read spoilers and know what comes. *shudder*
Thanks so much for visiting Finding Wonderland. 🙂
Hi, I just noticed your comment got stuck in the spam, so sorry for that!
Yes, Randall is definitely a huge creeper! Wouldn’t want to run into him at all.
Yesss. I love so many of these characters and I love how you made different headings. Bellatrix is one of my favourite Harry Potter characters and I love how complex Holland is. The Greenmantles were all really interesting too. I’m super interested to learn more about Levana in The Lunar Chronicles. And I don’t think I’ve ever hated a character as much as I hated Umbridge hahah.
Thanks! I love me some good villains, they really help make or break the story! I couldn’t help but love Bellatrix from the moment we were first introduced to her <3 And I so hope we will get more Holland in A Gathering of Shadow (*fingers crossed*). I actually haven't read Fairest yet, which is the Levana novella with her backstory, but I'm super interested. An yes, while Voldemort is evil, I guess somehow you can still understand his motives. Umbridge is just simply annoying and irritating and EVIL so she's so much easier to hate! :)
Holland is rather interesting. I really disliked The Greenmantles. Blergh.
Haha, yes, blergh is definitely a good description for the Greenmantles! 🙂 I liked them, but they deserved everything they got.
I like the way you organized & formatted this. I absolutely hated Umbridge. In fact, I gave up the series because of her.
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Thanks! Umbridge really was a super annoying villain!