This my list. I'd have Bane up there too.
Also, underrated was Keaton's Vulture from Spider-Man Homecoming
Good point. Might move Green Goblin out for Bane. Not his fault catwoman caught him slipping.
Heath Joker
Thanos
Bane
Killmonger
Doc Ock
Will Thanos (MCU) ever be topped as the GOAT comic book movie villain?
- Thread starter winb83
- Start date
Good point. Might move Green Goblin out for Bane. Not his fault catwoman caught him slipping.
Heath Joker
Thanos
Bane
Killmonger
Doc Ock
Don't forget that Thanos actually WON and achieved his goal to the point they had to use time travel to actually beat him and still almost lost. And Thanos went up against way tougher competition, achieved more and was a bigger threat.
In comparison, what did TDK Joker really even accomplish besides blowing up a hospital and killing and ugly girl?
Vandelay
Life is absurd. Lean into it.
TDK Joker
TDKR Bane is arguably the same level.
Magneto old and young is probably just under him.
Looking at your post below this, you rate your villains based off of how much they destroy. That's cool.
I just rate mine differently. I go by actor portrayal, charisma, how much of a menace they are, how intricate their plan is, what underlying motivations they have, quotability, overall impact and legacy...
Thanos is no slouch, and just about everything I hoped he would be in a villain...
Joker beats him because, I did not expect the depths he would have as a villain in that movie. And overall...he felt real. I rank the whole Dark Knight trilogy as my favorite trilogy because it felt real. Something that "could" exist in this world.
What's more is...I generally don't like DC pretty much as a whole outside of Batman. So I'm not playing fanboy.
Power/Threat Level is part of what makes a good villain. How can a villain be great if he can't truly threaten the heroes in any real fashion?
Part of what hurts Joker is that he posed no real threat to Batman himself, just his livelihood. He can hurt/kill civilians, destroy buildings and troll the hero, but when pressed or things didn't go his way (like with the boats not blowing up) Joker completely crumbled.
How? What makes any of them better than Thanos?
Thanos is much higher on Threat Level, actually achieved his goals, faced stiffer competition and had obtainable motivations. At Joker's core, what was his real goal besides fukking with people?
And actually our point of difference may be what actually makes a good villain. What is your criteria for being a good villain? Here is mine:
1. Power/Threat Level. How much of a threat do you actually pose to the hero/protagonists
2. Goals/Motivation. What is your reason behind your actions? And are they actually obtainable? And DID you obtain them?
3. Appeal/Charisma. This is the more subjective category because different people like/are motivated by different things. Some people love "crazy/psycho" villians, others find that boring and like a more methodical approach. What is your preferred architype and do your Top 5 follow it?
Regarding this criteria, Bane is actually a BETTER villain than Joker because he achieve all the things Joker failed to and took them further. He ACTUALLY broke Batman physically and mentally whereas Joker tried but failed. He ACTUALLY took over Gotham when Joker just caused chaos for a few weeks. Bane's major problem is that he got jobbed out instead of having a true face off with the protagonist. But Thanos achieved higher highs than either of them, granted he got a lot more screen time than either. Unless you just don't like a physically threatening villain, I don't see what areas Joker is superior outside of just liking Ledger's acting job.
I almost negged you for mentioning Zemo?But then you acknowledged Magneto could and should be goat villian if done right
Smh at folks couldn't wait to try to shoehorn one of these marvel villians into the top spot,its the Joker and Bane at one and 2 for me.
They won't get the proper respect just because Marvel films are more cartoonish and fantastical.
But Joker and Bane were both entertaining,had better quotables than Thanos more importantly. And in terms of classic scenes I just think they had more standout moments. How did you forget the plane and sewer scene from Bane so quickly smh?The Joker car chase scene,bank scene,hopsital scene,too many to name. Also if your going to mention Zemo,Winter Soldier needs some love too. Every scene where he was doing Winter Soldier shyt is a god damn classic. I know he sucks as Bucky,but the Winter Soldier is one of Marvels best villians hands down,and doesn't get the respect!
edit-Might have to put Winter Soldier over Killmonger now that I'm thinking about it
Breh I give 0 fukks about a neg. Only one I said takes the spot is Mags. The rest were just observation. Zemo won, could've gotten away too. I don't have a GOAT villain aside from Mags, just like the roster.
Somebody mentioned Sinister too, that could happen on the X side also. They already fukked up Apocalypse so imI not even trying to see him again.
I disagree with that. When was the last time you watched Dr. Strange?
Dormmamu's goal was to invade the Earth Realm and conquer it for himself. The wizards were devices he used to see his plan through. He actually failed to complete his plan because of the time loop Strange put him in. Maybe a bit generic Power Monger/I want to destroy everything architype, but I don't think he was bad. I'd call him average.
Was he a bad villain? I don't think so. Was he great? Not IMO but had great potential but he's also not dead and available for use late.
Vandelay
Life is absurd. Lean into it.
You like villains that are global and/or galactic threats...that's cool bro. I just have different criteria.
I actually liked Bane more up until the end of TDKR...
I don't really care for a villains overarching theme, I like the execution.
John Doe from Seven was pure chaos and honestly not a physical threat for Brad Pitt's character. It did not make him any less menacing.
I can't stand Star Wars as a franchise, but Darth Vader is one of my favorite and most iconic villains.
Jack Torrance from Shining only terrorized a couple of people.
Norman Bates only terrorized a couple of people in Psycho.
From your assertion, like my man above said you must prefer Dormammu or Ego just as much as Thanos.
I'm not saying Thanos is wack by any stretch, he's one of my favorite villains from any genre over the last 10 years, and quite possibly movie history. Joker just was a better villain.
Zemo was dope. He actually achieved his goal and his motivations were relatable as hell. AND he outkicked his coverage as far as antagonists go.
Well what IS your critiera? I gave you mine laid out clearly, I haven't seen that from you. Could you provide it?
Also its not that I like super powerful villains, I just think they clearly post a much greater threat than a regular guy with a gun. But if you've looked at previous posts, I give major props to Zemo because he basically did everything he set out to do with the exception of suicide to escape punishment. He had a clear plan, achieved it and far overshot what someone of his ability should have been.
I haven't seen your criteria yet but it seems you are more into the look and appeal of a villain than what they actually do or achieve. Nor do you seem the type that likes fiction/supernatural. A lot of your list are more human/street level based, maybe you just like smaller stakes and scale. That's cool too bruh, but the visual ain't enough for me. A villain can't just say they are a bad ass, they have to show me. Darth Vader actually showed his ability among the names you listed, its part of the reason he's a top tier cinema villain while many of the other names you mentioned have appeal but don't hold up the same way over time.
This is not a slight to Joker, but I think a lot of people get caught up in Ledger's acting job/death than looking objectively at what Joker did. He didn't really do that much, especially compared to his OWN universe when Bane did WAY more. They are both cool, but I don't see how they can objectively hold up to Thanos.
